(Washington, DC) – Congressman Doug LaMalfa issued the following statement in opposition to H.R. 1280, the Democrats’ bill to defund and overregulate police:
Rep. LaMalfa said, “The consequences of this partisan bill to defund our police departments, on the heels of cities burning and rapidly decreasing police personnel, will be even fewer cops on our streets with weakened or eliminated tools to do their jobs. It’s ironic that just weeks ago the House was praising the work and professionalism of law enforcement that protects the Capitol, yet now it attacks all law enforcement across the country. It’s also frustrating that instead of supporting our police and moving forward where both parties agree, like improving training, enhancing transparency, and reinforcing accountability, Democrat leadership rushed this radical bill forward with no meaningful debates or committee processes. The objective should be to craft a bill that can actually become law. Instead, the majority uses the House floor to generate talking points for the next campaign. Congress should actually move the ball and seek real results on issues the Americans care about.”
Despite bipartisan opposition, the Democrats’ bill slipped through Wednesday night by a vote of 220-212. Among some of its worse provisions, this bill:
- Puts millions of dollars of unfunded mandates on law enforcement agencies
- Eliminates qualified immunity protections for all law enforcement officers, which protects officers who make reasonable mistakes
- Lowers the standard for federal civil rights lawsuits to allow officer convictions even if the officer had no specific intent to deprive a person of a federal right
- Creates an overly broad registry of police misconduct, that includes complaints that are not final
- Limits access to surplus equipment through the Department of Defense’s 1033 program that law enforcement agencies use to protect officers and serve communities in life threatening situations such as natural disasters
- Bans no-knock warrants in drug cases without consideration of exceptions that provide for the safety of law enforcement and the community.
Congressman Doug LaMalfa is a lifelong farmer representing California’s First Congressional District, including Butte, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou and Tehama Counties.
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