The journey to passing police reform in Congress continues to be a long and winding one, and Americans watching the spectacle can’t help but be pessimistic.
After Democrats blocked a vote to debate a GOP bill on police reform in mid-June, Democrats passed their bill the next day with just three Republicans — moderate Reps. Will Hurd (R-Texas), Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) backing it as well.
The Republican police bill was authored by U.S. Sen. Tim Scott (R-NC) of South Carolina, the Senate’s only Black Republican, but Democrats dismissed the legislation, saying that it didn’t truly dismantle the systematic oppression they were tackling.
“The Senate bill is [a] sham, fake reform,” said House Judiciary Chair Jerry Nadler (D-Brooklyn, Manhattan) “It gestures, using some of the same words, but it does nothing real.”
But the Republicans were equally disappointed with the Democrats bill, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has signaled he will not take up the package and allow it to become law.
Both parties have reached a stalemate, as Democrats refuse to scale back parts of their bills Republicans disagree with, such as banning chokeholds or abolishing the “qualified immunity” doctrine that protects police officers from lawsuits and Republicans shrugging their shoulders and moving on.
All this said, KCP posed the following question to the U.S. Rep. Max Rose (D-Southern Brooklyn, Staten Island) and his political opponent Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis (R-Bay Ridge, State Island) in the upcoming November general election for Rose’s House seat:
How do you see the federal government coming together to push bipartisan police reform to end police brutality?
Here’s what they had to say.
Malliotakis campaign spokesman Rob Ryan: “Max Rose marched with demonstrators chanting ‘Defund the Police’ and carrying signs that said ‘Blue Lives Murder.’ Congressman Rose and his fellow demonstrators are wrong, defunding the police won’t solve the problem; the NYPD and police departments across the nation should be fully funded so they can have the best training possible in conflict resolution and arrest techniques. Reforms, when necessary should be implemented on a local level, with involvement of the U.S. Department of Justice only when necessary.”
Max Rose: “What happened to Jacob Blake – in front of his own children –tore at the open wound from George Floyd’s murder that America has yet to heal from. This is an unprecedented moment in our nation’s history – people from across the political spectrum are hurting and scared. Now more than ever, we need leaders trying to heal a nation in agony, not inflame tensions. Violence and destruction of any kind is unacceptable.
“Those who would riot, take the law into their own hands to murder a protester, or seek to incite racial hatred with their words or actions must be condemned. As Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, I have been warning for months that political extremists are trying to hijack peaceful protests to hurt and divide our nation. We cannot let them win.
“But abolishing or dismantling the police is not the answer. I oppose defunding the police because it will not make our streets safer. Investing the time, manpower, and resources necessary to help rebuild trust will. I’ve secured millions of dollars in funding for the NYPD to combat terrorists, led a bipartisan federal push to fix New York’s botched bail reform, and will continue to advocate for the resources New York City needs to keep us safe. Mayor de Blasio has failed to do right by New York City. I will not.”
