Momentum Builds for Grassley-Led Bill to Combat Violent Crime

WASHINGTON – Momentum continued to build for Sen. Chuck Grassley’s (R-Iowa) Combating Violent and Dangerous Crime Act, with Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-Wis.) introducing companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives yesterday. As ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, Grassley first introduced the crime-fighting proposal in July with 24 Republican cosponsors. Additionally, Grassley and a bipartisan group of his colleagues have introduced a new bill that would reauthorize a critical grant program to improve local, state and federal law enforcement collaboration to help reduce crime.

 

 

Grassley joined Sens. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and several of his Judiciary Committee colleagues in a press conference this week to discuss Republicans’ plans to fight the ongoing crime wave, including the now-bicameral Combating Violent and Dangerous Crime Act.

 

“The dangers that families face at the hands of these repeat and chronic criminals is pretty clear,” Grassley said during the press conference. “In July, I introduced a bill entitled Combating Violent and Dangerous Crime, meant to make it easier for federal prosecutors to go after murders and carjackings.”

 

Grassley concluded his remarks by urging support from his Democratic colleagues. “In a bipartisan way, we can get more done,” Grassley said.

 

Many communities across the country continue to experience steadily increasing violent crime. Murder rates increased 30 percent in 2020 and continued climbing in 2021. Carjackings, particularly in urban areas, are on the rise, with some cities recording up to 400 percent spikes. Overdose deaths surpassed 100,000 last year, with fentanyl appearing in a variety of substances, including candy-flavored drugs that are marketed to children. According to the Iowa Department of Public Health, over 80 percent of overdose deaths in Iowa last year were fentanyl-related.

 

Learn more about the Combating Violent and Dangerous Crime Act HERE.

 

 

This week, Grassley also joined Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) to introduce the Project Safe Neighborhoods Reauthorization Act. The bipartisan proposal seeks to continue a successful grant program, first implemented in 2001, that bolsters crime prevention and intervention tactics.

 

“For the past two decades, Project Safe Neighborhoods has successfully enabled law enforcement officers to fight crime through local, state and federal collaboration. Reauthorizing this critical grant program will ensure communities receive the resources needed to reduce dangerous crime in our communities. These resources are especially important as we face a national violent crime wave,” Grassley said.

 

Project Safe Neighborhoods brings together law enforcement officials, prosecutors, community leaders and other stakeholders at the local, state and federal levels to address the most pressing crime issues in their communities. It operates in all 50 states, including all 94 federal judicial districts.

 

Full text of the bill is available HERE.

 

Recently, a number of Grassley-led bills supporting law enforcement passed the Senate with bipartisan support, including the Invest to Protect Act and the Fighting Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Act. Additionally, Grassley and Sen. Jon Ossoff’s (D-Ga.) TBI and PTSD Law Enforcement Training Act was signed into law last month.

 

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