[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1227 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 1227
Urging the development of a strategy to counter the rise in violent
crime across the United States.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 14, 2022
Mr. Kustoff (for himself, Ms. Malliotakis, Mr. Fleischmann, Mrs.
Harshbarger, Mr. Williams of Texas, Mr. Gimenez, Mr. Ellzey, Mr.
Burchett, Ms. Tenney, Mr. Bacon, Mr. McKinley, Mr. Carey, Mr. Tiffany,
Mr. Smith of Nebraska, Mr. Dunn, Mr. Rose, Mr. Crawford, Ms. Stefanik,
Mrs. Miller-Meeks, Mr. Palazzo, Mr. Green of Tennessee, Mrs. Flores,
Mr. Guest, and Mr. Zeldin) submitted the following resolution; which
was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Urging the development of a strategy to counter the rise in violent
crime across the United States.
Whereas rising crime, especially violent crime, in the United States poses a
threat to the national interest, as well as to the safety and security
of individuals, communities, businesses, law enforcement officers, and
the rule of law;
Whereas, for the purposes of the Uniform Crime Reporting Program of the Federal
Bureau of Investigation, violent crimes consist of offenses that involve
force or the threat of force, namely--
(1) murder and non-negligent manslaughter;
(2) forcible rape;
(3) robbery; and
(4) aggravated assault;
Whereas violent crimes are occurring every day in major cities across the United
States in part due to progressive prosecutors declining to charge
violent offenders and certain bail reform policies allowing dangerous
criminals back into society;
Whereas released offenders go on to commit more violent crimes and inflict more
terror and death on other individuals in the United States;
Whereas rising violent crime destroys families and should be combated by
criminal justice systems that prosecute the offenders as offenders, and
not as victims;
Whereas the murder rate in the United States rose 30 percent between 2019 and
2020, the largest single-year increase in more than a century;
Whereas there was a 59-percent increase in murders of police officers in 2021;
Whereas, as of April 1, 2022, 101 police officers had been shot this year, 17 of
whom were killed by gunfire;
Whereas at least 16 cities in the United States set murder records in 2021;
Whereas organized retail crime threats in 2020 cost retailers an average of
$720,000 for every $1,000,000,000 in sales, and 69 percent of retailers
surveyed in 2021 had seen an increase in organized retail crime in 2021;
Whereas organized retail crime threatens the safety of retail workers as
organized crime groups, gangs, and individuals use weapons other than
guns, such as mace chemical spray and Taser stun guns, to rob and
assault hard-working retail employees;
Whereas rising violent crime in the United States can be directly correlated to
a surge in illegal immigration at the southern border of the United
States and a surge in the sale, distribution, and consumption of illegal
drugs;
Whereas, in December 2021, 178,840 illegal immigrants were apprehended
attempting to cross the United States-Mexico border, the highest total
for December in the history of the Department of Homeland Security, and
a 142-percent increase from December 2020;
Whereas more than 2,500,000 illegal immigrants have been caught attempting to
cross the United States-Mexico border since January 2021, with more
apprehended in the 3-month period from November 2021 through January
2022 than in all of fiscal year 2020;
Whereas 461 pounds of fentanyl were seized at the southern border in December
2021 alone, enough to kill more than 30 percent of the United States
population;
Whereas drug cartels have overburdened Border Patrol resources by surging
illegal immigrants into strategic locations so that the cartels can
traffic narcotics and other contraband into the United States
undetected;
Whereas violent crimes related to illegal immigration and the illegal drug trade
must stop for the sake of the sovereignty of the United States and the
safety of the people of the United States;
Whereas, with overdose deaths at an all-time high, every State is a border
State, as the flow of illegal drugs from the United States-Mexico border
puts all States at risk regardless of proximity to the border;
Whereas securing the southern border and ensuring the safety of citizens of the
United States is one of the most important responsibilities of the
Federal Government;
Whereas the current Administration's alleged violent crime reduction strategy is
actually a gun control strategy and wrongly puts lawful gun owners and
dealers at the center of enforcement efforts instead of focusing on the
criminals perpetuating violence, insecurity, and fear across the United
States;
Whereas the same gun violence reduction strategy unfairly puts the blame for gun
violence in major, Democrat-run cities and States on neighboring States
with lower crime rates; and
Whereas violent crimes can only be combated if the Department of Justice, the
Department of Homeland Security, other law enforcement agencies, and the
private sector work together: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that
the President should work with Congress to develop and execute a
strategy, drawing on the multiple instruments of power and resources of
the United States--
(1) to counter the rise in violent crime across the country
by reinforcing strong criminal justice policies, by laying
blame on the perpetrators of violent acts, and by securing the
southern border; and
(2) to coordinate with Federal, State, and local agencies
and authorities to--
(A) implement the strategy; and
(B) exhort all those agencies and authorities to
strengthen their approaches to combat the violent crime
epidemic within the country.
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