To watch the interview, click here or the image above.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) today joined FOX News Channel’s Ed Henry on America’s Newsroom to discuss police reform. During the interview, Senator Capito explained the importance of the Senate reaching an agreement soon to move the Republican police reform legislation onto the Senate floor for debate and amendments.
On Wednesday, Senator Capito joined Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), and others for a press conference to announce the introduction of the Just and Unifying Solutions to Invigorate Communities Everywhere (JUSTICE) Act. The legislation provides long-term solutions focused on police reform, accountability and transparency, while also promoting efforts to find solutions to systemic issues affecting people of color such as education and health disparities. Following the introduction, Senator Capito delivered remarks on the Senate floor discussing the legislation and the importance of the issue.
Click here for Senator Capito’s statement on the JUSTICE Act, and click here to watch her Senate floor speech.
HIGHLIGHTS:
QUALIFIED IMMUNITY: “We felt that when we were creating the JUSTICE Act—under the leadership of Senator Scott—that we wanted a bill to actually get to the president’s desk that would actually have the reform and the improvement of our law enforcement that we so desperately need and that people are crying out for. I think the most important thing in the argument is that we want to have good and safe and great officers in our law enforcement. Qualified immunity brings those protections that officers are going to need in certain snap decisions that are going to have to be made.”
MOVING THE BILL TO THE SENATE FLOOR: “The bigger issue here I think is that we need to get this bill onto the Senate floor on Wednesday. And, if we want to have a discussion about qualified immunity and ways to maybe improve it or get rid of it, that’s where that discussion needs to be had.”
NEXT STEPS: “The JUSTICE Act does essentially ban chokeholds, and I’m all for that. The JUSTICE Act also includes the anti-lynching legislation. So, we have a lot of commonality here. If you want to reach a solution, go back to your studies in elementary school—you pass a House bill, you pass a Senate bill, you reach a compromise, it goes to the president’s desk. But, if we don’t get it to the Senate floor, if we’re obstructed there for political reasons, the American people aren’t going to get to see the debate on the greatest debating stage of this country: the United States Senate. So, there is where I think we can make improvements, have amendments, have the full discussion on the sticking points. Remember, there is a lot of common ground here. But, if we don’t act here, the American people are going to be really, really even more skeptical of our ability to get the important issues done.”
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