To watch Senator Capito’s full floor speech, click here or the image above.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) today delivered a floor speech on the out-of-control crime the nation is facing due to Democrats’ soft-on-crime agenda. During the speech, Senator Capito highlighted Democrats’ disregard for law and order, the record number of police officers leaving the profession, and the direct tie between the southern border crisis and the addiction epidemic in West Virginia.

In a Senate Republican Leadership press conference yesterday, Senator Capito also discussed record rising crime statistics, and the impact this is having on communities across the country.

HIGHLIGHTS:

OUT-OF-CONTROL CRIME RATES: “Many Democrats have championed a soft-on-crime agenda that has contributed to soaring crime rates. According to the Major Cities Chiefs Association, since 2019, violent crime is up 26%, aggravated assault is up 34%, and homicides are up a staggering 43%. This is not only unacceptable, it's terrifying.”

BIGGEST RISE IN MURDER: “Despite previous efforts to ‘defund the police.’ My colleagues on the other side of the aisle are now walking back their claims that less law enforcement makes us safer. As many Democrat-led cities across the country heeded these calls, the United States experienced the biggest rise in murders since the start of national record keeping in 1960.”

CLEAR CONNECTION: “Investigators found that these traffickers had drugs shipped from the U.S.-Mexico border to Ohio via tractor trailer, or they used cash payments for people who flew from California from the Pittsburgh International Airport. The connection between the crisis at our border and the drug epidemic we are seeing at home doesn't get any clearer than that.”

IN THE PRESIDENT’S BACKYARD: “Here in our nation’s capital, amid surging violent crime and police shortages, D.C.’s City Council is attempting a dangerous and irresponsible rewrite of their criminal code. Reducing the penalties for violent crimes, carjackings, robberies, and even homicides as these numbers rise, is incredibly tone deaf to local calls for increased safety and policing. This is happening right in the president's backyard.”

REPUBLICANS STAND READY: “Now more than ever, American families are asking for law and order in their communities and peace of mind in their neighborhoods. We as Republicans stand ready to continue our push for solutions that make our country safer, and a stronger place to live.”

 

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