Chris Lange, FISM News
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Vulnerable House Democrats hoping to pass four policing and public safety bills ahead of the midterms got their wish on Thursday in an 11th-hour vote that progressive “squad” members nearly derailed.
Party leaders spent several hours trying to rein in members of the progressive caucus who were threatening to block the procedural vote over a lack of police accountability measures.
Reps. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.), Cori Bush (D-Mo.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) objected to the exclusion of accountability measures Democrats sought after the death of George Floyd. Bush said in a statement ahead of the vote that the legislation did not do enough to address “the crisis of police brutality.”
Party moderates have been pushing for a vote on the legislative package ahead of the midterms in an effort to counter Republican attacks that Democrats want to defund the police and are soft on crime.
House leadership twice punted a vote on the measures.
The progressive caucus has held strong to their desire to defund the police, while others on the left have tried to distance themselves from the agenda after it was clear that the majority of Americans were not on board. Many have tried to deny that they were ever in support of the movement, though RNC Research produced a 7-minute video compilation that provides evidence to the contrary.
Thursday’s vote was the culmination of months of negotiations among Democrats split over the legislation which would provide millions of dollars to local law enforcement.
The Invest to Protect Act sponsored by Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) cleared the chamber with a 360-64 vote. The bill would provide federal grant monies to police departments with fewer than 200 officers, though negotiations brought the number down to 125. Nine Democrats broke with their party to vote against the legislation.
The second bill, dubbed the Break the Cycle of Violence Act, sponsored by Steven Horsford (D-Nev.), crossed the finish line in a 220-207 vote. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) was the sole Republican to join Democrats in supporting the legislation which provides DHS grants to community anti-violence initiatives in areas experiencing disproportionately high incidents of violent crime.
Rep. Katie Porter’s (D-Calif.) Mental Health Justice Act, which passed in a 223-206 vote, would provide funding to train mental health workers to respond to incidents involving individuals with mental health problems instead of law enforcement personnel. Three Republicans joined Democrats in pushing the measure through.
The fourth and final bill in the package, dubbed the VICTIM Act, which is sponsored by Val Demings (D-Fla.), passed in a 250-178 vote with 30 Republicans joining all Democrats present in a “yes” vote. The program would create a grant program through the Justice Department to help investigators solve cold cases involving gun violence. Demings is hoping to unseat Republican Florida Sen. Marco Rubio this November.
The legislation is now headed to the Senate, where it is unlikely to gain enough Republican support to bypass a filibuster.
This article was partially informed by reporting from The Washington Post, the Associated Press, and The Hill.