Representative Angie Craig Calls Out Republican Colleagues’ Hypocrisy and Dishonesty Surrounding the ‘Defund the Police’ Movement

WASHINGTON, DC —Last night, during debate in the House Energy and Commerce Committee markup of the Build Back Better Act, U.S. Representative Angie Craig objected to her Republican colleagues' repeated efforts to politicize funding for the deployment of Next Generation 9-1-1 technology – arguing that an amendment introduced by Republicans was nothing more than an extension of Republican campaign strategy designed to inaccurately paint Congressional Democrats as supportive of efforts to defund the police.

"My colleagues across the aisle, if they had read the AINS [amendment in the nature of a substitute], they would know that this AINS actually funds law enforcement at $10 billion. So, your argument that this weakens police is just shallow," said Representative Craig. "You know, I'm sick and tired of allowing you to talk about this defund the police movement when not a single action in the Democratic Congress has sought to do just that. And, I'm going to tell you, you talk about crime rates across this country. If you're going to talk about violent crime being on the rise across the nation, maybe we should also look at Republican-run cities like Tulsa, Jacksonville and Fresno."

During the markup, Ranking Member Cathy McMorris Rodgers also incorrectly asserted that Savage, Minnesota – a city in Minnesota's Second Congressional District – was "soon voting on a measure to completely eliminate their police department," inaccurately citing a Wall Street Journal articleabout a ballot initiative in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Craig later responded to McMorris Rodgers' claims, informing the Ranking Member that the article in question simply had a dateline in Savage, where no such effort to eliminate or defund law enforcement exists – and which Craig described as "a beautiful town with a great police department."

A full video of Representative Craig's remarks is available here.

A full transcript of Representative Craig's remarks is copied below.

"Mr. Chairman, I just felt compelled to speak out because this is not an amendment that actually seeks to do anything. My colleagues across the aisle, if they had read the AINS [amendment in the nature of a substitute], they would know that this AINS actually funds law enforcement at $10 billion. So, your argument that this weakens police is just shallow.

You know, I'm sick and tired of allowing you to talk about this defund the police movement when not a single action in the Democratic Congress has sought to do just that. And, I'm going to tell you, you talk about crime rates across this country. If you're going to talk about violent crime being on the rise across the nation, maybe we should also look at Republican-run cities like Tulsa, Jacksonville and Fresno.And in cities that have increased police spending over the last year like Houston and Nashville.

My colleagues, we are in the middle of the largest public health crisis in our lifetimes. We are in the middle of a gun violence epidemic in our country. We are in the middle of a mental health challenge in our country. We are in the middle of extreme poverty and people being laid off as a result of a public health crisis. So, I need my Republican colleagues to read the damn AINS. And I need each of you to stop spinning this for political purposes to Democrats. Because I refuse to sit here and take it anymore."

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"I don't represent the City of Minneapolis. I represent a Southeastern Minnesota Congressional District that starts about 20 minutes from the City of Minneapolis. I just want to go back to a couple of points that have been made by my colleagues. The first is: what happened in Minneapolis last summer – many of us Democrats in the state of Minnesota spoke out against the violence and the looting. But what happened in Minnesota happened because Derek Chauvin put his knee on George Floyd's throat and murdered him. And we all watched it. So please don't come here and tell me that what happened in Minnesota happened because of the defund the police movement. There is no movement, it is a fraction. You all get so upset when we talk about QAnon. We talk and compare you to your colleagues who support and stand next to QAnon supporters. And yet, you do exactly what you're doing today.

I want to read you a quote and, Mr. Chairman, this was entered into the record. But I'm quoted in this Wall Street Journal article that Miss McMorris-Rodgers has been referencing here today. And, by the way, the city of Savage is in my Congressional District. The reporter from the Wall Street Journal was here getting reaction to something that was happening in Minneapolis from my district. So Savage is a dateline. Savage has nothing to do with any of what you've talking about here today. My quote in this Wall Street Journal article says ‘My friend and colleague Tom Emmer knows that it's complete bullshit that I've ever supported the defund the police movement. And yet he leads the National Republican Campaign Committee, and not only will they try to stick that to me, but they will try to stick that with every other swing district Democrat across this country.' My colleagues, this amendment is nothing but a part of that effort.

We are here today, a Democratic majority in Congress – the majority on Energy and Commerce – to pass a bill that will fund 911 and law enforcement at $10 billion. Any of my Republican colleagues here tonight who vote against this AINS are voting against funding law enforcement in our country. It is a sad day, quite frankly, when we think of these serious problems that my Republican colleagues see as a political opportunity to be exploited for votes. Rather than sitting down and having a difficult conversation and doing the hard work of figuring out how we support law enforcement – and how we support justice in policing across our country."