The House approved the bill, titled Invest to Protect Act, by a vote of 360-64. Rep. Josh Gottheimer (DN.J.) sponsored the measure. All nine Democrats who voted against the bill are members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus: Reps. Ayanna Pressley (Mass.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), Cori Bush (Mo.), Jamaal Bowman (N.Y.), Mark Pocan (Wis. ), Andy Levin (Ill.), Maxine Waters (Calif.) and Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.). A total of 153 Republicans supported the bill, while 55 voted “no.” House Republican leadership did not whip up any of the four policing and public safety measures introduced on the floor Thursday. The measure seeks to give federal grants to law enforcement agencies with fewer than 125 officers that could go toward buying body cameras, providing de-escalation training and boosting recruitment and retention, among other uses. Bush, a freshman congresswoman, signaled her opposition to Gottheimer’s bill Thursday morning: Her spokesman released a statement outlining the congresswoman’s concerns about the lack of “accountability measures” in the legislation. That opposition, along with concerns from other members of the progressive “Team,” put passage of the bill and other policing and public safety measures in jeopardy and delayed the debate by about three hours. Bush, Ocasio-Cortez, Tlieb and Bowman voted against the rule to begin debate on the law enforcement package, and Presley voted “present.” After the procedural vote, Bush raised concerns about the lack of accountability measures in Gottheimer’s bill, arguing that the legislation is full of “uncontrolled, unchecked money.” “Where is the responsibility of the police? Do you know when this happens? When does this come into play? When is priority given?’ he asked reporters on Capitol Hill. Asked what accountability measures he hoped to see, Bush said “key provisions” from the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act — which passed the House last year but has since languished in the Senate — could have been included. Ocasio-Cortez, also a member of the progressive “Team,” questioned the data-tracking process by which the Gottheimer bill was brought to the floor for a vote. The measure did not pass committee, as is customary for a standing order. “I have not heard an explanation as to why these two bills are not properly brought to the floor on their own merits. And why should they be packaged with a bill, the final version of which no one saw before yesterday, which was not introduced in the committee, was not discussed, why are we doing this?” he asked the reporters. “And why are some people allowed to completely subvert our democratic processes internally, and why are some of us held to somewhat higher standards than others?” she added. The House on Thursday also approved three other measures related to policing and community safety. All voting Democrats supported these measures. Some Republicans, however, voted cross-party on those bills. Three Republicans voted in favor of the Mental Health Fairness Act — sponsored by Rep. Katie Porter (Calif.) — which seeks to provide funds to train and commission mental health professionals to help in situations involving people with special behavioral needs . instead of deploying a law enforcement official to respond. GOP Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.), Jaime Herrera Beutler (Wash.) and Michelle Steel (Calif.) sponsored the bill. Alex Jones: ‘I’m done saying sorry’ for false Sandy Hook hoax claims NotedDC: Fundraising — and spending — goes a long way Fitzpatrick was the only Republican to vote in favor of the Break the Cycle of Violence Act, sponsored by Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.), which seeks to provide grants for coordinated community violence projects in locations that have a disproportionate number of homicides and community violence. The fourth bill, titled the Victims Act and sponsored by Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.), passed with broad bipartisan support: All Democrats present and 30 Republicans voted yes. The measure would direct the Justice Department to establish a grant program to boost the use of technology by local investigators to tackle cold cases, especially those involving gun violence.
