Posted on 09/07/2014 1:27:48 PM PDT by jazusamo
When Congress returns to Washington this week from their long summer recess, lawmakers will waste little time weighing a legislative response to last month's turmoil in Ferguson, Mo.
The violent stand-offs that followed the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager by a white police officer set off a firestorm of congressional criticism over the police response to public protest. Although the saga has largely faded from the headlines, a number of lawmakers will resuscitate it in coming days in order to highlight various proposals designed to prevent another similar incident.
Senate Democrats will hold a hearing Tuesday to examine the "militarization" of police departments; a House Democrat will introduce legislation to rein in a federal program providing military equipment to local law enforcers; a leading Senate Republican is mulling his own legislative approach to the police crack-down in Ferguson; and members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) plan to use the high-profile event to promote existing bills addressing a range of race-based issues, including police brutality, profiling, youth development and criminal justice reform. Legislation on such thorny issues has little chance of moving through a highly-polarized Congress, especially given September’s short legislative calendar and the political hurdles posed by the looming midterm elections. But that's not stopping the loudest critics of the police activity in Ferguson, who are hoping the chaos and publicity surrounding the tragic episode marks a watershed moment in how law enforcement is conducted across the country.
"This kind of response by the police has become the problem instead of the solution," Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), head of the Homeland Security Committee's sub-panel on finances, said last month. "Today is going to be a new start, we can and need to do better."
McCaskill's subcommittee will hold a hearing Tuesday to examine the Pentagon's 1033 program, which arms local police with surplus military equipment.
Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), meanwhile, is leading the charge in the House. The CBC member is poised to introduce legislation scaling back the 1033 program by banning the transfer of specific military grade equipment – including grenade launchers, acoustic cannons and certain armored vehicles – from the Defense Department (DOD) to local police precincts. The bill would also establish new reporting requirements designed to ensure that transferred equipment isn't lost, stolen or misallocated.
Johnson spokeswoman Carole Mumford said Friday that the bill is likely to be introduced the week of Sept. 16th. She said it has bipartisan support, but declined to name co-sponsors.
"This is a bipartisan bill and we expect to have strong support from both sides of the aisle," Mumford said in an email.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), another fierce critic of the police response in Ferguson, is also mulling legislation to address the issue, his office said Friday. A spokesman said Paul first wants to sit down with staff upon his return to Washington "to see which direction he wants to go."
Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and Carl Levin (D-Mich.), chairman of the Armed Services Committee, have also questioned the 1033 program in the wake of Ferguson.
Levin has written letters to both Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder asking for a review, a spokeswoman said Friday, but has no plans to stage a hearing in his panel – yet.
"We will await the outcome of these reviews before deciding on any specific legislation," spokeswoman Kathleen Long said in an email.
Leahy's office did not respond to a request for comment.
Across the Capitol, CBC leaders – among the sharpest critics of the events surrounding Ferguson – are hoping to use the tragedy to highlight a slew of related bills they've introduced throughout the year. The lawmakers are pushing proposals to combat racial profiling, overhaul the criminal justice system, tighten the nation's gun laws and establish mentoring programs designed to keep kids out of trouble.
Behind Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, the Democrats have called on Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) to hold hearings on the excessive use of police force when Congress returns.
Goodlatte, however, doesn't share their urgency. The Virginia Republican has said he's awaiting the results of several ongoing investigations into the Ferguson saga before deciding if Congress has a role to play in response – a position that remained unchanged as of Friday, a spokeswoman said.
Why is it that with Progressives, the motto is “forward!” but when it comes to racialism, they can not resist picking at every scab that ever happened in the past?
It is clear to me that the “Crips” need to be on the terrorists list and hunted down with obama’s drones.
FTA;
“The lawmakers are pushing proposals to combat racial profiling, overhaul the criminal justice system, tighten the nation’s gun laws and establish mentoring programs designed to keep kids out of trouble.”
And how, dear terrorist and criminal enablers, will further enabling wannabe murderers and terrorists and stealing defensive firearms from law-abiding people, do anything other than enable more murder and terrorism by “Holder’s people”?
The violent stand-offs that followed the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager THAT ATTACKED AN ARMED white police officer
THERE FIXED IT...........
I am soooo sick of this
"It's time to do something, even if it's wrong!"
They’re already asking for millions of dollars to rebuild.
Senate Democrats will hold a hearing Tuesday to examine the “militarization” of police department
What? They did not notice this for the past 40 years? This began when the Vietnam War ended.
A national policy for shooting looters might make sense.
But it is not a Federal issue.
Who, exactly, is asking for the millions to rebuild? I remember reading something about it, but cannot recall who came up with this latest get-rich scheme.
BTTT!
The Looters are the ones asking for rebuilding money.
So the stores can restocked and looted again.
The Democrats dealing from the deck stacked with race cards again.
Interesting that all the kerfuffle over hearings and new laws addressing this supposed racialism and military-grade equipment is coming from Democrats...except Rand Paul, LOL!!
"The lonely, only Republican who's conscientious regarding racial issues and problems"? I think not.
With all these investigations going on, including the latest one from the Holder Department, it's wisest to see what the facts turn out to be, as Goodlatte seems to be doing.
But of course, that doesn't keep your name or your gripe in the headlines.
They’d be better off investigating why the black unemployment rate is around 12%. Ooops that would be racist.
“various proposals designed to prevent another similar incident.”
How about a law disarming all police officers and another law that provides funding for for free “gun stamps” for gang-banger wannabees that are too poor to properly arm themselves? That would definitely prevent similar incidents in the future, right?
(Oh, and don’t anyone bother busting my chops for giving the Democrats any ideas. I’ve already let the cat out of the bag as you can well see!)
Why is it I keep getting the impression that Rand is setting up to be the next Bernie Sanders?
You can be sure that whatever they do it will be WRONG!
Grandstanding scum, by and large.
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