Communications Office Of Sen. Douglas Butcher

[Butcher]

COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE OF SEN. DOUGLAS BUTCHER (R-TX)

PRESS RELEASES - PUBLIC APPEARANCES - PUBLISHED MEDIA

 

PRESS RELEASES

★ CLEAR Act: Senator Butcher Introduces Policing, Community Development Bill

PUBLIC APPEARANCES

 

PUBLISHED MEDIA

Edited Tuesday at 06:19 AM by Butcher

[Butcher]

PRESS OFFICE OF SENATOR DOUGLAS BUTCHER (R-TX)

CLEAR Act: Senator Butcher Introduces Policing, Community Development Bill

Washington - Sen. Douglas Butcher introduced the Community Law Enforcement And Redevelopment Act to the United States Senate. The CLEAR Act  would provide funding for law enforcement, increasing efforts to combat crime and supporting efforts like Weed And Seed. The bill would also invest in local businesses through the Community Development Financial Investments Fund and New Market Tax Credits. Senator Butcher spoke on the legislation:

“This legislation will invest in law enforcement and improve the efforts on community policing which are vital to addressing the rampant increase in crime which we have seen in recent years. As so many of our communities find crime on the rise, we need to support our law enforcement community in their efforts to turn back the tide of crime. For nearly 20 years, I was proud to wear a badge and stand a post in the efforts to create safer communities.

However, we also know that the elements of crime that affect our communities are often a reflection of economic situations where opportunity is in short supply. That is why this legislation will invest in programs like CDFI and New Market Tax Credits which can get small businesses up and running and serve those communities, creating jobs and stronger communities in the process.

In the past few years, we’ve seen this country go through changes. In a response to the tragedy of George Floyd, communities began a move to defund police departments. Liberal prosecutors began to let crime go unchecked, particularly in response to theft. The aftermath of failing to prosecute has left businesses taking measures we would never have thought we would see. Products are now locked up on shelves because they can’t trust that they will be secure. We’ve seen flash mobs of targeted theft. It is my hope that this legislation can send a clear message that we support law enforcement as well as the communities they serve.

We know that insane ideas have come to pass as supposed common sense in progressive circles. We’ve seen high-profile Democrats like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez advance ideas like prison abolition, releasing studies from a communist like Angela Davis as the blueprint for our future. To the prison abolition movement, the idea of prisons is rooted in slavery and what academics like Dorothy Roberts call ‘racial capitalism.’

While it is easy to spout off that spectacular level of bullshit to the bowels of academia or to the dilettantes in Che t-shirts, the idea of shutting down our prisons is an insult to every mugging victim, every rape victim, and every mother and father who had to bury their murdered child. There is a reason we support law enforcement and must continue to do so.

It is my belief that this bill will work to support those in local law enforcement who are on the front lines and working for those safer communities. Together, this Congress can pass this legislation send that message that we still value law and order in America.”