The Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Emergency Amendment Act has become a focal point for a dispute between the Biden administration and the Republican Party.
Filed in the nation’s capital, the piece of legislation in question would to ban the use of chokeholds, limit the use of tear gas during protests and require body camera footage from police shootings to be released within five days. The bill has seemingly been put into action over the last three years, but decisions regarding policing in the nation’s capital are often subject to intervention from the federal government. The D.C. Police Union and members of the Republican Party have pushed back against the bill. Most notably, Rep. James Comer of Kentucky said that “progressive policies from the D.C. Council continue to hamstring district officers and needlessly place them in an unsafe situation.”
In the first quarter and change of 2023, Republican lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives have attempted to pass a resolution that would remove key elements of the Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Emergency Amendment Act. Within the last week, members of the Biden administration have publicly indicated that the President will veto H.J. Res. 42 if it passes through Congress.
“The President believes we have an obligation to make sure all our people are safe and that public safety depends on public trust. It is a core policy of this Administration to provide law enforcement the resources they need for effective, accountable community policing,” a recent statement from the nation’s capital reads.
“While President Biden does not support every provision of the Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022, he will not support congressional Republicans’ efforts to overturn commonsense police reforms such as: banning chokeholds; limiting use of force and deadly force; improving access to body-worn camera recordings; and requiring officer training on de-escalation and use of force.”
