Florida Parish News

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) joined Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain (R-Mich.), and Congressman Tom Barrett (R-Mich.) in Washington, D.C., to address ongoing efforts by House Republicans to address crime in American cities and bolster national defense.

During the event, Scalise discussed legislation being considered by the House Oversight Committee aimed at reversing what he described as "soft-on-crime" policies in Washington, D.C. He also spoke about the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which is scheduled for debate on the House floor this week.

“This is another busy week in the Republican Majority House, where we're going to continue to do the people's work. It's so important that we get the National Defense Authorization Act passed, where we come together and debate the priorities of our nation's defense. And if you look at this bill, and I think [Whip] Tom [Emmer] did a great job of talking about some of those important reforms that are in the bill, some of the important priorities, we're giving a pay raise to our troops, our men and women in uniform, to continue to address something that Chairman Rogers has been focused on for a long time, and that is to increase morale and to focus on making sure we're taking care of our men and women who take care and defend our freedoms here and abroad.

“We're going to continue to allow President Trump to have the tools that he needs to show peace through strength around the globe as he's doing. The only reason he's been able to get so many peace accords with other countries is because he has the military might to back it up. You don't ever want to have to use it, but if you don't have it, the bad guys around the world see that weakness, and they've exploited it in the past. When we've had weak leaders, like we did with the previous administration, the bad guys around the world took advantage of that. It doesn't just hurt America. It hurts our friends and our allies all around the world. So it's critical that we refocus our military on its main mission. And part of that refocusing means getting rid of a lot of the wokeness in the military that used to be there. And this bill continues to advance those efforts.”

Scalise outlined actions being taken by House Republicans against certain local ordinances in Washington D.C., stating: “Something else you're going to see here in the House tomorrow, the Oversight Committee is going to be taking up all the DC crime bills. We've talked about this in the past. You've seen it. You can walk around the city, and it's actually safer today because of President Trump's action, bringing in National Guard troops. But we've seen and identified many flaws with DC ordinances. When people complain about the revolving door of crime, why is it that some young kid can come and commit a carjacking at gunpoint and walk free the next day? It's because that's what the ordinances in DC allow. They actually allow soft-on-crime measures, so we're reversing that.

“We're going to be bringing bills through committee tomorrow and ultimately to the House floor in the weeks ahead, where we will make DC safe again. We will get rid of all of these ridiculous laws and limitations on law enforcement. No cash bail. Right now, if you're under 25, you can be treated as a 14-year-old if you commit a violent crime. Crimes at gunpoint, you can walk free the next day if you're under 25 years old, which, by the way, are the ages of most of the violent criminals here in DC, and so you wonder why there's a revolving door. We, as House Republicans, are going to address it. I call on every Democrat to join with us and give up their defund-the-police soft-on-crime mantra. We'll see if they finally listen to what voters want from this country want; I'm not holding my breath."

He added: "Luckily we're going do it on our own if they're not going join with us but we're going show American people we're not sit idly by.”

Scalise also criticized Democratic governors' responses regarding public safety: “You see President Trump talking about making other cities safe... Those governors should be working with President Trump... If Governor Pritzker... could deploy National Guard himself... stop seven or eight murders every weekend if he cared about it... They want crime continue... try have both ways... President Trump tired game because he's tired watching people hurt... There's no reason for this violent crime wave... We're continue have President's back ... have American people's back ... Regardless party ... regardless city ... everybody deserves be safe ... Republicans continue push policies help put place.”

Steve Scalise currently represents Louisiana’s 1st district after succeeding Bobby Jindal in Congress since 2008 (https://scalise.house.gov/about/full-biography). He previously served both in Louisiana’s state legislature from 1996 until his election into Congress (https://bioguideretro.congress.gov/Home/MemberDetails?memIndex=S001176). Born in New Orleans in 1965—he now lives in Jefferson—and graduated from Louisiana State University.