The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“General Leave” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Labor was published in the in the House section section on pages H8093-H8096 on Sept. 22.
The Department provides billions in unemployment insurance, which peaked around 2011 though spending had declined before the pandemic. Downsizing the Federal Government, a project aimed at lowering taxes and boosting federal efficiency, claimed the Department funds "ineffective and duplicative services" and overregulates the workplace.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
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General Leave
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 4118.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from New York?
There was no objection.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, our Nation is experiencing an epidemic of violence, particularly gun violence, that is ravaging communities large and small across the United States. Research shows that violence begets more violence. It is a vicious cycle.
H.R. 4118, the Break the Cycle of Violence Act, would provide grant funding for community violence intervention programs and youth workforce development programs to help prevent gun violence and other violent crimes, and to provide critical support services to people and communities who are in dire need of help.
In addition to saving countless lives, it would also save billions of dollars. It is estimated that gun violence costs this Nation a staggering $280 billion every single year.
This legislation would help establish evidence-based community violence intervention, or CVI programs, staffed by specialists with ties to their communities. These programs connect people at risk of committing violence, and those at risk of being victimized by violence, with intensive counseling and support services.
Because we know that access to job training, apprenticeship, and other workforce development programs are effective tools in reducing community violence, the bill would also support workforce development programs for youth in communities that are disproportionately impacted by violence.
Experience tells us that these programs work, reducing rates of homicide and other gun violence by as much as 50 percent. We must invest in these remarkably effective programs so that we can finally break the cycle of violence, which has shattered so many communities.
Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Steve Horsford for introducing this important legislation.
I urge my colleagues to join me in support of this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. JORDAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Gaetz), my friend and colleague, a member of the Judiciary Committee.
Mr. GAETZ. Mr. Speaker, it is head-spinning that House Democrats either want to defund the police, as Judiciary member Cori Bush does, or they want to Federalize the police, as Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler does. I am against both, here is why.
In my community, the voters in one of the reddest counties in Florida voted to raise their own taxes to fund school resource officers. Protecting our schools was that important, and we understood that that was the responsibility of our community.
Now, as places like Detroit, Chicago, almost every major metropolitan area in California, defund their police as some virtue signal, as some way to sacrifice the safety of their constituents on the altar of wokeism, now they want my Florida constituents to subsidize the bad decisions that they make at the State and local level, both constitutionally and practically.
The police power is not a power of the Federal Government, it is a power of our State and local governments. When we excessively entangle ourselves in that, we do to law enforcement what we shamefully did to education.
In our schools all across this land there was innovation, creativity, school projects, different ways to learn. Then the Republicans and Democrats joined with President Bush in passing the No Child Left Behind Act, and we got Common Core, in this theory that we had to have every kid on the same page, in the same book, on the same day, and we lost what was so special about it. We don't want to do that now to law enforcement. You see, this entire package of legislation today is intended to do just that.
They don't want to fund the police. They want to edict the police to the Federal dollar. That comes with a more efficient way to ensure centralized decisionmaking, not the localized decisionmaking that our Constitution promises, and that has offered great promise to this country for generations.
Do not buy this theory that this legislation is intended to help law enforcement. The best thing we could do for law enforcement is get out of their way, have their back, and call out the politicians like those in Congress who keep trying to defund the police and devalue the commitment they make to our communities.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I didn't know that the Federal Government funding police was against the Republican Party position.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Horsford), the sponsor of this legislation.
Mr. HORSFORD. Mr. Speaker, today, we have the opportunity to pass landmark legislation to make our communities across America safe, to reduce crime and save lives.
I am elated that the legislation I authored, the Break the Cycle of Violence Act, is receiving a floor vote today and will pass.
I give special thanks to my colleagues, Representatives Robin Kelly, Lucy McBath, Lisa Blunt Rochester, and Joe Neguse for working around the clock with me on this legislation, and Chairwoman Beatty for her strong leadership.
Crime and violence don't happen in a vacuum. It happens when people lose hope and don't see opportunity in their lives or readily available in their communities. For decades, politicians in this Chamber have stoked fear about urban crime to divide us, while refusing to invest in real solutions.
Let me be clear, my father was shot and killed when I was a teenager. So this is not about politics for me; it is personal. That is why we have to focus on preventing crime before it ever starts. That is what the Break the Cycle of Violence Act will do.
It invests $5 billion in funding for anti-violence programs and $1.5 billion to provide workforce training and job opportunities for youth ages 16 to 24. This money will invest in proven, community-based violence intervention programs to build safer communities. This is about saving lives and preventing crime, and our constituents are counting on us to get it done.
Mr. Speaker, I stand here today as I prepare to cast a vote in favor of the Break the Cycle of Violence Act, historic legislation that will reduce crime and save lives so that so many people in our community don't have to experience the pain that I have.
Every day, 110 Americans are killed with guns and over 200 are shot and wounded.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman from Nevada.
Mr. HORSFORD. Today, gun violence remains the leading cause of premature death for Black men as well as the number two cause of premature death for Latino men and Black women.
Mr. Speaker, I am casting my vote for my father; for my constituent, Sean'Jerrion Coleman, a youth leader in Las Vegas; and so many other Americans throughout the country.
Mr. Speaker, I thank Greg Jackson at Community Justice Action Fund; Pastor Troy Martinez in Las Vegas; Erica Ford; Giffords: Courage to Fight Gun Violence--some many other groups--Everytown for Gun Safety; Brady: United Against Gun Violence; and Moms Demand Action.
Let's pass H.R. 4118 and break the cycle of violence. This is about supporting and funding the communities that need law enforcement.
Mr. JORDAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Stauber).
Mr. STAUBER. Mr. Speaker, I find myself pretty upset today. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle are trying to deceive the American people. Democrats are only bringing up these bills today because 46 days from a midterm election they want the American people to suddenly and miraculously believe that they care about the crime crisis plaguing our Nation.
There were 219 Democrats who voted to defund the police and take away resources from law enforcement, including qualified immunity. There were 219 Democrats who voted for legislation that effectively destroyed the profession that I love so much. You can laugh, Mr. Chair, I wore the uniform of local law enforcement, and that smirk upsets me.
Make no mistake, Democrats are the reason recruitment, retention, and morale of law enforcement officers is at an all-time low and crime is at an all-time high. The timing of these bills is an insult to the law enforcement community and the American people.
To my Democrat colleagues: Where were you when the protesters came to my State of Minnesota and set up GoFundMe pages to raise money and bail out violent criminals who assaulted and beat innocent people?
Where were you when a Member of the California delegation came to Minnesota to stir up aggression and hatred toward my brothers and sisters in the blue and brown?
Where were you when officers were being violently assaulted and killed each day across this country?
Where were you when America's police officers and their families were begging for support and needed elected officials to have their backs? Where were you?
I will tell you where you were. They were here in this Chamber pushing police departments to be defunded. They wanted to defund, dismantle, and disarm the police.
Regardless of how I vote today, I have to tell you that I am furious that days before an election, and for political purposes only, these bills are being brought up by my colleagues. The American people have suffered enough, and at the end of the day the American people and our law enforcement community do not appreciate being used as pawns for political gain.
To the American people, I know the crime crisis you and your families are facing is very real. I will not stop my work to reinvigorate the law enforcement profession, to hold lax prosecutors accountable, and to put violent criminals away.
Mr. Speaker, my time in uniform may be over, but my watch will never end.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to direct their remarks to the Chair.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee), a member of the Judiciary Committee.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, if you could ever be fed up--I am fed up. Fed up, and fed up with the babbling that we are hearing from Republicans on the other side.
You know, the question should be: Where were you on January 6 when law enforcement were bleeding on the steps of the United States Capitol, passing out, and dying? Where were you? This is not a political circumstance. These are people who are standing here because Steve Horsford had a personal experience.
The Judiciary Committee has consistently supported intervention programs dealing with countering violence. This bill, Break the Cycle of Violence Act, is needed in America. Stand up with us, Republicans. A bill that takes a vital step toward reducing community violence and improving public safety by investing in people, their communities, and establish evidence-based programs proven to help reduce violence. Our law enforcement are begging for this.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from Texas.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, our Nation has a crisis of violence, particularly gun violence, and it is tearing at our communities.
I have a husband and a baby shot dead, the mother calling: Where is my husband and baby? The baby is found dead.
The cause of gun violence, $280 billion, $700 annually for every American, $488,000 for shootings dealing with medical and criminal expenses.
My brothers and sisters, where are we in standing for America and law enforcement and families and children?
Support H.R. 4118 so that we can divert children away from violence and move toward opportunities. I don't know what you are saying. I am fed up. Do something about it so that we can fight for justice in this country and stand for people who want to be safe in their community.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4118, the ``Break the Cycle of Violence Act,'' a bill that takes a vital step towards reducing community violence and improving public safety by investing in people, their communities, and established, evidence-based programs proven to help reduce violence.
Our nation has a crisis of violence, particularly gun violence, that is tearing our communities apart. Violent crime is not a blue or red state problem--it ravages large cities, small towns, and even rural communities. It causes unspeakable pain to its victims and their families--regardless of party affiliation.
The bill would provide $1.5 billion in workforce development grants for youth in communities that are disproportionately impacted by violence; and $5 billion in grants over 8 years for evidence-based, community violence intervention programs likely to succeed--to develop and support:
community outreach programs, staffed by violence intervention specialists with ties to their communities;
hospital-based violence intervention programs to provide intensive counseling, peer support, and social services;
group violence intervention strategies that provide culturally responsive support and services; and
violence interruption and crisis management initiatives that respond to and mediate potentially violent conflicts and provide support services where violence has already occurred.
While the human cost of gun violence is at times overwhelming, the economic costs for communities and taxpayers is also stunning. The total cost of gun violence is $280 billion--every year--with every American bearing $700 of the cost annually as well.
Because a single gun homicide costs taxpayers $448,000 in medical and criminal justice expenses and we know that community violence intervention programs have been shown to dramatically reduce rates of homicide and other gun violence by as much as 50 percent--and sometimes more--this bill will save lives and taxpayer dollars.
Many violence intervention programs work side-by-side with law enforcement to stop violence before it starts and engage in targeted enforcement actions. Trained violence interrupters and crisis management specialists do the same, while also providing trauma-
informed grief counseling.
We know these programs work. In communities across the country, from New Jersey to Nebraska, from Massachusetts to Missouri, community violence intervention programs have reduced incidences of homicide and other gun violence by as much as 50 percent, sometimes more.
Recognizing the critical role that education, training, and viable employment play in unlocking economic mobility, long-term stability, thereby preventing violence, H.R. 4118 would divert young people away from the circumstances that foster gun violence toward opportunities to gain useful skills to obtain good jobs that pay a living-wage.
If we are truly going to break the cycle of violence--we must acknowledge that violence is neither red nor blue--support programs that address the root causes of violence, and give aid to those who need it most--through the community members and leaders who know them best.
I commend Representative Steven Horsford for his work on this important bill and urge my colleagues to support it.
Mr. JORDAN. Mr. Speaker, I would say, if this bill was so important--
we have had over 20 markups in the Judiciary Committee--why didn't this bill come up? We have had markups in the last 2 days on one occasion, so I don't know why this bill didn't come up.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. JORDAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, this is about giving dollars to community organizers. This bill is most definitely--$5 billion goes to Health and Human Services, $1.5 billion goes to the Department of Labor, zero money goes to law enforcement.
In the last bill, they could at least make that case somewhat. This bill you can't. It doesn't give one penny to law enforcement. In fact, the legislation explicitly says it can't go to police officers and it can't go to police departments.
But what it does do is this: sets up an Office of Community Violence Intervention to administer programs or activities related to violence intervention; it sets up a Community Violence Intervention Advisory Committee; it sets up a National Community Violence Response Center. Three new bureaucracies in the Department of HHS. I mean, wow.
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This is all about taking money, taking American tax dollars from communities who did fund their police and setting up three new bureaucracies, $5 billion for community organizers.
If that is what you are for, vote for it, but I sure ain't. I know the folks I represent and, I would guess, most Americans aren't for that.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Jordan apparently isn't listening. This is a package of bills. The last bill, which he opposed, appropriated money for police. This bill complements it by appropriating money for antiviolence intervention.
Mr. Speaker, our communities have seen enough violence and bloodshed. The Break the Cycle of Violence Act gives us the opportunity to prevent violence before it starts and to provide critical support to our most impacted communities.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to join me in support of this crucial legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 1377, the previous question is ordered on the bill.
The question is on the engrossment and third reading of the bill.
The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, and was read the third time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on passage of the bill.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that the ayes appeared to have it.
Mr. JORDAN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this question will be postponed.
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