Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Grace Meng (6th District of New York)
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY), Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies, announced the introduction of the Uniform Standards for Federal Law Enforcement Act, a bill that would place into law a clear use of force policy for federal law enforcement.
This legislation would codify the Justice Department’s own Deadly Force policy, found in the Department’s Policy on Use of Force which was updated in May 2022 and adopted by law enforcement agencies across the federal government. This bill would set equally high standards and ensure accountability for federal law enforcement officers, including immigration officers, any time they used force that led to the loss of human life.
“Department of Homeland Security agents are terrorizing schools and small businesses, racially profiling people, tearing children from their parents, and killing Americans. Congress cannot allow them to continue to operate this way without real oversight or accountability, and Democrats have come to the table with proposals that both safeguard everyone’s constitutional rights and protect public safety,” said Congresswoman Meng. “The tragic shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, along with the lack of transparency and dishonesty from both DHS and DOJ, have shown that politically motivated agency leaders cannot be trusted and that Congress must set clear guardrails. As the top Democrat of the Appropriations Subcommittee that funds the Department of Justice, the bill I am introducing supports these reasonable proposals by turning the DOJ’s existing deadly force policy into law. This should not be controversial. I am prepared to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to ensure that this commonsense reform becomes law.”
This legislation would help address use-of-force standards that House and Senate Democratic Leaders Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer highlighted in their letter to Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, which outlined Democrats’ demands in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill currently under negotiation.
The House Appropriation Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and related agencies oversees funding for several federal agencies, including the Department of Justice.
A copy can be viewed here.