Getting Results for Local Departments

A few years ago, the Stearns County Sheriff’s office informed me that they had been working on submitting an application for the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) Program, which is funded by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). This program coordinates and assists federal, state, local, territorial, and Tribal law enforcement agencies to address regional drug threats and reduce illicit drug production and drug trafficking in the United States.

In order to qualify for a HIDTA designation, an area must be a significant center for drug trafficking, have committed resources to address the  problem (proving determination to solve it), be experiencing harmful impact from drug-related activities, and require a significant increase in federal resources in order to adequately respond.

I knew that getting Stearns County these resources could help crack down on the spread of drugs, not only there, but throughout western Minnesota. That’s  why I joined in a bipartisan effort that included Representative Tom Emmer and Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith to urge the Office of National Drug Control Policy to approve Stearns County’s application. It took several efforts, including multiple letters from myself and the other legislators, but thanks to the continued efforts of everyone involved Stearns County was recently approved to be included in the HIDTA program.

Now, their law enforcement officers will receive federal resources such as federal analysis and intelligence sharing, along with federal training for drug enforcement. These additional resources are key to seizing illicit drugs, preventing and reducing crimes associated with drug trafficking, and improving their ability to dismantle the illegal operations funding the drug industry. In 2022, HIDTA initiatives removed 3,931,492 kilograms of drugs from the marketplace, and I am confident the resources provided by the program will help Stearns County and greater Minnesota.

If you want to learn more about HIDTA, click here.

Keeping Violent Offenders Off Our Streets

We don't have to look any further than Minneapolis to see how the far-Left Democrats’ soft-on-crime agenda, failed bail reform, and defund the police movement have resulted in a surge of violent crime across the country. After the Minneapolis riots in 2020, Kamala Harris encouraged her supporters around the country to donate to the Minnesota Freedom Fund (MFF) which provides indiscriminate bail for any type of offenders, whether they were violent or not. Shortly after this promotion, the MFF raised nearly $35 million dollars. While the City of Minneapolis, including the 3rd Police Precinct, was still smoldering in ashes, MFF funding was being used to put some of those connected to these riots back on the streets. In the following years, the MFF would go on to use their funds to bail out multiple individuals who went on to commit murders and domestic assaults while out on bail.

Failed bail “reform” policies have led to rearrests, and failures to appear in court are rampant. The Left is making life easier for criminals and harder for the law enforcement officers working to protect our community.

I am proud to say that the House passed the Keeping Violent Offenders Off Our Streets Act to roll back this agenda. It addresses the loophole that violent offenders are using as get-out-of-jail-free cards and gives law enforcement the tools they need to prevent repeat offenders from endangering our communities. 

The legislation requires states to regulate charitable funds (like the MFF), which are mostly unregulated even though they've brought in around $100 million across the nation. It also prohibits defendants from being released on a $0 bail and requires U.S. judges be give a complete criminal history profile of defendants prior to bail being set. It's amazing something this logical isn't already in place.

Click here to watch my full remarks on this bill and the impact "bail reform" had on Minnesota in the aftermath of criminals burning down Minneapolis.

Updating Legislation to Protect Officers and Civilians

Technology advances in self-defense and de-escalation equipment have allowed law enforcement to protect themselves and civilians more effectively for decades. That is partly because it uses a small amount of explosives to fire the probes. However, some of these devices use a small amount of explosives to deploy, classifying them as a "firearm" under the Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA). 

This classification makes procurement of these devices difficult, even though they have become a crucial component of law enforcement equipment. Additionally, because the use of any firearm is considered "deadly force" in many states, this definition leads to the misclassification of an officer's use of force when using the less-than-lethal option. As technology advances, especially when it helps keep officers and civilians safe, federal policy and regulation needs to be updated.

The Ways and Means Committee has marked up legislation that modernizes the GCA by excluding “less-than-lethal projectile devices” from its definition of the term “firearm." The bipartisan Law Enforcement Innovate to De-Escalate Act would constitute a weapon that is not designed to propel a projectile at speeds above 500 feet per second (FPS). I voted in favor of this legislation during the committee markup.

I am also proud to say I cosponsored this legislation to make it easier for our law enforcement to procure and deploy the best equipment available in order to carry our their missions, and I look forward to this legislation coming to the floor for a vote.

Defending Law Enforcement on the Floor

As with failed bail reform and soft-on-crime policies, Minnesotans know what becomes of places that limit their cooperation with law enforcement and become so-called “sanctuary cities.” They become hotbeds of dangerous crime and depleted local resources, and they are a sanctuary to no one. Cities that willingly endanger members of their own community in such a way should be ashamed. And they certainly should not be able to receive bailouts from the federal government for a disaster they openly invited. 

I proudly stood in support of the No Bailouts for Sanctuary Cities Act on the House floor. This bill prohibits funds to any sanctuary state or sanctuary city if those funds are being used to benefit illegal immigrants.  

At a time when local law enforcement needs our support more than ever, I want to be clear that this legislation supports their efforts. They are the ones who have been doing the very best they can to protect their communities in the face of cities that continue to make their work harder and more dangerous. I will always support legislation that supports our officers, and I am proud to say this legislation passed in the House this week.

You can watch my remarks during the Rules debate on the House floor here.

Thank you for reading!

fischbach.house.gov

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