周四众议院民主党人设法取得了又一次重大的立法胜利在中期选举之前，批准延误已久的包裹治安和公共安全的变化。
经过激烈的谈判，温和进步的民主党人周三敲定了一项协议，这是众议院进入休会前的最后几个工作日之一，休会将持续到11月的竞选结束。
这一新的一揽子法案将为全国警察部门的招募和培训提供资金，并包括关于警察问责制的新措辞。
在一些进步的民主党人反对该协议的条款后，众议院周四以微弱优势通过了一项程序性投票。马萨诸塞州民主党众议员艾安娜·普雷斯利。，投了“出席”票，这样她的投票就不会在计划中的行动中对民主党不利，这导致了216-215-1的投票。
该方案的主要谈判者之一、民主党众议员伊尔汉·奥马尔(Ilhan Omar)告诉记者，他们必须在最后一刻对其中一项立法进行一些更新。
奥马尔说，“有很多过程，必须参与的对话。”。“但我们最终有望成功。我真的为每个人感到骄傲，他们投入了如此多的精力来确保我们的同事能够通过他们的立法。”
周四下午晚些时候，这四项法案以稍大的优势获得通过。这个方案现在已经提交到参议院，在那里它的命运还不明朗。
为了解决心理健康危机，加州众议员凯蒂·波特(Katie Porter)提出的一项法案将为各部门建立一个拨款计划，以雇用和派遣心理健康专业人员，而不是执法人员，以应对有行为健康需求的个人。
该方案还包括内华达州众议员史蒂文·霍斯福德(Steven Horsford)的一项法案，该法案将指导司法部为当地机构建立一个拨款项目，以雇用侦探和受害者服务人员调查枪击事件。
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer speaks during a press conference on September 21, 2022 in Washington, DC.
塞缪尔·科勒姆/盖蒂图片社
这项立法的目标是为少于200名警官的较小的警察部门提供资金;使DOJ能够优先考虑使用官员培训基金来改善社区安全和问责制的申请人;并允许资金不仅用于支付警官工资和培训，还用于收集有关警察和社区安全的数据。
进步人士表示，他们特别担心向警察部门提供更多拨款和资金，而不包括对警察行为问责的要求。
温和派长期以来坚持提出公共安全法案，作为回击共和党指责民主党犯罪上升的一种方式。民意调查显示一些关键的参议院竞选日益激烈共和党候选人在这个问题上向对手施压——经常引用倡导者的“解除警察”口号，尽管民主党领导人拒绝这样的信息。
虽然共和党人试图将民主党人描绘成对犯罪软弱，但总统乔·拜登(Joe Biden)抨击共和党成员在上个月联邦调查局(FBI)搜查前总统唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)的住所后谴责联邦执法机构，并对2021年1月6日袭击国会大厦的人表示支持。
拜登和民主党人在2020年推动了更广泛的警务改革，包括改变起诉警察不当行为和有条件豁免的标准。在乔治·弗洛伊德被谋杀后明尼阿波利斯的一名警官。
但是参议院民主党人最终未能克服共和党的反对一项以弗洛伊德命名的法案。相反，拜登签署了两份较小的行政命令今年早些时候，在弗洛伊德逝世两周年之际。
奥马尔代表明尼苏达州弗洛伊德被杀的地区，她是正在进行的警察改革努力的最严厉的批评者之一，但在周三给了她批准。
她说，这个方案是“以证据为基础的整体立法，解决公共安全问题，并统一民主党核心小组。”
“经过重要的、深思熟虑的谈判，我们很高兴地宣布...该法案将包括一系列改革，以确保资金用于支持较小的警察部门，投资于降级和其他重要的培训，以及数据收集和心理健康，”奥马尔和国会进步党团主席普拉米拉·贾亚帕尔说。，在一份联合声明中说。
House Democrats notch legislative victory on policing before the midterms
House Democrats on Thursdaymanaged to chalk up another major legislative winbefore the midterm elections, approvinga long-delayed packageof changes to policing and public safety.
Moderate and progressive Democrats hammered out a deal on Wednesday after frenetic negotiations -- and on one of the House's last working days before entering a recess that will stretch past the November races.
This new package of bills would fund recruitment and training for police departments across the country and includes new language on police accountability.
The House narrowly cleared a procedural vote on Thursday after a standstill on the floor after some progressive Democrats objected to terms of the deal. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., voted "present" so her vote wouldn't count against Democrats in a planned move, which resulted in a 216-215-1 vote.
Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, one of of the key negotiators of the package, told reporters they had to make some last-minute updates to one of the pieces of legislation.
"There's a lot of process, conversations that had to be had to be engaged in," Omar said. "But we were ultimately hopefully successful. And I'm really proud of everyone for devoting as much energy to making sure our colleagues are able to pass their legislation."
The four bills passed by slightly wider margins later Thursday afternoon. The package now heads to the Senate, where its fate is unclear.
To address mental health crises, one of the bills, sponsored by California Rep. Katie Porter, would create a grant program for departments to hire and dispatch mental health professionals -- not law enforcement officers -- in instances involving individuals with behavioral health needs.
The package also includes a bill from Nevada Rep. Steven Horsford that would direct the Justice Department to establish a grant program for local agencies to hire detectives and victim services personnel to investigate shootings.
The legislation targets funding to smaller police departments with fewer than 200 officers; gives the DOJ the ability to preference applicants that use the funds for officer training to improve community safety and accountability; and allows the funding to not only go to officer pay and training but also be used for data collection regarding police and community safety.
Progressives have said they were particularly concerned about providing more grants and funds to police departments without including requirements on accountability for officers' actions.
Moderates have long insisted on bringing forth public safety bills as a way to fire back at Republican attacks that blame Democrats for rising crime. Polls showsome key Senate races tightening, with GOP candidates pressing their opponents on the issue -- often citing advocates' "defund the police" slogan, despite Democratic leaders rejecting such messages.
While Republicans seek to paint Democrats as soft on crime, President Joe Biden has slammed members of the GOP both for denouncing federal law enforcement after an FBI search of former President Donald Trump's residence last month and for expressing support for those who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Biden and Democrats pushed in the 2020 cycle for broader policing reform, including changes to the standard to prosecute police misconduct and qualified immunity,after the murder of George Floydby a police officer in Minneapolis.
But Senate Democratsultimately failed to overcome Republican oppositionto a major piece of legislation named after Floyd. Instead, Bidensigned two smaller executive orderson policing earlier this year, on the second anniversary of Floyd's death.
Omar, who represents the district in Minnesota where Floyd was killed, was one of the harshest critics of the ongoing police reform efforts but gave her approval on Wednesday.
The package, she said, is "evidence-based, holistic legislation that addresses public safety and unifies the Democratic Caucus."
"After significant, deliberate negotiations, we are pleased to share that ... the bill will include a number of reforms to ensure funds are used to support smaller police departments, to invest in de-escalation and other important training, and for data collection and mental health," Omar and Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said in a joint statement.
