The deal is the result of months between centrist Democrats and the left wing of the caucus. Some Democrats had called for passage of the package ahead of the midterm elections as a counter to GOP attacks on Democrats as anti-police. Moderate and vulnerable swing district Democrats have argued that the “police defunding” language has led the party to lose a staggering number of House seats in the 2020 election. Those involved in the negotiations credited the Congressional Black Caucus, particularly Speaker Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (DN.Y.), for coordinating negotiations between centrist and liberal lawmakers over the summer. The Liberals joined CBC members in initially opposing a vote on any police funding bill that did not include accountability provisions when leaders tried to push the package through in the summer. “There is no perfect bill and there is no perfect answer,” Beatty said of the compromise. “All of my members won’t necessarily celebrate or honor it, but we’ll keep working.” Leadership had intended to pass a more robust public safety package in July, tying it to legislation that would ban assault weapons. But members of the black and progressive caucuses disputed that, arguing that any police funding bill should also have language that addresses police accountability. Beatty, Rep. Josh Gottheimer (DN.J.), Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) and the leaders eventually reached an agreement to add specific details to the moderates’ proposals, but members of the Progressive Caucus and the groups civil rights groups successfully lobbied to separate the assault weapons ban from the public safety package. The episode has become the latest headache for Democratic leaders as they try to placate factions within their caucus that represent different constituencies. It has remained a struggle that has at times defined the caucus this term as members work to overcome last-minute differences in an effort to salvage legislative priorities. House Democrats left for recess in August promising to return to pass public safety priorities, adding another victory to their messaging arsenal ahead of November. But according to several members and aides who support police funding, members were in no rush to pass the package for fear that doing so would expose deep divisions within the caucus at a time when Democrats were finally seeing a return to voter enthusiasm after the Supreme Court. overturned Roe v. Wade during the summer. Party leaders, the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus and moderate and liberal lawmakers, including CPC Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), reached an agreement Wednesday hours after the start of final negotiations with a view to a vote before the House adjourns next week for the pre-midterm campaign. The groups were able to strike a deal with Gottheimer to fund police departments with 125 or fewer officers and funnel some money to officer training, community safety and police accountability. The money cannot be used to make new hires, but can also be used for signing bonuses mental health efforts. “It’s critical to policing that we have law enforcement’s back, because every day they have ours,” Gottheimer said. Democrats will vote too legislation proposed by Reps. Katie Porter (D-Calif.), Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) and Val Demings (D-Fla.) that prioritizes sending unarmed first responders to situations involving people experiencing a mental health crisis . provides federal grants for violence intervention and prevention communities; and offers assistance to law enforcement in solving gun crimes and supporting shooting victims. But even if the House passes legislation along party lines, it’s not a priority for an evenly divided Senate. It is unlikely that 10 Republicans will join with Democrats to overcome the Senate filibuster. To be sure, it was difficult for House Democrats to get to this point. Negotiators decided to withdraw a bipartisan bill proposed by Spanberger and Rep. Tom Rice (R.C.) package since no agreement was reached on police accountability after lawmakers had proposed doubling funding for a Justice Department grant to local police departments. Spanberger said the accountability measures were difficult to include in her proposal because it is a long-standing program rather than a new one that can be more easily formed, like the Gottheimer bill for small police departments. Another proposal by Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) that would have given the Justice Department $50 million for marketing campaigns to help recruit police officers nationwide was also removed. Leadership plans to hold a vote on the public safety package Thursday, but Democratic caucuses acknowledged Wednesday that it will still be a tough vote for many who believe more needs to be done either to provide accountability or help with enforcement. law. “I cannot guarantee that the entire caucus will (support it),” Jayapal said. With the impasse largely resolved, Democrats are poised to pass bills before their October recess, a victory for moderates seeking to counter the narrative that their party is against law enforcement. But many Black and liberal lawmakers remain hopeful that future Congresses can advance more accountability measures. “Yes, it’s a mid-year election. But more importantly than that, we need accountability and we need to do this to keep our communities safer,” Beatty said. “Remember, people over politics.”
