Dear Neighbor,

This is a time of reckoning for our country, as Americans from coast to coast cry out for justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery. We have a choice to make -- action or the status quo; progress or regression.  

I choose progress.

That starts with introspection and recognition of the privileges that benefit every white American -- myself included. And it starts with listening, genuinely and without defensiveness, to our neighbors of color who have not been truly heard for far too long. I am committed to making these efforts, and I hope you will join me. 

While this may feel like a singularly historic moment to many of us, it is anything but for the millions of Americans of color who do not have the luxury of experiencing racism in mere moments. And while these conversations about race may force many outside their comfort zones, we must recognize that we are dealing with a problem that by its nature robs people of color from having any comfort zone at all.

George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery are not the first victims of this American carnage.

Before them were Eric Harris, Anthony Hill, Oscar Grant, Aiyana Jones, DJ Henry, Rekia Boyd, Eric Garner, John Crawford, Michael Brown, Dontre Hamilton, Akai Gurley, Laquan McDonald, Tamir Rice, Antonio Zambrano-Montes, Lavall Hall, Freddie Gray, William Chapman, Sandra Bland, Sam Dubose, Jamar Clark, Mario Woods, Greg Gunn, Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, Korryn Gaines, Terence Crutcher, Keith Lamont Scott, Alfred Olango, Deborah Danner, Terrence Coleman, Jocques Clemmons, Walter Scott, Jordan Edwards, Charleena Lyles, Stephon Clark, Antwon Rose, Botham Jean, Atatiana Jefferson, Dreasjon Reed, Tony McDade, and countless others.

These are not isolated incidents, unfortunate accidents, or the result of a few “bad apples." Rather, they are each the direct result of the racism, violence, and systemic injustice that have infected our institutions for generations.

Young black men are three times more likely to die at the hands of police than their white peers, and police are twice as likely to use force against people of color than white people. There is simply no denying that Americans of color are being denied the protections and rights enshrined in the Constitution.

We are better than this, as my dear friend Chairman Elijah Cummings would have surely admonished us. We can put an end to this. We can take action. And we can put forth a robust agenda to provide to all Americans equal protection under the law and freedom from institutional discrimination. 

Congress should start by immediately passing Rep. Ayanna Pressley’s legislation, of which I am a proud original cosponsor, condemning police brutality, racial profiling, and the use of excessive and militarized force by law enforcement.

We can also take a stand right now by:

• Conducting strict oversight of law enforcement agencies, expanding the use of body cameras, and supporting investigations that hold officers and police departments accountable for police brutality, racial profiling, and violence;

• Reinstating the Department of Justice’s authority to investigate individual instances of police brutality, racial profiling and police departments that repeatedly violate civil rights;

• Supporting community-led transparency and oversight efforts, including all-civilian review boards; and

• Promoting the adoption of unbiased law enforcement policies at all levels of government to reduce the disparate impact of police brutality and use of force on people of color and other historically marginalized communities. 

Additionally, I am a cosponsor of a number of bills that will improve transparency and training in law enforcement, combat systemic racism, and build trust between communities and law enforcement. I am calling for the immediate passage of:

• The Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act, which would end the transfers of certain military equipment to local law enforcement. In 2017 President Trump fully restored the Pentagon’s excess property, or “1033 program.” Under this program, the Department of Defense transferred more than $6 billion in excess military equipment—often from war zones overseas—to our streets.

• The End Racial Profiling Act, which prohibits federal, state, and local law enforcement from racial profiling. This prohibition would be enforceable by declaratory or injunctive relief. The bill also mandates training on racial profiling issues as part of Federal law enforcement training, the collection of data on all routine or spontaneous investigatory activities that is to be submitted through a standardized form to the Department of Justice (DOJ). The DOJ will be authorized to provide grants for the development and implementation of best policing practices, such as early warning systems, technology integration, and other management protocols that discourage profiling.

• The Eric Garner Excessive Use of Force Prevention Act, which makes the use of chokeholds by law enforcement unlawful through an amendment to civil rights statute entitled “Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law.”

• The National Statistics on Deadly Force Transparency Act, which would require federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to collect and publish data on the use of deadly force by law enforcement officers. DOJ must reduce by 10% the allocation of funds under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program for a state or local government that fails to substantially comply. There is no official tally or database of statistics on law enforcement use of deadly force. Bringing transparency and accountability to law enforcement and policing tactics will be an important step towards ending police brutality and helping us understand what policies may be needed to address it.  

• The Police Training and Independent Review Act, which authorizes the DOJ to award grants to States that require law enforcement officers to be trained on ethics and racial bias, cultural diversity, and police interaction with the disabled, mentally ill, and new immigrants. The bill also requires an independent prosecutor to be appointed to investigate and prosecute an alleged offense involving the use of deadly force by a law enforcement officer that results in a death or injury.

• The Preventing Tragedies Between Police and Communities Act requires a state or local government that receives funding under the JAG program to train law enforcement officers on de-escalation techniques and require law enforcement to use such techniques. DOJ may reduce the JAG allocation of a state or local government that fails to comply with the training requirement.

• The Law Enforcement Trust and Integrity Act is designed to provide incentives for local police departments to voluntarily adopt performance-based standards to minimize incidents of misconduct, improve operations and enhance community accountability.

• The Police Exercising Absolute Care for Everyone (PEACE) Act would change the use of force standard for federal officers to require that force must be necessary, as a last resort, to prevent imminent death or serious bodily injury, and no reasonable alternatives were available, prohibit the gross negligence of an officer to precipitate the need for such force, and incentivize states, municipalities, and police departments to adopt a comparable standard by placing conditions on specified federal assistance.

We have an opportunity to ease the pain inflicted on black communities by centuries of human bondage, a hundred years of Jim Crow, and decades of housing, education, judicial, and employment discrimination. These are structural challenges that will require systemic reform to finally ensure the equal treatment of every American.

Last night, as I stood in solidarity with friends and neighbors at the Fairfax NAACP's rally at the Government Center, I was reminded of America, 1968. I was 18 then, and I remember vividly the tragedy and turbulence of that chapter in our history. It ignited my activism and it shaped my worldview.

But I also remember the determination and gritty optimism that drove the progress we made that year. We did not solve every problem, but we came out of it a better, stronger, and more equitable country.

And that must always be our goal -- to one day make it to that "bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood" that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. knew was not out of our reach. 

Please take care of yourselves and each other. As always, my office stands ready to help if you or a loved one need assistance. Please don't hesitate to call us at (703) 256-3071.

Sincerely,