Washington – President Biden was in his element Tuesday just outside his hometown of Scranton, Pa., greeting friendly faces and detailing his $37 billion plan to address gun violence. He also took the opportunity to speak out against Republicans who defend Capitol rioters and disparage federal law enforcement, while praising Democratic presidential candidates in Pennsylvania.
At an event in Wilkes-Barre that featured several Democratic candidates, the president touted his “Plan for a Safer America” a proposal that would be funded by the money included in its budget request for the financial year 2023 and requires congressional approval. Mr. Biden was born in Scranton and spent his early childhood there, and has often returned to make major speeches from the region. He was originally scheduled to deliver Tuesday’s speech in July, but forced to postpone the trip when he tested positive for COVID-19.
With just over two months to go until the midterm elections, Mr Biden stressed the need for more law enforcement officers, not fewer, contradict the message of some of the most liberal voices in his party. The president said Americans are “seeing hatred, anger and violence on the streets of America.”
“And they just want to feel safe again. They want to feel safe again. And that’s what my crime plan is. You know, I call it the Safer America plan,” he said. he adds. “And your two members of Congress voted for it. It’s based on a simple notion – when it comes to public safety in this country, the answer isn’t to defund the police, it’s to defund the police. .”
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The president’s crime prevention proposal provides $13 billion over the next five years for communities to hire and train 100,000 more police officers, as well as nearly $3 billion to help eliminate court backlogs and solve the murders, according to the White House.
Mr. Biden’s plan would also establish a $15 billion grant program that cities and states would use over the next decade to promote approaches to prevent violent crime or identify nonviolent situations that warrant a public health response, with the aim of easing the burden on law enforcement officers. An additional $5 billion would be used for evidence-based community violence response programs. Trust between the police and the public is vital, the president said.
“By the way, the communities that want the police more than any other community are the tough, poor communities. Black, white, immigrant,” Mr. Biden said. “They need help. They want help.”
In 2021, homicides in major US cities increased 5% from 2020, and 44% from 2019, according to the Criminal Justice Council.
The President praised the passage and signing of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the most significant update to gun control laws in nearly three decades. The law improves background checks for gun buyers under 21, provides billions for mental health services and sets aside $750 million to encourage states to create case intervention programs of crisis. The measure also closes the so-called “boyfriend loophole” to ensure convicted domestic abusers can’t buy a gun for five years.
“We beat the NRA,” the president said Tuesday, referring to the National Rifle Association. “We faced them and we beat the NRA, straight away. You have no idea how intimidating they are for the Chosen Ones… But guess what, we faced the NRA, and we’re going to face them again, and we won. We will win again.
The President reiterated his wish that Congress ban assault weaponsa non-starter since taking office and a near impossibility without Democratic wins in November.
“We don’t stop there,” the president said Tuesday. “I am determined to ban assault weapons in this country. Determined.”
Pennsylvania is a key swing state, with Senate control on the line in the midterm elections. Democratic Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman is running against Republican Mehmet Oz for the Pennsylvania Senate seat.
“I tell you what, Fetterman is one hell of a guy, a powerful voice for working people,” Mr. Biden said on Tuesday. “And he’s going to make a great United States Senator.”
In his speech decrying violent crime, the president turned to the violence of January 6, 2021, lambasting Republican members of Congress who stood up for the rioters.
“Police lost their lives as a result of that day,” the president said. “The police lost their lives. One of the officers said it was worse than anything he had experienced in the Iraq war. So let me say this to my MAGA Republican friends in Congress – don’t tell me. don’t say you’re supporting law enforcement if you win’ I don’t condemn what happened on the 6th. side are you?
The president will return to Pennsylvania on Thursday, as well as next week, stepping up his appearances on behalf of Democrats in key competitive races.