Amid left-wing clamor to “reimagine” law enforcement, Rep. Cori Bush is out with a proposal aimed at helping local forces hire social workers and mental health experts rather than police officers.
The Missouri Democrat, elected in 2020, introduced a bill on Monday that would provide state and local municipalities with federal grants for the hires.
The People’s Response Act aims to broaden mental health resources to “holistically support survivors of mass incarceration, police violence, harm resulting from detention or deportation based on immigration status, gun violence, gender-based violence, domestic violence, rape and other forms of sexual assault, racist violence, queerphobic violence, transphobic violence, and other forms of violence and abuse.”
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“When people in crisis need help, calling 911 too often becomes a death sentence. We demand a better way forward. It’s time to respond by transforming our approach to public safety,” Bush said in a tweet describing her bill.
The legislation by Bush, who worked as a mental health nurse for over 10 years, comes as violent crime in major metropolitan cities is rising and amid criticism of police conduct after the death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and other officer-involved incidents.
House and Senate negotiators say they have reached a framework for legislation that addresses “the major issues” of a police reform bill. The recent announcement came a day before former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was sentenced to more than 22 years in prison for the May 2020 killing of Floyd, a black man who was asphyxiated after Chauvin kneeled on his neck for nine minutes.
Bush is among the most left-wing lawmakers in the House. She has joined the “Squad,” which includes Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, in trying to push Democrats in a more progressive direction.
Bush’s bill would create a Division of Community Safety within the Department of Health and Human Services to oversee the activities related to health and public safety. Additionally, a federal task force of first responders would be established to respond to what is deemed a “mass health crisis” as declared by the secretary of HHS or the state health secretary.
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Co-sponsoring the bill with Bush are three other far-left Democrats: Reps. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, Jan Schakowsky of Illinois, and Pramila Jayapal of Washington.
