Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley and Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib announced their support for legislation that would strip federal funding from law enforcement.
The two liberal congresswomen, who are members of “the Squad” along with New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, brought up the BREATHE Act during a virtual meeting on Tuesday. The BREATHE Act was created by activists from the Movement for Black Lives who are striving for a new Civil Rights Act focusing on policing and racial equality.
“In this historic moment, it is critical that we listen to and trust the leadership of black activists around the country. They have been on the front lines in defense of black lives for decades. And it is our responsibility as legislators to hear them, respect them, and follow their example,” Tlaib said on a virtual call with activists.
“The BREATHE Act is bold. It’s meaningful. It’s transformative. It pushes us to reimagine power structures and what community investment really looks like. If we listen to our community members and leaders in the streets, we can start to envision through this bill a new vision for public safety. One that protects and affirms black lives,” she said.
We must invest in a new vision of public safety.
Today, I am proud to join the calls coming out of one of the largest movements for justice that my district and our country have ever seen to say unapologetically:
I support the #BREATHEAct. https://t.co/a0zKgndf0B
— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) July 7, 2020
The BREATHE Act, which has been written up amid a reckoning on race and law enforcement’s use of force after the high-profile deaths of George Floyd and other black people, would strip all funding from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Drug Enforcement Agency, effectively abolishing the two federal law enforcement entities. That money would be put toward welfare programs focused on education, healthcare, or environmental causes.
The legislation would prohibit local police from buying military-grade equipment and weapons from the Defense Department. All federal prisons, including border detention centers, would also be closed under the legislation. The legislation would reallocate the funding from these programs and put it behind a bill currently floating in Congress that would commission a study on how the government should pursue reparations for black citizens and the descendants of slaves.
The BREATHE Act also returns voting rights to all incarcerated individuals and calls for illegal immigrants to be allowed to vote in state and local elections.
“I stand in solidarity with the leaders from the Movement for Black Lives and with my sister Congresswoman Pressley and with the millions of protesters demanding transformation now. […] I invite my colleagues, my fellow Congress members to join me and other legislators in taking this very bold step towards a just future,” Tlaib said.
The legislation has not been introduced in the House, so it is unclear if it will mirror the BREATHE Act as it stands on the Movement for Black Lives website. It is unlikely that such legislation would become law after it is introduced, considering the current makeup of Congress. Policing reforms championed by Republican Sen. Tim Scott were halted over partisan disagreements in June.
