The Declaration of Independence so eloquently notes that governments are created to secure life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Without security, the rights laid out within our founding documents are no longer guaranteed and the safety of our families is threatened.
Similar to other combat veterans, I served to defend these rights and protect my fellow Americans from foreign adversaries. Now, in cities across our country, the safety, security, and basic rights of people are under assault as radical politicians tolerate, and even encourage, lawlessness — and seek to defund law enforcement.
I’ve heard about this when I visit with mothers, fathers, and our elderly Iowans across the state. The thought that anarchy could take place in Iowa’s streets is alarming.
Canceling the police will only make our streets more dangerous, putting the life and liberty of the very residents in those communities at risk. And injustice will never be solved by anarchy because no one is safe when lawlessness rules.
The results are heartbreaking. New York City, for example, is witnessing an extreme spike in shootings and murders as a direct result of its city and state officials’ tolerance of crime. The hundreds of victims include a church caretaker shot inside the church and a mother shot in the head in front of a school.
Just recently, the nonpartisan watchdog organization, Open the Books, calculated that nearly $15 billion of taxpayer money is being funneled by the federal government into five major cities where police officers are unable to do their jobs or, in the case of Seattle, are being defunded.
That’s right: Taxpayers in Iowa and across the country are subsidizing the anarchy. It shouldn’t be this way.
Following my urging, the president is now directing the White House Office of Management and Budget to cut federal funding to these five lawless jurisdictions. And like clockwork, the mayors of these cities are now planning a lawsuit. Without the slightest hint of irony, the same politicians sworn to enforce the law but who want to cut funding for law enforcement are now squealing when their own funding is being cut. For that, they deserve my Squeal Award.
But I have a legislative fix to prevent Iowa tax dollars from being wasted on this madness. It’s my Ending Taxpayer Funding of Anarchy Act, which would stop federal funding for jurisdictions that abdicate their constitutional duty to their citizens to uphold the rule of law by providing police, fire, or emergency medical services.
It’s really this simple. We cannot allow our streets and neighborhoods to be overrun by violence and chaos because a handful of incompetent and radical mayors are essentially handcuffing law enforcement.
Now let me be clear: I fully support peaceful protesters and folks exercising their First Amendment rights. Following the horrific murder of George Floyd, I wholeheartedly support those who are nonviolently assembling to find solutions and raise awareness of the racial injustice we’ve seen across our country.
But what cannot continue is lawlessness. First and foremost, because of the safety and security of the public. And second, because lawlessness does more harm than good to the cause. The voices of those raising awareness of the injustice are being drowned out by the looting and rioting.
Violent protest is not the Iowa way. In fact, we’ve largely seen peaceful demonstrations. The Iowa legislature, with Gov. Kim Reynolds’s leadership, acted swiftly to pass and sign into law a commonsense police reform bill. And just recently, the governor gave felons in our state a second chance, restoring the right to vote for those who have served their sentence — something I discussed with Iowa state Rep. Ako Abdul-Samad and leaders in the black community in Des Moines.
Passions may run high, and folks may disagree. But the Iowa way is to listen to one another, come together, and make change, not disband law enforcement, destroy homes and businesses, and let anarchy rule. We need more Iowa values across this country.
Sen. Joni Ernst, a Republican, is the junior senator from Iowa.
