Riots, looting, and lawlessness ravaged the nation in the summer of 2020 as a result of the Democrats’ ‘defund the police’ movement, soft-on-crime policies, and reckless bail reform efforts.

The U.S. murder rate shot up 30% between 2019 and 2020 – the largest increase in more than a century.

You would think that our elected officials who take an oath to uphold the law would condemn acts of violence and speak out to diffuse the situation.

Unfortunately, you would be wrong.

Prominent politicians, including Vice President Kamala Harris, announced their support for criminals wreaking havoc on American cities – and went so far as to help spring them out of jail. President Biden took it one step further, announcing plans to end cash bail altogether.

Many local progressive leaders bought into this self-destructive, woke agenda. Some even allowed their communities to burn to the ground after refusing the federal government’s offer to send in backup to help them regain control of their cities.

In response, President Trump issued an executive order cutting off federal funding to State and Local governments that refused to uphold the law, which the Department of Justice designated as anarchist jurisdictions.

Shockingly, President Biden immediately reversed this law and order policy almost immediately after being sworn into office. Not surprisingly, crime rates surged.

Turns out giving criminals a “free pass” doesn’t deter predatory criminal behavior. And we have all seen the results. Nearly every week there’s a new headline about victims being re-victimized by a career criminal or a rogue district attorney that refuses to hold habitual predators accountable.

Enough is enough. It is time for politicians to stop kowtowing to criminals and start putting the well-being of American neighborhoods first.

The American people want something done to make their streets safe again, which is why this week I introduced the Combating Violent and Dangerous Crime Act. It will crack down on crime by strengthening federal law on violent crime, enhancing penalties, protecting our children from drug poisonings (more on that later), and putting dangerous predators where they belong – behind bars.