With fresh momentum for change in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd which touched off days of violence and protests around the nation, House and Senate Democrats on Monday unveiled a sweeping new police reform proposal, designed to promote more accountability for officers using unnecessary violence. "We now have over 200 co-sponsors," said Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA), the driving force be... Read more »

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) and Congressman Don Beyer (D-VA) today announced that their Federal Police Camera and Accountability Act of 2019 (H.R. 3364), which would require uniformed federal police officers to wear body cameras and have dashboard cameras in marked vehicles, was included in the House’s new sweeping police reform bill, the Justice in Policing Act of 2020. The House i... Read more »

The District of Columbia faced an overwhelming federal law enforcement presence this week as its residents protested police brutality against Black people. And the district could do little to stop it, thanks to politically motivated opposition to granting statehood to the majority Democratic city — with its plurality of Black residents — or giving it voting members in Congress. But since the passa... Read more »

Once Washington absorbed Friday’s surprise jobs report showing a gain of 2.5 million jobs in May (after forecasts for 8 million jobs lost) many turned the question of how the news impacts the long awaited negotiations for an additional phase 4 stimulus deal. "We'll be asking for additional stimulus money,” President Trump said Friday morning as some speculated that a deal might now be off the tabl... Read more »

Democratic lawmakers are calling for legislation forcing federal law enforcement officers in uniform to clearly identify which department they represent. The potential legislation comes amid rising concerns from Democrats after officers were seen without any identifying labels on their uniforms as they policed protests in Washington, D.C. Protests have erupted nationwide over the death of George F... Read more »

Armed riot officers without identifying marks or badges began manning the perimeter around the White House Wednesday morning, and now a Virginia congressman says he is working on legislation to stop it from happening again. The unmarked security forces appeared early Wednesday following a calmer night in D.C. than the city had seen in recent days. However, unlike MPD or Capitol Police officers, th... Read more »

ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — A county in northern Virginia pulled its officers out of the District of Columbia Monday night after they played a supporting role in clearing protesters from a park outside the White House so the president could walk to a church for a photo opportunity. Arlington officers joined a team of federal law enforcers using chemical agents and flash bangs to forcibly remove a large ... Read more »

U.S. Representative Don Beyer (D-VA), who represents the Northern Virginia suburbs of the nation’s capital in Congress, issued the following statement this evening on the violent police attacks against peaceful protesters outside the White House: “Trump’s actions tonight are not law and order, they are naked authoritarianism. “Unleashing state violence against peaceful American demonstrators and j... Read more »

Members of Congress representing the National Capital Region today wrote to the Secretaries of Defense and the Interior to state their strong opposition to President Trump’s plans to hold a second military parade in Washington D.C. on July 4th. Despite public health and social distancing precautions in the nation’s capital, which has seen one of the worst COVID-19 outbreaks in the country, the Tru... Read more »

Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), Vice Chair of the Joint Economic Committee, today issued the following statement on Republican opposition to extending further assistance to the American people amid the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic: “There is a dangerous disconnect between Republican politicians in Washington and the very real anguish being experienced by the American people. That sufferi... Read more »