A new bill reintroduced to the Senate this week – the Combating Violent and Dangerous Crime Act – seeks to address what its Republican sponsors call ambiguity and conflicting application of existing mandates, strengthening violent crime laws in a number of areas.
Attacks on law enforcement, bank robberies, carjacking, kidnapping, firearm offenses, and other crimes would gain clarified Congressional intent under the legislation, removing uncertainty from court interpretations. Beyond this, it would move to guarantee that both attempted bank robbery and conspiracy to commit such robberies are punishable by the same statute, reduce the burden to charge offenses like assaulting police officers, increase the maximum penalty for carjacking, and outlaw the marketing of candy-flavored drugs to minors, among others.
While the bill’s 19 Republican cosponsors touted its work to clarify without creating sweeping new offense categories, it would also create items such as a new category for violent kidnapping offenses, creating greater penalties under existing law.
“Communities across the country are seeing steep rises in attacks on police, carjackings, and other violent crimes, and Americans have taken note, with crime being a leading concern in recent elections,” U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), who led the introduction of the legislation and attempted a similar bill (S.4628) last year, said. “This bill includes a number of small fixes that will go a long way in improving justice and preventing future crimes by clearing up ambiguity in existing law. Congress recently took bipartisan action to block a Washington, D.C., law to reduce penalties for violent crime amid a crime surge. I invite my fellow Democrat colleagues to build on that bipartisanship and support this important bill.”
No Democrats have endorsed the legislation to date. However, major law enforcement organizations have backed it, including the Major County Sheriffs of America, the National Association of Assistant U.S. Attorneys, the National Association of Police Organizations, the National District Attorneys Association, and the Major Cities Chiefs Association.
“It’s long past time to increase accountability for violent federal offenses, especially as many communities experience dramatic spikes in criminal activity,” U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE) said. “This legislation would bolster public safety by clarifying and enhancing penalties for violent crimes.”
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) was also among the Combating Violent and Dangerous Crime Act’s cosponsors.
According to the most recent statistics from the FBI, in 2021, an estimated 690,158 violent crime incidents occurred nationwide, but 812,686 offenses were reported by law enforcement agencies.