Video: Capito to Ag Garland: Protect Our Police Officers, Stop Flow of Deadly Fentanyl

Press Release

U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, participated in a subcommittee hearing today to review the FY2023 budget request for the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). During the hearing, Senator Capito highlighted the need to cut off the supply of deadly drugs flowing into the United States, and pressed Attorney General Merrick Garland on ways to better protect law enforcement officers in communities across the country.

HIGHLIGHTS:

ON THE NEED TO STOP FLOW OF FENTANYL, DRUGS COMING ACROSS SOUTHERN BORDER: "I just wanted to begin with expressing my deep concern about the flow of fentanyl into the country from the southern border…West Virginia is at the tip of the spear as you know…we've had meetings over the last two weeks being at home, and fentanyl is the killer. I mean, it is what's coming up through the southern border. So, I would impress upon you how absolutely critical it is that the situation at the southern border has got to get better. I understand the demand side is what's driving this in a lot of ways. But if we can cut the supply, I think we can cut a lot of tragedy out of a lot of people's lives."

ON TROUBLING INCREASE OF VIOLENCE AGAINST LAW ENFORCEMENT: "Recently, FBI director Christopher Wray stated during an interview that there is a 59% increase in police officer killings, that is, officers being killed at a rate of almost one every five days. This is alarming to me. We had one of these incidences in our hometown. It's occurring at ambushes and attacks. You're asking for more money, $30 billion dollars in mandatory spending for law enforcement help. What are you looking at in this area to protect? I know hiring is an issue, but protecting our force?...I'd like to see the focus of some of this new funding go into this precise issue. The suicide issue, obviously is something that's deeply troubling as well."

REASONS FOR UPTICK IN ATTACKS ON POLICE: "I think a lot of it is a lack of respect for law enforcement in certain areas of the country, around the country. We're having trouble hiring in."

Source