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Murphy Votes Against House Democrats' Police Reform Legislation

June 25, 2020

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Greg Murphy, M.D. (NC-03) released the following statement after voting against H.R. 7120, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020, which was introduced by House Democrats. Murphy is an original cosponsor of the Just and Unifying Solutions to Invigorate Communities Everywhere (JUSTICE) Act – the Republican version of police reform legislation introduced by Senator Tim Scott (R-SC).

"Last month everyone in America watched the horrific video of George Floyd's life being taken by the actions of a rogue police officer. Our country rightly united together in the call for justice. Our collective goal should be to enact policies that will prevent a situation like this from ever happening again. However the actions of this one officer do not define the overwhelming majority of the hard-working men and women who wear the blue and honorably serve their communities every night and every day," said Murphy.

"We had a real chance to use this moment of national unity to reform law enforcement practices. Unfortunately, in my view, Democrats have squandered this initial opportunity. Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) gave Senate Democrats at least 20 opportunities to amend the Republican version of police reform legislation. House Democrats offered Republicans zero such opportunities – it was an utterly closed process. Republicans in the House and Senate have been clear that legislative items such as the total elimination of qualified immunity for police officers are non-starters, and Democrats know that. I am optimistic that we can strike a deal given the universal outrage at this incident, but I fear that it may take longer than necessary due to political posturing by Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats."

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