Restoring Safety and Security for All Americans

As an increasingly aggressive far-left movement here at home and authoritarian regimes abroad strike at the very foundation of American life, millions of Americans worry for the safety of their families and neighborhoods. They are tired of their elected leaders, virtually all Democrats, who refuse to confront rising violence and restore law and order. The rising crime and violence we see today is playing out against a backdrop of uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Moms and dads are rightfully worried about how these factors will impact their children’s futures.

To confront the destabilizing forces our nation currently faces, I have developed the USA Safe Families and Secure Futures Plan. This framework has four key priorities: Fully fund the police, secure our borders, support our troops and safeguard American interests abroad, and promote economic opportunity and security. 

A recent poll found that 77% of respondents are alarmed by the skyrocketing violence in our nation’s cities. Homicides have spiked 24% in the 50 largest cities. Across the country, rioters have assaulted police, destroyed small businesses and caused mayhem. After looters caused millions in loss and damage to employers of all sizes, Chicago went into lockdown, halting public transit and raising the drawbridges into downtown.

Yet the radical Left calls to defund those on the frontlines who stand between crime and our citizens, who remove criminals from the streets and protect our neighborhoods. In Seattle, the city council nearly unanimously approved slashing the police budget by $3 million. The lone holdout was a council member who didn’t think the funding cuts went far enough. Within hours, the police chief, the first Black woman to hold the top law enforcement job in the city, had resigned.

To stop this nonsense and to support our men and women in blue, I have introduced legislation that will reduce federal funds to cities that defund the police. I have taken action to give prosecutors more tools and resources to properly hold rioters accountable for the destruction they cause. 

When it comes to crime, one of the most notoriously violent networks is MS-13, an international criminal gang that terrorizes American citizens. To target the violence specifically perpetuated by gangs, I have introduced the Cracking Down on Gangs and Deporting Criminals Act to establish stricter punishments for convicted gang members. My bill will also speed up deportation proceedings for criminal illegal alien gang members.

We must secure our borders to keep criminals and illicit drugs out of America in the first place, which is why I have cosponsored a bill that will provide $25 billion to help finish building the wall. In addition, the massive backlog of 1.2 million immigration cases keeps those here illegally longer, and I have introduced legislation to give immigration judges more authority to hold those who try to skirt the law accountable.

The pandemic has sadly also exposed the very real threat authoritarian regimes present to our national security. Under the Obama administration, America’s military strength and readiness was threatened due to drastic budget cuts. To protect our role as the world’s superpower, I have supported robust funding for our armed forces and taken action to address the expansion of the Chinese Community Party’s influence around the world, as well as growing threats from Iran and its proxy networks.

I have championed the principle promoted by President Trump that economic security is national security. The pandemic has shown us just how dangerous it is to be dependent on other countries for food, medicine and crucial elements of our supply chains. To mitigate this threat, I have introduced the BEAT CHINA Act to incentivize the manufacturing of medicine and medical supplies to shift back to the United States. This will not only strengthen our medical security, but it will grow jobs and strengthen our supply chains. 

There’s no question that economic security starts at home, but nearly three-quarters of Americans fear the pandemic is negatively impacting their household finances. I know firsthand that free enterprise and capitalism spurs the opportunity that can lift all Americans up. As the radical Left calls for our American values to be “torn down” and “dismantled,” I have taken action to expand school choice, to help families build their financial security and to expand access to vocational and training programs.

I will continue to stand up to radical and dangerous actors at home and abroad who seek to undermine America’s safety, our founding principles and the rule of law. Now is the time to stand up for the future of our country and restore security for all Americans.

Kelly Loeffler, a conservative businesswoman, is a United States Senator for the State of Georgia. She serves on the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, the Veteran Affairs Committee, the Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee, and the Joint Economic Committee.