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There is a wave of violent crime in communities across the country. In 2020, murder rates increased 30 percent and continued to climb in 2021. 2022 is now trending even worse. Violent carjackings, particularly in urban areas, are on the rise, with some cities recording spikes of up to 400 percent. Overdose deaths surpassed 100,000 last year, with fentanyl appearing in a variety of substances, including candy-flavored drugs that are marketed to children.
 
U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), and colleagues introduced the Combating Violent and Dangerous Crime Act to clarify and strengthen criminal laws to punish violent crimes related to homicide, bank robbery, carjacking, kidnapping and other offenses.
 

• “Violent crime is running rampant, and the White House is doing nothing to stop it. It’s time to hold violent criminals accountable. This bill would strengthen our ability to combat lawlessness in cities across the country.” – Senator Rubio

• “Crime is skyrocketing in communities across the country. Carjackings, homicides, attacks on law enforcement are all up. We have a duty to ensure that penalties for federal offenses serve as a deterrent and that any ambiguity from split court decisions is rectified so that perpetrators can be held accountable. This bill includes a number of small fixes that will go a long way in improving justice and preventing future crimes.  Unfortunately, we don’t yet have bipartisan support to advance these modest, but meaningful, reforms. American communities are suffering under a scourge of lawlessness, so I hope we get some cooperation soon and I’ll keep reaching across the aisle to get it.” – Senator Grassley

 
Click here for a full list of cosponsors.
 
Related … In May, Rubio and colleagues called on the Biden Administration to work with Congress to develop a plan to combat the rise of violent crime across the United States.