Miami GOP Mayor: ‘No Cash Bail Is Creating Lawlessness’ In U.S. Cities

Miami Republican Mayor Francis Suarez said Sunday that no cash bail policies in cities and counties across the country are contributing to rising crime.

On a panel of mayors from major cities appearing on CBS’s “Face the Nation” Sunday, Suarez, who also serves as President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, said that bail reform has created “lawlessness.” He said that the lax punishment for criminals has led to increased crimes like petty theft and harming the economy.

“What I’m focusing on is that the no cash bail is creating lawlessness in a lot of our cities,” said Suarez. “What’s happening is, for example, people get out right away, they’re not even, you know, they don’t even have to post bail. So they’re able to get out right away. And so we’re seeing someone go into like a CVS, for example, and take thousands of dollars worth of merchandise, which is causing a CVSs to close, which hurts the, you know, the rest of the city, but that’s not particularly related to, to the gun violence issue. It’s related more to petty crime, which is creating lawlessness in some of our cities.”

Suarez also touted his policing policies in Miami. “We are funding our police,” he said. “A lot of cities cut into the defunding police movement. And we’re seeing [police funding] as a bipartisan issue.”

Last week, some Houston bar and restaurant owners started sleeping in their places of business to deter criminals, citing the city’s lax bail policies.

“I have been burglarized 15 times in the last year,” Lindsey Rae, the owner of Two-Headed Dog, said during a recent city council meeting, via the New York Post. “We’re seeing, if they are getting caught, they’re getting re-released because of the cash bond issues we’re having,” she added. “They can come back and rob us again.”

A 2021 investigation from ABC affiliate KTRK found that Houston’s bail policies had allowed more criminals back onto the streets. The outlet found that in 2011, just 3.5% of cases filed in Harris County court resulted in the defendant being released on felony bond; in 2021, the defendant was released in 18.8% of cases, nearly six times as often.

The probe also found that criminals committed more crimes while out on bail. In 2011, just 3.5% of cases involved a defendant who was already out on at least one existing felony bond; in 2021, that number rose to 19%. Of those cases, 968 accused felons allegedly committed four or more new crimes since being released on bond. One case investigated by the outlet found that the offender was out on 13 separate bonds.

Manchin Says Dems Should Negotiate With GOP On Debt Ceiling, Use Opportunity To Fix The Budget Process

West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin called on his fellow Democrats to negotiate with the Republican House majority over the debt ceiling.

In consecutive appearances on NBC’s “Meet the Press” and CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday, Manchin called out members of his own party who are refusing to negotiate with GOP leaders. Manchin said the debt ceiling fight presents an opportunity to address the dysfunction around the federal budget process and make changes.

“I think it’s a mistake,” Manchin said on CNN of the Biden administration’s refusal to negotiate. “This is a democracy that we have. We have a two-party system. And we should be able to talk and find out where our differences are. And if they are irreconcilable, then you have to move on from there and let the people make their decisions.”

Manchin also blasted Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), who said Biden should not negotiate.

“We just respectfully disagree,” Manchin said. “[E]very American has to live within a budget. If they don’t, they’re in trouble financially. Every business that is successful has to live within a budget. Every state has to live within a budget. Shouldn’t the federal government have some guardrails that say, ‘hey, guys, you’re getting over — you’re overreaching here and you’re overspending?'”

During his appearance on Meet the Press, Manchin pointed out that for his entire tenure in the Senate, the budget process has been broken.

“I’ve been here 12 years,” he said. “We haven’t had a budget yet.”

“There’s nothing that holds us accountable,” he continued. “Nothing at all. We can say, ‘oh, we’re gonna do it,’ but as I’ve said before, 12 years, we haven’t had a budget. That’s ridiculous.”

“The process isn’t working,” he went on. “How come we’re not held accountable to have the appropriations bills done at a certain time before the end of the fiscal year… you know what happens, it rolls over into an omnibus bill at the end, everything’s thrown into it and, ‘Okay here. We got it guys. Thats it.’ It makes no sense.”

Manchin said that the debt ceiling increase would pass anyway because Congress could not risk the financial standing of the dollar.

“With that being said, how do you get to it, how do you use this moment to get to responsibility?” said Manchin, pointing out that interest payments on the debt almost match the U.S. defense budget.

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