The rising tensions in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and other large American cities over the use and tactics of federal agents has a lot of residents angry — and it has Second District Congressman Derek Schmidt concerned.
The shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, both American citizens, by federal agents are under investigation, which is of little comfort to family members and people who believe the federal government is overstepping several boundaries. On KVOE’s Morning Show on Thursday, Schmidt says he worked on several officer-involved shooting incidents while in his role as Kansas attorney general — and he sees some correlations between then and now.
The situation in Minnesota is also notable because it involves overlapping concerns about Constitutional rights to protest and bear arms — in addition to concerns about federal agents deviating from a stated goal of finding people illegally in the United States. Schmidt says any action, disciplinary or otherwise, after such an incident needs external reviews first.
Schmidt also says there is a broader picture to consider, blaming sanctuary cities for not cooperating with the federal effort on immigration and the Biden administration for being lax on border security.
Schmidt says the issue of federal agents and public interactions is spilling into current budget matters, with increases in federal funding for Homeland Security potentially halting the process for setting the budget — and possibly triggering another government shutdown. Democrats want new funding pulled.
If there is no agreement by Friday night, the government shuts down. Late Thursday, Democrats announced they had reached a tentative agreement with the White House to separate Homeland Security funding from a package including five other bills. Those bills in the package would be funded through the rest of the federal fiscal year, or the end of September. Homeland Security funding is only set through mid-February so lawmakers can keep negotiating on the bigger package. This plan needs unanimous support, but there are concerns from both Democrats and Republicans heading into a late-morning vote Friday.
Schmidt says having “border czar” Tom Homan now in charge in Minnesota, as opposed to prior deputy FBI director Dan Bovino, is a good move because of Homan’s experience with law enforcement. While Schmidt was talking on KVOE’s Morning Show on Thursday, Homan was speaking with media in Minnesota, saying there could be a reduction in federal officer numbers based on discussions he’s already had while asking protesters to tone down their presence around federal agents.
Separately, Schmidt says he’s pleased legislation adding financial support for victims of violent crime has become law.
Schmidt says the Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act is important for a lot of people in the district.
Schmidt says it’s worthy work to help crime victims —
Schmidt says he was heavily involved in pushing the legislation forward through a bipartisan effort.
Specifically, the bill moves unobligated funds collected through the False Claims Act to the Crime Victims Fund through fiscal 2029. The Crime Victims Fund, in place since 1984, uses funds generated through fines, settlements, bonds and other financial penalties assessed during federal criminal prosecution efforts instead of taxpayer dollars. The fund’s balance, according to Schmidt, has dropped over 80 percent since fiscal 2017 at a time when victim assistance programs are now serving almost 4 million crime victims a year nationwide.
