Manchester, NH – Today, Don Bolduc, retired Brigadier General and Republican nominee for United States Senate, slammed Senator Maggie Hassan’s election year photo op with the Manchester Police Department:
“For six long years Senator Hassan stood by when leading national party leaders were demonizing and vilifying hard working men and women in law enforcement. She even accused our criminal justice system of being ‘deeply racist.’ During the summer of 2020 when our cities were burning and our police were under assault from political figures, Hassan was absent from the national conversation. Now, a month before an election, she pretends to support the blue only because she and her national party apparatus have a major political problem on their hands. Voters will see through this kind of double speak, and is one of the reasons Hassan’s political career is on the ropes.”
Background:
In May 2021, Hassan Said The Criminal Justice System Was “Deeply, Deeply Marred By Systemic Racism.”
Q: “One bill that seems to be percolating up and getting at least on news reports, may be close to a bill is police reform bill that Senator Tim Scott is meeting with Congresswoman Karen Bass. What do you hear about a potential consensus emerging very shortly on this bill?”
HASSAN: “Look I think it’s a really important issue obviously we know that our criminal justice system is deeply, deeply marred by systemic racism. We also know we have great first responders and police officers who do their job with professionalism and do it without concern of race or ethnicity, so it’s really important that we strike this balance right.” (Maggie Hassan Attends Virtual New England Council Capitol Hill Report, Video 1, Minute 50:15-51:50, 5/7/21)
In June 2020, Hassan Called For “Long-Overdue Action To Address System Racism, Especially In Our Criminal Justice System.”
“George Floyd should be alive today. In the video captured of his death you see how — minute after minute after minute — an officer kneeled on his neck, while other officers stood by and took no action. That act of violence is unconscionable. Peaceful protestors must be allowed to speak out against his killing and the systemic racism in our society. Their voices should not be drowned out by outside agitators or by violence and looting, which must stop. We all need to come together — including leaders at all levels of government and the majority of law enforcement officers who do their jobs with professionalism — to listen, understand, and take long-overdue action to address systemic racism, especially in our criminal justice system.” (Maggie Hassan, Op-Ed, “The Right to Peacefully Protest is the Foundation of Our Democracy,” Medium, 6/2/20)
On February 5, 2021, Hassan Voted Against An Amendment To Prevent Prisoners From Receiving Stimulus Checks.
“Fiscal 2021 Budget Resolution – Motion to Waive February 5, 2021 – Senate Roll Call Vote 37 – S Con Res 5 Description Cassidy, R-La., motion to waive all applicable sections of the Congressional Budget Act with respect to the Wyden, D-Ore., point of order that the Cassidy amendment no. 483 is not germane and thus violates section 305(b)(2) of the Congressional Budget Act. The amendment would create a 60-vote point of order against the consideration of any legislation that would extend or reauthorize economic impact payments or establish any similar rebate or credit if it would provide payments to individuals incarcerated in a federal or state prison. Outcome Motion rejected by a vote of 50 – 50: Republicans 50-0 Democrats 0-48 Independents 0-2.” (S. Amdt. 483 To S. Con. Res. 5, Roll Call Vote #37: Rejected 50-50, 2/5/21, Hassan Voted Nay; CQ Summary, Accessed 4/7/21)
On March 6, 2021, Hassan Voted Against Directing $300 Million For Anti-Narcotic And Opioid Activities Carried Out By U.S. Customs & Border Protection.
“Coronavirus Relief Budget Reconciliation Package – Anti-Drug Activities; Federal Employee Emergency Leave March 6, 2021 – Senate Roll Call Vote 89 – HR 1319 Description Young, R-Ind., amendment no. 1383 to the Schumer, D-N.Y., substitute amendment no. 891 to the bill that would provide $300 million for U.S. Customs and Border Protection narcotic and opioid detection activities and strike a section that would provide $570 million for emergency paid leave for federal employees unable to work due to COVID-19. Outcome Rejected by a vote of 48 – 50: Republicans 48-0 Democrats 0-48 Independents 0-2.” (S. Amdt. 1383 To H.R. 1319, Roll Call Vote #89: Motion Rejected 48-50, 3/6/21, Hassan Voted Nay; CQ Summary, Accessed 4/7/21)
In August 2022, Hassan Voted Against A Motion To Increase Funding For Prosecutors To Ensure Violent Criminals Are Properly Detained Pretrial And That “Law Enforcement Is Addressing Crime.”
“Rubio, R-Fla., motion to commit the bill to the Senate Judiciary Committee with instructions to report it back with changes that would increase funding to ensure that prosecutors are ensuring the appropriate pretrial detention of individuals charged with violent crimines and that ‘law enforcement is addressing crime.’” (H.R. 5376, Roll Call Vote #304, Motion Rejected 50 – 50, 8/7/22, Hassan Voted Nay; CQ Summary, Accessed 8/11/22)
In 2021, Hassan Voted To Confirm Vanita Gupta To Serve As President Joe Biden’s Associate Attorney General, Despite Her Past Support For Defunding The Police
On April 21, 2021, Hassan Voted To Confirm Gupta To Serve As Associate Attorney General. (PN79-4, Roll Call Vote #160: Nomination Confirmed 51-49, 4/21/21, Hassan Voted Yea)
In July 2020, Gupta Testified To The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee That It Was “Critical” To “Heed Calls From Black Lives Matter And Movement For Black Lives Activists To Decrease Police Budgets And The Scope, Role And Responsibility Of Police In Our Lives.”
“It is critically important that police departments across the country implement policies and practices that are fair, equitable, procedurally just, and increase transparency and accountability — values that build community trust, improve confidence, and ultimately heal wounds. At the same time, state and local leaders must engage and work with communities to develop solutions to the social and public health problems that for so long have fallen to police to answer. While front-end systems changes are important, it is also critical for state and local leaders to heed calls from Black Lives Matter and Movement for Black Lives activists to decrease police budgets and the scope, role, and responsibility of police in our lives. While many of these changes must be centered at the state and local levels, success will require the leadership, support, and commitment of the federal government, including Congress.” (Vanita Gupta, Remarks To US Senate Judiciary Committee, Washington, DC, 6/16/20)
In 2009, Then-State Senator Hassan Sponsored A Bill To Allow Thieves To Steal Three Times More Merchandise Without Being Charged With A Felony
In 2009, Hassan Sponsored A Bill To Triple The Threshold For Some Theft-Related Felonies. “State retailers yesterday lined up against a bill that would allow criminals to steal more merchandise without being charged with a Class B felony. The threshold in New Hampshire would be raised from $500 to $1,750, making it one of the highest Class B thresholds in the country. Senate Bill 205 would also increase the threshold for Class A felonies from $1,000 to $3,500…The bill, which passed the state Senate on a voice vote on April 8, calls for the first increase in the threshold for felonies in 27 years. Its sponsor, Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-Exeter, told the House committee the bill ‘lessens the burden’ on law enforcement and the courts and calls for ‘more proportional punishment’ in keeping with the times. When introduced, the bill would have increased the threshold for a Class B felony to $1,000 and a Class A felony to $1,500 from the current $500 and $1,000 levels, respectively. The thresholds were raised much higher in a Senate-passed amendment, based on the inflation rate since 1972, Hassan said.” (John DiStaso, “Retailers Decry Bill To Raise Criteria For Felony Thefts,” The Union Leader, 4/22/09)
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