John,

It has been a difficult few weeks here in America. The death of George Floyd and anguish of communities crying out for justice have left me heartbroken. As an American, as the first African-American Congresswoman from Connecticut, as a mother of three Black sons, and as the wife of a police officer, I have experienced this trauma before. The heartache can test your humanity.

I have prayed. I have had honest conversations with my constituents about race and law enforcement. And now, I must legislate.

This week, I joined my colleagues in the House in introducing the Justice in Policing Act of 2020 and the Police Training and Accountability Act. We gathered in the U.S. Capitol to mark the beginning of the healing process and honor the lives that have been brutally taken from us – and then we got to work.

The Justice in Policing Act of 2020 will create a National Police Misconduct Registry to track repeated misconduct by law enforcement, make it easier to sue officers who unjustly injure people, limit the transfer of military-grade equipment to state and local law enforcement, and ban chokeholds and no-knock arrest warrants in drug cases.

The Police Training and Accountability Act would create a Civilian Commission on Law Enforcement Training to establish national training requirements that all law enforcement officers and their supervisors must meet to receive federal funding and issue a Civilian-Law Enforcement Bill of Rights.

These reforms are not anti-police. They are anti-police brutality. They are about equal justice under the law and acknowledging where justice does not exist.

This legislation is a crucial first step toward addressing police brutality and the systemic inequalities that fuel it. But there is more work to do. Congress must continue to champion reforms that address structural inequalities in housing, education, healthcare, and more.

I am encouraged by the activism here in the 5th District and across the nation. The willingness of so many to stand up against injustice gives me hope. Your outcry underscores the need for an honest conversation about racism and police brutality in America. I will continue to listen to the voices in our community and bring those perspectives with me back to D.C.

Thank you,

-- Jahana