Ranking Member Lee, Subcommittee Democrats: “Democrats will not be seat fillers nor help Republicans hide behind Police Week”

**For Immediate Release**

SummerLeePress@mail.house.gov

Ranking Member Lee, Subcommittee Democrats: "Democrats will not be seat fillers nor help Republicans hide behind Police Week"

WASHINGTON, D.C. - May 14, 2025 - After Chairman Higgins and Oversight Republicans declined to hold a hearing under normal Committee procedure, refused to honor the Minority's right to invite their own witness, and rejected the Minority's demand for equal participation in Subcommittee events, Rep. Summer L. Lee, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Federal Law Enforcement, led Subcommittee Democrats in refusing to attend Republicans' one-sided roundtable.

Ranking Member Lee and Subcommittee Democrats issued the following joint statement:

"By refusing to hold a hearing under House Rules or allow Democrats to invite a panelist to substantively participate in today's roundtable, Chairman Higgins and Republicans have shown they are not interested in a 'bipartisan' discussion or any meaningful engagement on this subject. Democrats will not be seat fillers nor help Republicans hide behind Police Week to distract from the Trump Administration's termination of law enforcement grants and constant attacks on public safety programs, or House Republicans' own Budget that decreases the take home pay and steals the promised retirement benefits of federal law enforcement officers to subsidize tax giveaways for billionaires," wrote the Members. "We remain willing to engage on this critical topic in a bipartisan manner and encourage Republicans to allow this Subcommittee to convene actual hearings to conduct the comprehensive oversight the law enforcement community-and the American people-deserve."

Yesterday, Subcommittee Democrats sent a letter to Chairman Higgins highlighting the one-sided, partisan nature of the roundtable and expressing their strong desire to attend a good faith, bipartisan hearing governed by House Rules.

Congresswoman Summer L. Lee serves on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the Committee on Education and the Workforce. Since taking office in January 2023, she has delivered historic levels of federal investment totaling over $2.4 Billion brought back to Western PA, including over $580 million for infrastructure, over $110 million for affordable transit, over $500 million to keep clean energy manufacturing at home in Pennsylvania, and over $55 million on clean energy efforts in and around schools to help keep our kids and communities safe. These investments will help improve Western Pennsylvania's infrastructure and transit, ensure cleaner air and drinking water, lower housing costs, fund research institutions, fuel clean manufacturing, fund STEM innovation and entrepreneurship, boost workforce development, and create thousands of good paying union jobs. Lee and her team have also delivered casework and constituent services to over 3,000 constituents with issues ranging from helping our seniors and disabled community access Medicare and social security to helping folks secure housing and helping families with immigration support and passports.