Congresswoman Bush Joins Pressley, Johnson in Urging Buttigieg, DOT to Address Racial Disparities in Traffic Enforcement
Washington, D.C. (April 6, 2023) — Today, Congresswoman Cori Bush (MO-1) joins Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) and Congressman Hank Johnson (GA-04) and 24 of their colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus in calling on Pete Buttigieg, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), to condemn the unjust and discriminatory status quo of traffic enforcement and develop reforms to reduce racial inequities in traffic stops.
“Generations of Black people have been unjustly subjected to biased traffic enforcement and police interaction. While driving laws have been enacted at every level of government to safeguard the public, officers selectively enforce these laws to the detriment of Black drivers,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to Secretary Buttigieg.
According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics in the United States Department of Justice, more than 20 million people are pulled over for traffic violations every year and Black motorists are overrepresented compared to their white counterparts. This disparity is even more alarming considering Black people are less likely to have access to a vehicle.
In 2022, police killed more than 175 people after initially stopping them for a traffic violation. Non-fatal injuries following traffic stops are more common but routinely underreported due to the lack of comprehensive data collection and proper oversight and accountability.
The letter to Secretary Buttigieg highlights the disparate harm traffic enforcement has on Black motorists and calls on the DOT to recognize the social context of traffic enforcement disparities and identify solutions to redress the harms. The lawmakers urged DOT to evaluate public campaigns and grants designed to incentivize, expand, and embed policing in traffic safety; ensure federal funds do not contribute to racist enforcement; and recognize that brutality during traffic enforcement is itself a threat to highway safety, among other things.
“Traffic safety should not come at the expense of the dignity and safety of the Black community,” the lawmakers continued. “The status quo of inequitable traffic enforcement is the product of racist policies, outdated infrastructure, and limited oversight. We urge the Department of Transportation to condemn harmful enforcement practices and develop reforms that support the wellbeing of Black people traveling on our nation’s roads and highways.”
Other lawmakers that signed onto the letter were Reps. Donald M. Payne (NJ-10), Bennie G. Thompson (MS-02), André Carson (IN-07), Terri A. Sewell (AL-07), Frederica S. Wilson (FL-24), Alma S. Adams (NC-12), Joyce Beatty (OH-03), Jamaal Bowman (NY-16), Lisa Blunt Rochester (DE-AL), James E. Clyburn (SC-06), Jasmine Crockett (TX-30), Dwight Evans (PA-03), Al Green (TX-09), Glenn Ivey (MD-04), Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18), Jonathan L. Jackson (IL-01), Robin Kelly (IL-02), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (CA-37), Barbara Lee (CA-12), Summer Lee (PA-12), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), Valerie Foushee (NC-04).
A copy of the letter is available here.
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Congresswoman Cori Bush sits on the House Judiciary and Oversight Committees, serves as the Ranking Member of Oversight Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs, and proudly represents St. Louis as a politivist in the halls of the United States Congress.