Rep. Lee, Colleagues, 100+ Advocacy Groups Launch Community Safety Agenda
WASHINGTON, D.C. – July 15, 2025 — Today, Congresswoman Summer Lee (PA-12), Congressman Steven Horsford (NV-04), Congresswoman Lucy McBath (GA-06), Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05), Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), and a coalition of over 100 civil rights, public health, racial justice, housing, violence prevention, and economic justice groups launched a Community Safety Agenda, an evidence-informed approach to public safety that prioritizes care, connection, and prevention over punishment, control, and isolation.
At a press conference earlier today, Members of Congress discussed legislation that would invest in the wellbeing and safety of communities by addressing root causes. Rep. Lee reintroduced the People’s Response Act, which is co-led by Representatives Jan Schakowsky, Ayanna Pressley, Pramila Jayapal, and Morgan McGarvey. The bill emphasizes an inclusive, holistic, and health-centered approach to public safety by creating a Division of Public Safety within the Department of Health and Human Services to fund, conduct, and coordinate research, technical assistance, and grant programs related to non-carceral, health-centered investments in public safety. Other bills in the agenda included The Break the Cycle of Violence Act, The Mental Health Justice Act, and The Family Violence Prevention and Services Improvement Act.
“When we talk about community safety, we have to talk about the discriminatory policies that have created these cycles of harm and the money in our political system that comes at the cost of our people,” said Rep. Lee. “Today’s launch of the Community Safety Agenda is a recommitment to addressing the root causes of the poverty, desperation, and violence our communities face, and prioritizing policies that invest in people—not police and prisons—to keep them safe. Bills like the People’s Response Act are vital to public safety, and I am proud to reintroduce it following former Rep. Cori Bush’s introduction last Congress. I am grateful to my colleagues for their advocacy and the broad coalition of dedicated organizers working to help our communities heal and thrive.”
“I’m honored to stand with our community leaders and my House colleagues as we launch this initiative,” said Rep. McBath. “This effort represents the power of what we can achieve when we come together and build solutions that reflect our shared values. We’re not just addressing today’s challenges—we’re laying the groundwork for a safer future where our families thrive. I look forward to seeing the lasting impact it will make across our nation."
“The Community Safety Agenda is a policy platform to save lives and help communities thrive,” said Rep. Horsford. “Having lost my own father to senseless gun violence, I know the policies in this agenda will help prevent families across the country from experiencing the pain that mine endured. I am proud to stand with Rep. Lee, my colleagues in the Congressional Community Safety Working Group and nearly 100 advocacy organizations to say enough is enough.”
“For far too long, our most vulnerable communities – and especially Black and brown folks – have been subjected to surveillance, criminalization, and incarceration when they should have been met with care, justice, and healing,” said Rep. Pressley. “Our nation has long perpetuated a system rooted in hurt and harm, that treats trauma as a threat and meets pain with punishment. Today’s launch of the Community Safety Agenda is a powerful step toward reimagining America’s flawed approach to public safety in a way that puts our communities first. I am grateful for this coalition’s support of the Mental Health Justice Act and People’s Response Act, and I’m proud to fight alongside my colleagues and dedicated organizers in our efforts to center the dignity and humanity of all people.”
The Community Safety Agenda is supported by: MomsRising, Long Beach Gray Panthers, Blue Future, BLKHLTH, A Bella LaFemme Society, Reframe Health and Justice, Long Beach Environment Alliance, Long Beach Gray Panthers, Elders Climate Action (ECA), Long Beach 350, Long Beach Transit Paratr, American Friends Service Committee, Justice Policy Institute, National Center for Law and Economic Justice, Public Justice Center, States United to Prevent Gun Violence, Prevention Institute, Equal Justice USA, Prison Policy Initiative, InnovateEDU, We Are Revolutionary, Reale Justice Network, Bend the Arc: Jewish Action, WAVE Educational Fund, Rebuild, Overcome, and Rise (ROAR) Center at the University of MD, Baltimore, Drug Policy Alliance, Stop Criminalization Of Our Patients (SCOOP), Center for Constitutional Rights, Frey Evaluation, LLC, National Youth Justice Network, Black Lives Matter Global Network, Fair and Just Prosecution, T'ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, the Forum for Youth Investment, University of Baltimore School of Law Center for Criminal Justice Reform, Center for Policing Equity, National Urban League, National Association of Social Workers, Illinois Alliance for Reentry and Justice, Nonviolent Peaceforce, Human Rights Watch, Sheriff Accountability Action, EJUSA Evangelical Network, YWCA Jamestown, United Church of Christ, Juvenile Law Center, Children's HealthWatch, The Samaritan Foundation, Inc dba ConnectionHealth, The Pennsylvania Community Health Worker Collaborative, Compostela Community Family Cultural Institute, Policing Alternatives & Diversion Initiative, Movement for Black Lives, The Sentencing Project, Advancement Project, The Futures Institute, Partners In Health, Guns Down America, March For Our Lives, San Diego for Every Child, Black Leadership Action Coalition of Kentucky Action Fund (BLACK AF), Voters of Tomorrow Columbus, The First 72+, The Bail Project, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, Center for American Progress, Southern Poverty Law Center, Color Of Change, Muslims for Just Futures, Local Progress, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Committee for Children, National Homelessness Law Center, Southern Center for Human Rights, National Council of Churches, Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, ACLU, Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network, National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, U.S. Provinces, Civil Rights Corps, Metcalfe Park Community Bridges, Inc, Saratoga Black Lives Matter, United Women of Color, Law Enforcement Action Partnership, Harriet’s Wildest Dreams, Children's Defense Fund, People's Advocacy Institute, Florida Rising, One Aim Illinois, Missouri Justice Coalition, Protect Minnesota, Faith For Justice, Freedom Arts & Education Center, G-PAC Illinois, The Festival Center, Freedom Community Center, Pretrial Justice Institute, Thomas Dunn Learning Center, Empower Missouri, Youth First Justice Collaborative, Coalition on Human Needs, RISE for Youth, and Community Justice.
“Although we have a long way to go, our recent progress on public safety has been remarkable — and it hasn’t come accidentally. It’s the result of evidence-based safety strategies that center prevention, public health, and community response. Now is the time when we need more of these strategies, not fewer, and when we need a paradigm shift to scale these approaches nationwide. That’s exactly what this Community Safety Agenda would do, and it’s why I couldn’t be more delighted to see this agenda launched today,” said Thea Sebastian, Executive Director, Futures Institute.
“Parents and caregivers have long called for safety solutions that protect and uplift, not harm. Real safety doesn’t come from more punishment, it comes from more care. From credible messengers and mobile crisis teams to violence prevention and mental health support, these strategies are saving lives and restoring trust. The Community Safety Agenda offers a roadmap to scale what works and move us beyond a one-size-fits-all, police-first model. It’s time to invest in solutions rooted in healing, equity, and hope, and I’m proud to stand behind this transformative vision for a safer future for us all,” said Beatriz Beckford, National Director, MomsRising.
“We can’t keep throwing more punishment at problems that demand care, investment, and structural change. The People’s Response Act, The Break the Cycle of Violence Act, and The Mental Health Justice Act are how we begin shifting resources toward what actually keeps communities safe: healing, opportunity, and accountability that works. I’m proud to support the Community Safety Working Group’s agenda because it reflects the future we deserve, and the urgency this moment demands,” said Nick Matuszewski, Associate Executive Director at WAVE Educational Fund.
Footage from the press conference can be found here. A copy of the People’s Response Act bill text can be found here.
Congresswoman Summer Lee serves on the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability and the Committee on Education and 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.