McDowell Joins House Judiciary Committee’s “Victims of Violent Crime” Field Hearing in Charlotte

Charlotte, NC- Congressman Addison McDowell (NC-06) today waved onto the House Judiciary Committee's "Victims of Violent Crime" field hearing in Charlotte, North Carolina. Congressman McDowell shared his personal perspective and called for real action against soft-on-crime policies to hold violent criminals accountable and keep law-abiding citizens safe.

In his remarks, Congressman McDowell responded to partisan claims that Republicans were focused only on "catchy slogans."

"Nine months ago, I was sworn in to serve as a member of Congress. And the only reason that I ran for Congress was because my little brother is one of those statistics that Mr. Asher failed to mention. He was killed by fentanyl poisoning. And this is not a statistic for me. This is not a catchy slogan. What this is, is a way for me to get up and do something about it. I wouldn't be in Congress were it not for failed policies of Democrat politicians that left our border wide open. And so I take offense to what my colleague said to begin this meeting, that all we care about is catchy slogans, because it's wrong."

McDowell spoke directly to the families of victims present at the hearing.

"In my office, I keep a picture of my brother that I have to see every single day before I go to vote. So I remember why I'm here. And every day when I see him, I will see Logan, because that's why I'm here. I'm here to do something about it. We're all here to do something about it, because we cannot let these, beautiful people that are murdered by dangerous criminals who have been in and out of custody but never actually put in a box where they belong. We can't do nothing."

McDowell continued with a question to Mr. Federico

"I hate that Mr. Asher is not here to talk about the rosy statistics that he offered us today. But I don't think that those rosy statistics really do anything for victims' families. And so, Mr. Federico, I have a question for you. Do the statistics that Mr. Asher shared with us today, do they do anything to ease your pain?

Steve Federico: "I think they're crap."

The "Victims of Violent Crime" field hearing highlighted rising concerns over violent crime in Charlotte and across the nation.

The witness list included:

• Mia Alderman, Grandmother of murder victim Mary Santina Collins
• Steve Federico, Father of murder victim Logan Federico and Charlotte suburbs resident
• Officer Justin Campbell, Police officer with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department
• Michael Woody, Owner and CEO of 828 Bail Bonds, and NC Representative for the National Association of Bail Agents