Pelosi says safety is 'highest priority' amid crime spike, but unsure 'exact form' legislation will take

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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday community safety is the "highest priority" after a week of tragic headlines of murder around the United States.

At a news conference at the Capitol Thursday, Pelosi, D-Calif., said she's unsure the exact form legislation in the House will take but the "first responsibility" for Congress is to protect and defend – whether it's national security or community safety.

"Community safety is of the highest priority," Pelosi told Fox News Digital.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during her weekly press conference, Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022 at the Capitol in Washington. (Rod Lamkey/Pool via AP)

Pelosi was responding to a question from Fox News Digital about the 30% spike in murders from 2019 to 2020 and notable recent tragedies, including a 24-year-old UCLA student, Brianna Kupfer, knifed to death while at work at a furniture store in Los Angeles; a woman in New York City, Michelle Go, who was fatally shoved in front of a subway; and an 11-month-old baby killed by a stray bullet in the Bronx Wednesday.

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Pelosi said the form of the House legislation to address safety "remains to be seen" but notes the Democrats' Build Back Better (BBB) legislation has such provisions. 

Pelosi's office said the speaker was referring to $5 billion in funding the BBB legislation has for community violence initiatives – $2.5 billion in violence intervention initiatives through the Department of Justice and $2.5 billion for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to support public health interventions to reduce community violence and trauma. 

Pelosi previously said in December that the legislation, which is currently stalled in the Senate, would "deliver the largest-ever federal investment in community violence intervention initiatives that have been proven to save lives. These measures will help us end the bloodshed and protect our children – and we will not relent until they are enshrined into law."

Pelosi also noted the American Rescue Plan that President Biden signed into law last year has significant funding – $350 billion – for state and local governments to help first responders like police and fire. Communities could also tap into those funds to address gun violence. 

Brianna Kupfer was working at Croft House, a luxury furniture store in Los Angeles, when she was stabbed to death last week. (Todd Kupfer)

"We have to be strong in that respect," Pelosi said. 

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As for the issue of criminal justice, Pelosi said the House could probably have a full day on that subject alone.

"Our first responsibility is to protect and defend whether that's our national security or community safety," Pelosi said. "We have to keep the American people safe."

President Joe Biden gestures as he speaks during a news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Democrats' massive BBB social spending legislation is on ice without the support of all Democrats in the Senate, but Biden Wednesday said he wanted to break the bill into "chunks."

Pelosi, however, signaled that Biden's suggestion doesn't quite work with the mechanics of the budget reconciliation process that allows one shot for Democrats to pass a major spending bill by a simple majority vote in the Senate.  

"This is a reconciliation bill," Pelosi said. "So when people say, 'Let's divide it up,' they don't understand the process."

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Pelosi said she still hopes for a "major bill going forward" that may be more limited than the original $1.75 trillion package, but "still significant."