Defending the Police: The Court of Public Opinion with Congressman Jim Banks
Episode #45 | 21 March 2023
Policing in America is facing an existential threat that will take years to overcome. Officers are leaving our profession at an alarming rate while at the same time, fewer candidates are seeking policing as a profession.
On this episode of the Blue View Podcast, National FOP President Patrick Yoes sits down with Representative Jim Banks to discuss his efforts to protect qualified immunity, the crime crisis ravaging our communities as well as the nationwide shortage of police officers.
Congressman Banks represents Indiana’s 3rd Congressional District. In the House, he is a member of the Committee on Armed Services, Committee on Education and Labor, and Committee on Veterans Affairs. Previously, Congressman Banks served as a member of the Indiana Senate from 2010 to 2016 taking a temporary leave in 2014 to fulfill his military deployment to Afghanistan.
About Congressman Jim Banks
Congressman Jim Banks is a native Hoosier, born and raised in Columbia City. He earned an undergraduate degree from Indiana University and a Master of Business Administration from Grace College. While serving in the Indiana State Senate from 2010 to 2016, he chaired the Senate Veteran Affairs and the Military Committee where he led the charge on many significant pro-growth, pro-family, and pro-veteran reforms.
In 2014 and 2015, Congressman Banks took a leave of absence from the Indiana State Senate to deploy to Afghanistan during Operations Enduring Freedom and Freedom’s Sentinel. Due to a unique state law regarding leaves of absence, his wife, Amanda, was elected to serve in his place during the deployment. Banks is often told she made a better State Senator than he did.
In addition to his service in the State Senate, Congressman Banks is a past president of the Columbia City Rotary Club, former chairman of the Whitley County Republican Party, and has served on the Whitley County Council and Northeast Indiana Workforce Development Board.
Congressman Banks was elected to U.S. House of Representatives in 2016 to represent Indiana’s 3rd Congressional District. In the 117th Congress, Congressman Banks served as Chairman of the Republican Study Committee—the largest caucus of conservative legislators in the House. He currently serves on the House Armed Services Committee, the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and the newly formed House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the U.S. and the Chinese Communist Party.
Amid Congressman Banks’ work as a public servant, he has been recognized for outstanding service and leadership. Congressman Banks has received the Family Research Council’s “True Blue” award for his 100% pro-life, pro-family voting record, an A rating from the NRA and the NFIB’s “Guardian of Small Business” award and the FreedomFighter Award from FreedomWorks in recognition of his dedication to economic freedom and personal liberty.
Congressman Banks, alongside his wife Amanda, are the parents to three daughters, Lillian, Elizabeth, and Joann.
