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HONORING THE MEN AND WOMEN OF LAW ENFORCEMENT
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Phillips). Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 4, 2021, the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Johnson) is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
General Leave
Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the subject of my Special Order.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Louisiana?
There was no objection.
Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, during our time tonight, my colleagues and I will recognize the great men and women of law enforcement and the critical role they play in keeping our local communities safe.
National Police Week is particularly important this year. Of course, we observe it annually, but we all know, over the last year, law enforcement has been under constant attack by the political left in this country. Everyone can see it with their own eyes. The left has demanded to defund police departments. Some Democrats, even elected officials, have even gone as far as to call for abolishing the police.
Yet, in the face of that madness, police officers, nevertheless, continue to put their lives on the line every day to protect our communities, our families, and all of us. It is such a critical part of who we are as Americans.
As has been noted, we have lost many more officers in the line of duty over the past year, and we mourn those tragic losses. Despite the sacrificial service and the bravery of law enforcement, there are some Democrats even in this body, Mr. Speaker, who continue to push the false and outrageous narrative that police are actually somehow to be regarded as enemies of the communities they serve and that we don't need them.
Well, tonight, my Republican colleagues and I are here to tell you that they are wrong. We need police officers, and we need law and order. Nothing makes this more apparent than the spike in violent crime and homicides we have seen in Democrat-led cities that have defunded their police departments.
Specifically, there are a few examples here. In Austin, Texas, they have seen a 50 percent rise in homicides. In Los Angeles, they saw an 11.6 percent rise, and in New York City, 45 percent. By the way, in New York City, they have a 97 percent rise in shootings.
Defunding the police is a terrible idea, and anyone who looks objectively at this issue obviously knows that.
So, what should we do about it? We should support our police officers and those in law enforcement. We should encourage them to continue building strong relationships in all aspects of our communities. We should give law enforcement the tools and training they need to maintain law and order. Lastly, as a Nation, we must back the blue. We would argue it may have never been as important to do that as it is right now.
Mr. Speaker, I have a number of colleagues who will speak to this issue, and I will begin by yielding to the gentleman from Minnesota
(Mr. Stauber), my dear friend, who was not only a professional hockey player, most people know that, but a lot of people may not realize he is also a retired police lieutenant. So, he is, obviously, qualified to speak on this issue.
Mr. STAUBER. Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Johnson for holding this incredibly important Special Order this evening.
For 23 years, I had the privilege of serving my hometown of Duluth, Minnesota, as a police officer. I know firsthand the sacrifices law enforcement officers make for the safety and security of their communities.
Policing is a noble profession and often a dangerous one. Ninety-one officers have been shot so far in 2021.
Despite this danger, countless men and women still put on the uniform, leave their loved ones behind, and put their own lives on the line every day.
During National Police Week, we celebrate and honor these heroes, but they deserve our respect for more than just 1 week. They deserve it year-round and so do their families.
This past year has been especially challenging for our law enforcement officers. There are some in the media and some in this very Chamber who choose to vilify our police officers for the actions of a few bad apples. Some have even called to defund the police. This reckless and dangerous message has had a chilling effect on our society.
Low morale is causing some officers to retire early. New officer recruitment is strained, and crime is on the rise in many cities.
This irresponsible rhetoric must change, and I call on all of my colleagues to help.
We must all honor the noble profession of policing, which has provided every one of us here in this Chamber with safety and security. We must all encourage the American people to respect the rule of law and those who are entrusted to enforce it.
I, for one, am proud to stand here today, to publicly send my thanks to our dedicated police officers and to honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.
To all my brothers and sisters in the blue and brown, please know that you are appreciated, needed, and valued. God bless, and may He protect you all.
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Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for those words straight from the heart, and he speaks, as we said, with great authority on it.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Womack), my neighboring State, who will speak with equal passion on the issue.
Mr. WOMACK. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for hosting this very important series regarding law enforcement.
Mr. Speaker, I, too, rise today to honor the men and women in blue. They have devoted their lives to keeping our communities and families safe--unflinching in this mission, even when faced with growing hostility and danger. These guardians stand on the front lines, regardless of the peril to themselves, not for praise or glory, but to protect and serve the citizens and uphold law and order. And no matter the situation, they answer the call of duty.
Mr. Speaker, as I speak, Officer Tyler Franks of the Prairie Grove Arkansas Police Department is recovering, having been shot in the line of duty just a few days ago. Officer Franks has undergone multiple surgeries. He will endure more, and, indeed, has a long road ahead. Please pray for Officer Franks.
Let us also pay tribute to our fallen heroes. We honor the memory of Fayetteville Police Officer Stephen Carr, who, in December of 2019, was assassinated while sitting in his patrol unit behind the police department because of his uniform. We recognize the quick action of Corporal Seay Floyd and Officer Natalie Eucce, who immediately acted and captured the assassin.
We also remember Sebastian County Deputy Bill Cooper and Corporal Terry Wayne Johnson, both of whom made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty.
Mr. Speaker, these are just a few examples of the real sacrifices and dangers faced by our brave officers every day. I am eternally grateful for those who wear the badge and keep the Third District safe.
This National Police Week, I thank every noble law enforcement officer in Arkansas and across our Nation for their dedicated service. We salute them.
Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Arkansas. We do join him in those prayers for Officer Franks and the others around the country who are recovering from this violence that so many law enforcement officers have had to endure over the past year.
Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to yield next to another gentleman in our conference, who speaks with great authority on the issue, particularly on Police Week. Mr. Troy Nehls of Texas 22 was the former sheriff of Fort Bend County, Texas, and he knows of which he speaks.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Nehls).
Mr. NEHLS. Mr. Speaker, as a 30-year law enforcement veteran, the rhetoric and hatred I have seen towards police these last 12 months is disgusting.
Rather than recognize the over 800,000 law enforcement officers in this country who do their job honorably each and every day, the far left has sought to demonize and defund our law enforcement based off the actions of the few--the few who fail to uphold their oaths.
Every year in our country, there are more than 10 million arrests. Most Americans never hear a word about the millions of arrests that happen without incident.
Why is that?
Because it doesn't sell headlines. It doesn't fit the anti-law enforcement narrative.
The hateful anti-law enforcement rhetoric has led to violence and destruction in cities across our country. We see it in Seattle, Minneapolis, Portland--city blocks burned, businesses destroyed, and lives ruined forever. But we are not here today to focus on the anti-
law enforcement zealots.
This is National Police Week. We are here today to honor the 22,000 brave law enforcement officers who have given the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty.
In 2021, the names of 394 officers killed in the line of duty were added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C. Fifty-nine of those brave men and women were from my home State of Texas. One of them, I knew.
Fort Bend County Precinct 4 Constable Deputy Caleb Rule of Needville, Texas, tragically lost his life in a friendly fire incident involving one of my own sheriff's deputies on May 29, 2020. It is a day I will never forget.
Caleb is survived by his wife, Eden; and four children, Annie, Rosalan, Mark and Lizzie. May God bless them.
It is stories like Caleb's and the hundreds of other brave law enforcement officers who sacrifice their lives in the line of duty every year, who remind us just how dangerous serving in law enforcement is. The focus not only this week but every week should be on their bravery, service, and sacrifice. They damn well deserve our respect and support today and every day.
Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank the sheriff for his service and that passion. It is appropriate tonight, of course.
Mr. Speaker, I yield next to the gentleman from Kansas' big First District. The district, I think, has 63 counties. It is one of the largest in the country. He has got a lot of work to do. And they know him well because he also happened to have been the 50th Lieutenant Governor of the State of Kansas.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Mann).
Mr. MANN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for hosting this tonight.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate National Police Week.
I recognize the dedication of law enforcement officers on the thin blue line, and condemn calls to disband, dismantle, defund, or abolish the police.
No one dislikes bad police officers more than good police officers. Too often, we are quick to share the negative examples of law enforcement while failing to recognize excellent examples in our communities.
Today, I will share a story about an officer in my district and one of the finest law enforcement officers in Kansas: Michael Utz.
Chief Utz began his career with the Garden City Police Department in 1984. Over the next 36 years, he tirelessly served as a detective, sergeant, lieutenant, captain, and ultimately chief of police.
As police chief, Chief Utz led the department through the implementation of a citywide strategic plan, including the development of the Law Enforcement Explorer Program for students interested in pursuing law enforcement as a career; the Police Chaplain Program for hurting families; the PEER Support Program for police officers experiencing traumatic events; the Finney County Opioid Task Force; and the Ethnic Empowerment Network.
Also during his tenure, Chief Utz encouraged authentic relationships, and he especially worked to build two-way relationships with racial and ethnic minorities. These relationships proved to be vital after the 2016 terrorist bomb plot targeting a Garden City apartment complex.
When the FBI reached out to Chief Utz about the bomb plot, he knew just what to do. He worked with the president of the East African Community Center to convene a meeting with people in the community to discuss the incident before it even hit the news. Once the news broke about the foiled attack, Chief Utz made it his personal mission to work alongside impacted families and protect them from further danger.
In March, Mike retired with more than 36 years in law enforcement, and Courtney Prewitt was sworn in as the Garden City chief of police.
I am honored to recognize Chief Utz and his family for their service to our local communities, and to congratulate Courtney on his new role, and to celebrate good law enforcement officers across the First District of Kansas and around the country who put on a uniform every day and promise to protect and serve.
In their honor, I cosponsored several pieces of pro-law enforcement legislation, including a resolution condemning calls to defund the police; the Protect and Serve Act, which enhances penalties to anyone targeting and attacking law enforcement officers; the David Dorn Back the Blue Act, which supports State and local police departments; and a resolution designating this week as National Police Week.
America must stand with and stand for our law enforcement officers. Happy National Police Week.
Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for those important words.
Mr. Speaker, I am happy to yield next to a gentleman from Utah, a freshman who has made a big mark here in the First District of Utah. He is also a former officer of the U.S. Foreign Service.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Moore).
Mr. MOORE of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to make a simple point in support of the women and men serving in uniform across America. We must reject the myopic narrative that the actions of a dishonorable very few should dominate how we view, appreciate, and honor our police force.
Prior to Congress, I worked as a consultant with professionals in many industries. I never met anyone in any field who wasn't interested in improving their performance, and our police force is no different. However, if we continue to criticize and demonize our officers as a whole, we may find ourselves in a position where good, honorable men and women, professionals like fallen Officer Nathan Lyday from Ogden, Utah, who was killed almost one year ago in the line of duty, are no longer willing to wear the badge.
I am so grateful for our Nation's police force. They need our backing now, more than ever, and it is our duty to support them as we learn and move forward from recent tragic events.
Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend and I appreciate his remarks.
Mr. Speaker, from Utah, we will move over to one of our favorite representatives from the great State of Florida.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Donalds), a freshman who also made a big mark here and who came from the Florida House of Representatives.
Mr. DONALDS. Mr. Speaker, I want to cut to the chase this evening. It is a story I don't really tell much, but when I was 16 years old, I was held up at gunpoint. I was coming home from basketball practice, and it was dark. Frankly, they just came right out of a bodega on the corner.
When I got home, the first thing my mother did--well, first, she tried to stop me from going back after the people who robbed me because I was very upset. I was 16 and I was robbed and I was angry. But then she called the police, and they came promptly and they did everything they could to try to find the people who assaulted me.
You see, in community after community across our country, the police are the ones who stand in the gap between law-abiding citizens and those, frankly, who are criminalized, who were assaulted, where some damage is caused to that person.
The police are the ones in our communities. They patrol the streets. They try to keep our neighborhoods safe. They are the ones who put their lives on the line every single day, who may not go home. They are the ones who are the pillars of every community in our great country.
So on National Police Week, the number one thing we need to learn not just on this specific week, but in every week, is that we need to show them the necessary honor and respect that they deserve.
Mr. Speaker, we have all seen the videos that get thrown in front of us. We have seen the handful of acts that all Americans find distasteful. But the uniform, that badge, the officers that serve every day, they serve our communities with honor and with distinction. So it is really my pleasure and my honor to honor all those officers, including the ones in this very Capitol, who protect us every single day.
All Americans need to remember that, that when times get tough, and you really need help, 911 is right there, and our officers show up and they are always ready to protect and serve.
Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida for his remarks.
Mr. Speaker, from there, I am delighted to go north a bit. We will go to my friend GT Thompson, who is the ranking member on the House Committee on Agriculture, and who happens to represent the largest geographical district in the State of Pennsylvania, in terms of congressional districts.
Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman and I appreciate his leadership on this Special Order of standing with those who stand for us each and every night.
These are folks, members of our law enforcement, who, because of what they do, because of their courage, because of their commitment, we can sleep without concern and fear and we can make our way throughout the day.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today during this National Police Week to honor these men and women in blue. Established by a joint resolution of Congress in 1962, National Police Week plays a special recognition to those law enforcement officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty for the safety and the protection of others.
National Police Week is sponsored by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund and supported by a variety of organizations to honor the law enforcement community. The mission of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund is to tell the story of American law enforcement, honor the fallen, and make it safer for those who serve.
Over the past year, our law enforcement officers have been in the spotlight. Bad actors must be held accountable, but it is dangerous to villainize all police officers, and it is even more dangerous to seek to defund the police.
Mr. Speaker, I am proud to support the National Police Week resolution, which honors by name the 384 officers who were killed in the line of duty in 2020.
This resolution underscores the steadfast support and appreciation for law enforcement. As we honor National Police Week, it is important to take a moment to remember the sacrifices many officers, as well as their families, have made.
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Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his comments.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Tenney), another important voice to this Special Order tonight, my friend and colleague and classmate. We mentioned earlier how important New York is in this whole issue, particularly this year with the rapid rise in New York City, in particular, of their homicide rate and violent crime. I know she has a lot to say on the issue.
Ms. TENNEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Johnson so much for holding this very important evening of Special Orders to honor National Police Week. I am so honored to be here on behalf of our men and women in blue, who do such a great job supporting us.
Mr. Speaker, I just wanted to put out a few facts on this that I thought would be interesting to our listeners. There are over 800,000 law enforcement officers across the United States serving and protecting our communities, and I commend them as they serve at great personal risk.
These public servants intervene daily in dangerous and life-
threatening situations to deescalate tensions, to provide emergency care, to apprehend criminals, to defend the most vulnerable, and to protect the constitutional rights of all Americans.
Over the past year, law enforcement officers have faced unprecedented challenges in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and rising violent crime. In 2020, 264 law enforcement officers died in the line of duty. In my community alone, we have tragically lost friends in law enforcement, over a dozen in just my community who were killed in the line of duty. That is just way too many.
In 2021, across the Nation, 49 law enforcement officers have died, making it the deadliest period for law enforcement in decades.
Amidst these unparalleled challenges, unfortunately, politicians in Washington and around the country have perpetuated this idea that law enforcement officers are the enemy. If any of you watched or saw the wonderful law enforcement officer, who is also the mother of a young child, saving that toddler shot in Times Square, carrying this young child to safety, it would warm anyone's heart.
We know how hard they work and how much they care for their communities.
But, unfortunately, some have gone so far as to create a dangerous movement, known as defund the police, that demonizes the police, imperils our public safety, and needlessly divides our communities.
My priorities in Congress are to support law enforcement and bring our communities back together. We must move beyond the divisive and damaging rhetoric, mend the relationships between police and the communities they serve, and give our police officers the legal protections and tools they need to do their jobs safely and effectively.
We have done some of this in our community, and I want to highlight just one chief of police, Mark Williams, from the city of Utica, who has worked extensively in community policing programs, which has tremendously brought down the crime rate in terms of interactions with police. We still have challenges out there, but he is working hard to try to invest in community policing programs.
We need money and resources to do that, and we would not be successful if we actually defunded the police and didn't give them the opportunity to work with these communities to recruit people, people in the neighborhoods who want to protect their own communities and who actually care.
Toward these objectives, I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle. We have to solve these problems. It is essential to our safety. It is an essential role of government to keep us safe. Our constituents are depending on us.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Louisiana for doing this. I really appreciate the effort.
Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend and appreciate those remarks. That is an important perspective.
Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to yield to the gentleman from Indiana
(Mr. Baird), a gentleman who also knows quite a bit about sacrificial service to the country and our communities.
Mr. BAIRD. Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to show my support for our men and women in law enforcement.
Unfortunately, there is a growing movement across this country that is trying to defund police departments and disparage the character of all of our police officers. This movement is having deadly consequences on our communities.
We are starting to see what happens when we defund the police. For the first time in decades, violent crime is rising in the United States. Major American cities saw a 33 percent increase in homicides in 2020. Many of these cities took the advice from radicals and slashed their police departments, with the ultimate goal of defunding them.
These reckless decisions didn't make our communities safer. Instead, it only empowered criminals and put those most vulnerable in harm's way.
All Americans want bad police officers to be held accountable, but all Americans also want to be safe in their own communities. Police officers risk their lives every day to try to make that a reality. Congress should focus on making sure our police departments have the resources they need to keep criminals off the street while implementing the needed reforms to hold accountable bad officers.
Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Baird. I appreciate those comments.
Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to yield to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Kim).
Mrs. KIM of California. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Louisiana for hosting this Special Order tonight.
As we celebrate National Police Week, I would like to also add my voice to recognizing the brave men and women who put their lives on the line to keep our communities safe across California's 39th District and beyond. We also honor those who have paid the ultimate price in the line of duty.
I am proud to support our law enforcement and their important hard work that they do each and every day. From Captain Steven Tousey and Deputy Louis Denver with the Walnut Diamond Bar Sheriff's Station in Los Angeles County, who I rode along with, by the way, last week, to Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes and their hardworking team, I am always talking to our law enforcement across Los Angeles, Orange, and San Bernardino Counties about how I can help make sure that they have the support and resources needed to perform their demanding jobs and to learn how I, in Congress, can support our police officers.
I would also like to recognize the men and women of our Capitol Police here in Congress who put their lives on the line to protect not only the Members of Congress but our staffs and all the House staff behind the scenes who make this place run. We are so grateful for you and appreciate each and every one of you.
This National Police Week, I encourage all of us to take the time to thank a police officer in your area. It is because of our police officers that we can live our daily lives each and every day knowing that we are kept safe.
Mr. Speaker, I am proud to be standing here and back the blue.
Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mrs. Kim. You are so right that we need to back the blue, and I am so grateful to be joined by so many colleagues that share that sentiment.
Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to yield to the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Mrs. Fischbach), another freshman who has made a real mark here on Capitol Hill and who is very passionate about this issue as well.
Mrs. FISCHBACH. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for yielding to me on this important Special Order on National Police Week.
Mr. Speaker, it is National Police Week, and I rise today to join my colleagues in support of the men and women of law enforcement.
We ask law enforcement to do an impossible job, and they do it with professionalism, compassion, and grace. Their days are spent putting themselves in harm's way to keep us safe, and they are always on call. For that alone, they deserve our gratitude.
But the men and women of law enforcement do so much more, and I want them to know that there are many of us who are not afraid to stand up and say that we support you. We see the sacrifices you make and the good that you do. We see the time that you spend away from your family and the emotional toll the job takes on you.
I think of my many friends and family who are police officers and the hard work that they do. They will always have a special place in my heart.
Even as the profession faces unprecedented scrutiny, the men and women of law enforcement still do their jobs with pride because, for them, it is about more than just a paycheck. It is about serving their neighbors.
I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting, not defunding, law enforcement. Let's take care of those who take care of us. Together, let's work on making our communities better.
To the men and women of law enforcement in Minnesota and around the country, thank you.
Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mrs. Fischbach. That is an important perspective from the great State of Minnesota.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Murphy).
Mr. MURPHY of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, today, we celebrate National Police Week. After the year our police officers have endured, where radical activists sought to defund them, even with asinine proposals to abolish them, it has never been more important to show our appreciation to them.
For months, we have heard anti-American activists, and even some of our colleagues, tell us that the act of policing is inherently evil and unfixable. But, Mr. Speaker, nothing could be further from the truth.
Last year alone, 264 police officers from across this country gave their lives while protecting their communities. Throughout it all, the overwhelming majority of police officers are good men and women who have stepped up for their communities and built mutual trust that is vital to them doing their jobs.
Sure, there are bad apples out there. I am a physician. We have bad apples in medicine, but we don't seek to abolish doctors or the practice of medicine.
Nobody dislikes bad officers more than good officers because they give the good officers a bad reputation. Ninety-nine percent of police officers do their jobs with fairness, integrity, and honor and should not be lumped in with the few officers that disgrace their profession.
On the whole, police officers have done the best they can to defend their communities over this past year. For their thanks, 23 American cities have cut their budgets. Unsurprisingly, this has contributed to the biggest crime wave of the 21st century, making their jobs even harder and destroying decades of progress.
For instance, New York defunded their police by $1 billion. The result is a 97 percent increase in shootings and a 45 percent increase in homicides, especially crime in minority communities.
Make no mistake, these horrifying statistics can be traced directly back to defunding the police. If it can happen to this legendary police department in the country, the NYPD, it can happen anywhere, in your neighborhood also.
In reality, we should be investing more in our police. The job of a police officer is an incredibly difficult one. They are often asked to make split-second decisions, which have enormous consequences. This is why we should be providing them with more resources and training rather than demonizing them.
I, along with my fellow Republican colleagues, will continue to stand by the men and women in blue who faithfully and sacrificially serve their communities and keep our families safe.
Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend for those important words. You are exactly right. They need to be better funded and given greater resources and greater training, and we support that because we back the blue.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Keller), a dear friend who certainly shares that sentiment.
Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, service to our Nation comes in many forms, but none is more foundational to upholding our laws and protecting our communities than the service of America's men and women in blue.
On the surface, celebrating National Police Week means taking a moment to thank police officers for their service.
Looking deeper, National Police Week gives each of us a chance to reflect on the critical role that law enforcement plays in our society and to reaffirm our commitment to their important work.
Respect for law and order is necessary to build a strong community. Our vision forward increases funding for law enforcement to improve education and ensure police have the tools to keep themselves and their communities safe.
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Now more than ever, we must stand united in our fight against Washington Democrats' radical calls to defund our police. This rhetoric is dangerous and has real consequences on the safety of officers everywhere.
Tragically, more officers have been killed in 2021 than in the past 2 years combined. Every officer who puts on that uniform does so at great risk to themselves. They run toward dangerous situations and, by their courage, ensure the protection of those whom they serve. Many make the ultimate sacrifice in service to their communities.
For these reasons, and so many more, our Nation owes these heroes a debt of gratitude. This National Police Week, know that we salute police officers, not just today but every day. We are with them, and we are grateful for all they do to keep us safe.
Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. May I inquire as to how much time is remaining, Mr. Speaker?
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman has 23 minutes remaining.
Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from the First District of the great State of Alabama (Mr. Carl).
Mr. CARL. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Louisiana for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I rise on this year's National Police Week to recognize the brave men and women in law enforcement all over the country, as well as honoring the many police officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty. While some folks around this country and across the aisle are calling for defunding and debanding the police department, I am proud to be a strong supporter of our law enforcement, and I will always back the blue.
Nothing was more obvious than this last week and a half when I was with the Border Patrol. We have got to put more money into our law enforcement. We are choking them down. We have got to get them more resources. Now more than ever, police officers are in need of increasing resources as well as increasing support from our communities that they serve.
Police officers are willing. They choose an incredible and tough job with long hours and not enough pay, so it is critical for us to give them support and the respect that they deserve. I will continue doing all I can do to support law enforcement in south Alabama and all over the country. I encourage all my colleagues to support and fully fund the police.
Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from the great State of Alabama for his remarks. Indeed, these are concerns that we share from coast to coast. We will go back up to the great State of New York and hear from my friend who is a legislator and former Secretary of State.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from the State of New York (Mr. Jacobs).
Mr. JACOBS of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my support and gratitude for the members of law enforcement bravely serving my home in western New York and around the Nation.
This National Police Week gives us all a chance to pause and appreciate the dangerous, selfless, and, unfortunately, sometimes thankless job our police officers do. But we should not only honor them 1 week every year, we must continually show our support by resisting any and all attempts to defund our police.
Every day, our police officers wake up, put on a uniform, and go out into the communities that they serve to protect us not knowing if they will return home to their families that evening. They continually put their lives on the line.
I recently was humbled to honor numerous officers in my home of Orchard Park, New York, and Lancaster, New York, who rescued residents from burning buildings and brush fires while they were off duty.
We need police, and we need more young people to seek out a career serving their communities in law enforcement. Unfortunately, the recent stereotyping of police over the last year has been a severe deterrent to new members joining and also caused massive retirements of existing law enforcement, making all our communities less safe.
The assault from the left on our police must come to an end. It is imperative that we properly fund, equip, and support law enforcement on the local, State, and Federal level.
To conclude, our police are heroes and deserve to be honored as such. I join my colleagues in thanking them this week for their bravery and their service.
Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his perspective from New York. We will go from coast to coast out West back to California.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from the Eighth District of California (Mr. Obernolte).
Mr. OBERNOLTE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman, my colleague from Louisiana, for yielding.
I am honored to join in helping to celebrate National Police Week where we take a moment out of our lives to honor the commitment and the sacrifice of the men in blue and the men and women in uniform who help keep our communities safe.
I represent one of the largest districts in the United States, and, certainly, the largest district in California. It is very challenging to police, and my constituents rely on the abilities of the police to uphold the rule of law and to keep them safe in a very rural setting.
Our law enforcement agencies in California's Eighth District have done a tremendous job of this. Just this year, the San Bernardino County Police Department and Sheriff's Department have seized over 100 pounds of fentanyl. That is over half a million pills that they have kept off the street. They have also helped, just this year, 19 adults and four children escape the evil scourge of human trafficking.
In Inyo County, the Inyo County Sheriff's Department recently held an event in which they reclaimed almost 200 pounds of unused prescription medication, keeping those toxic substances out of our landfill and out of our water supply.
In Mono County, the Mono County Sheriff's Department recently implemented a 911 text to 911 system that will help the residents of Inyo County reach law enforcement services when they need it. If you know that county, Mr. Speaker, then you know how rural it is and how much those community constituents depend on a responsive police force.
I know there has been a lot of discussion in this body and in legislatures across the country about police reform this year. What I wish that all of our constituents knew is that there is broad, bipartisan agreement on 90 percent of that legislation. We can solve this problem in a way that implements police reform, but at the same time, respecting the role that our law enforcement members fill in serving our community that provides them the training and the resources that they need to do their jobs, and that honors the role that they play in protecting our communities.
So happy National Police Week, and I thank our men and women in uniform.
Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend for those comments.
Mrs. Lesko is another good friend and colleague. We trust her voice on so many things. Nothing highlights the need for law and order more than the current crisis at the border created by the Biden administration. She has seen this firsthand as she represents Arizona.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Arizona (Mrs. Lesko).
Mrs. LESKO. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Johnson for yielding.
For the past year, we have heard dangerous calls to disband, defund, and dismantle the police.
Guess what?
Since then, dangerous crimes have skyrocketed.
Is it any wonder?
We have also seen a rising number of police officers killed or wounded in the line of duty. This is totally unacceptable, and the effort to vilify the police is to blame.
Our Nation's police officers are brave and hardworking men and women who put themselves on the front line each and every day to protect us and my constituents. These officers deserve to go home to their families at the end of the day.
I am grateful for the sacrifices of our law enforcement officers in Arizona and throughout the entire Nation. Both, during the National Police Week and every single day, I will support our law enforcement and defend the police.
The vilification of our police officers is having a terrible effect in our communities. I have talked to police chiefs who are having a difficult time even hiring police officers, and this push in some of the legislation that we passed here in this very own House to take away qualified immunity from the police so that anybody can sue them personally is wrong.
I will continue to stand up for the police, I will continue to stand up for the public, and I will continue to stand up for public safety.
Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Arizona for her remarks. We will stand up for the police.
Mr. Speaker, you have heard many comments and similar sentiments here tonight. It has been echoed over and over.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to one more of my colleagues who is from the Sixth District of the great State of Wisconsin (Mr. Grothman).
Mr. GROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, I stand to honor our policemen and -women on National Police Week. Few things in this job are more illuminating than doing a ride-along with local law enforcement, and I strongly suggest to those people out there who think we have to change the laws to harm the police, contact their local police or sheriff's department, do a ride-along, and find out what their job is really like.
The week should be uncontroversial except for recently ambitious politicians have decided to get reelected by tearing down the police. Black Lives Matter, an organization founded by a Marxist, attacks the police for racism. I ran across a local schoolteacher educating his students that police are racists. The Democratic Party passed a bill out of this House making it easier to sue a police officer.
This is one of the strange situations in which the crisis politicians talking about is actually going in the opposite direction. I picked some statistics I could find at random. In 1971, 50 years ago, New York had 93 people killed by the police. Up until 1996, it was rarely under 20 people a year. Now it is rarely over 10 people a year who are killed by the police. There are reports on a study of people who died in the 30 largest cities in the United States. There has been a 37 percent reduction in police shootings leading to deaths.
Harvard economist Roland Fryer reports police are 47 percent less likely to discharge a weapon when attacked by a Black man, and Heather Mac Donald in the proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reports that if there is a bias in police shootings after crime rates are taken into account, it is against White civilians.
The wholesale antipolice hysteria has dramatically increased homicides in Milwaukee and other big cities as the police become more passive. Wake up, America. Familiarize yourself with the statistics, and stand up to the politicians who are riding antipolice hatred to reelection.
Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Those are strong words, and they are accurate. People have politicized this issue, and it is turning them against law enforcement, and it is a terrible, terrible situation.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from the Sixth District of the great State of Tennessee (Mr. Rose).
Mr. ROSE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to salute the incredibly brave patriots who keep America safe. This National Police Week, I want to share my profound appreciation to members of our law enforcement community, our officers, deputies, and troopers, and especially those law enforcement officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty for the safety and protection of others.
America is the land of opportunity because we are a nation of laws. For our Nation to remain strong, we must have law and order.
Low morale is permeating police departments across our Nation as rioters and lawbreakers repeatedly vilify, demonize, and verbally attack the thin blue line. I will tell you here today: any violence against law enforcement must end, and it must end now.
Fair treatment in the justice system is critical, but it will not be achieved by the defund the police movement and cop-free zones. Lawlessness without police equals crime and the destruction of our Republic.
In my State, Tennesseans know that the men and women who serve in law enforcement are some of the best people in our communities. They run towards danger, never away, and they risk their lives to protect us and our families. Those who serve in law enforcement deserve the respect of every citizen every day.
I thank our law enforcement officers for what they do every day, and this National Police Week we respect, honor, and remember those we have lost.
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Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I am happy to yield to the gentleman from the Third District of the great State of Texas (Mr. Taylor).
Mr. TAYLOR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Louisiana for yielding.
I often brag to my congressional colleagues that I hope one day America could be like the Third District of Texas. It is a truly magnificent county, Collin County. One of the many factors that has led to the success of our community is the hardworking police officers who undoubtedly have played a significant role.
This National Police Week, we remember those officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty.
I am proud to recognize the Collin County police officers who risk their own lives and well-being to make our communities some of the very safest in the Nation. In fact, the cities of Frisco, McKinney, and Plano, all located in Collin County, were named three of the top 10 safest cities in America.
This is a true testament to how well members of our community, families, neighbors, small business owners, nonprofits, and local officials collaborate with police departments to ensure Collin County remains one of the very best places in America to live, work, and raise a family.
Let this National Police Week serve as a reminder that, in times of disaster or crisis, police officers are the ones who run toward the danger. Our brave officers go above and beyond to protect our communities, and I can never thank them enough.
Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas for those great words.
I yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Gimenez), a very important voice and someone who has been on the front lines of community service, a first responder, a fire chief, which is my favorite previous job of his, although he has been a mayor as well.
Mr. GIMENEZ. Mr. Speaker, this week, we honor our incredible law enforcement officers who work tirelessly to keep our communities safe. At a moment when some Americans have lost confidence in our country's institutions, we must come together to forge a new path of unity and purpose by addressing every injustice while acknowledging the positive actions of our police officers.
This week, I cosponsored the JUSTICE Act to provide needed police reform to help ensure positive, fair policing. This legislation helps ensure law enforcement agencies and officers are kept safe.
I know firsthand the importance of body cameras, not only for accountability, but also for the safety of every law enforcement officer. As mayor of Miami-Dade County, I was one of the first in the country to implement a program putting body cameras on our police officers. This legislation will help replicate what we did in Miami-
Dade County across the country by providing $500 million for State and local law enforcement agencies to equip officers with body cameras.
Police officers deserve to know we have their backs. Their commitment to their communities, their willingness to put their lives on the line to keep our children and grandchildren safe, must be commended and not attacked. It is time to step up and give our police officers the support they deserve.
Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. I thank the gentleman for that voice of authority on the issue.
Mr. Speaker, I have been honored to be joined on the floor by so many colleagues from around the country tonight to honor our law enforcement officers this National Police Week.
I was sitting here as I was listening to the speeches tonight, and I was reminded, as we always are as we sit on this floor of the people's House, of the words that are inscribed right above your head there, our Nation's great motto, In God We Trust.
We are a Nation under God, as we know, and millions of Americans find daily inspiration in the Word of God. On National Police Week, it is appropriate to note that we find there a useful reminder about the noble calling of those who serve our communities so bravely. Indeed, it is a divine calling, and I think those who are calling for the defunding and the disrespect of our police need to remember that it was God himself who ordained that authority.
In the 13th chapter of the book of Romans, it is subtitled Submission to Governing Authorities. I just want to read that in closing tonight, Mr. Speaker. It begins in verse 1 of Chapter 13:
Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God himself has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.
Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.
For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended.
For the one in authority is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God's servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.
Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.
This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants who give their full time to governing.
Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.
Mr. Speaker, I conclude tonight with that admonition, that we give honor where honor is due. That is what National Police Week is about.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 82
The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
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