On Friday, members of the House of Representatives debated the bill H.Res. 1213 relating to violence against police officers.
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NewsTranscript
00:00 In the memory of Officer Glenn Hilliard and all our fallen police officers, never be forgotten.
00:06 I yield back.
00:08 For what purpose does the gentleman from Tennessee seek recognition?
00:12 Thank you Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to address the House for one minute and to
00:19 revise and extend my incredible remarks.
00:23 Without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute.
00:26 Thank you Mr. Speaker, I appreciate you letting me speak today.
00:31 I want to recognize the good folks at Pratt's Country Store in Fountain City.
00:34 They've been long-time friends of mine and my family's.
00:37 Perry Pratt's grandfather and brother bought the acreage in the 20s and it's been family-owned
00:43 and family-operated ever since, Mr. Speaker.
00:46 Pratt's sells fresh produce, dairy, baked goods, and fruits, and my mom always loved
00:49 to shop there and I always like to stop there as well.
00:53 The whole family grew up working in and around the store and you can tell, they treat everyone
00:58 like family when they walk in.
01:00 I also never have to worry about where the produce comes from, Mr. Speaker, because Pratt's
01:05 is known for locally sourcing their food from East Tennessee farmers.
01:09 I also love walking into Pratt's because it just smells good.
01:14 It smells like an old country store.
01:16 It smells fresh and it smells clean.
01:19 They do things the old-fashioned way and they make people feel like they're stepping back
01:22 in time.
01:23 Ralph and Perry Pratt were recently honored as Fountain City's Men of the Year due to
01:26 their amazing customer service.
01:29 Everyone that goes to Pratt's country store knows how delicious everything is and they
01:33 have some really great vegetables.
01:36 As good as their produce is, though, Mr. Speaker, they're best known for the family atmosphere.
01:40 They're God-fearing people and they've always been respected in our community.
01:44 They've been here for three generations for a reason.
01:46 I want them to know they're appreciated and I hope they're around for several more generations.
01:51 Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I yield the remainder of my time.
01:53 [End of Audio]
02:08 [Break]
02:21 [Break]
02:42 [Break]
02:55 What purpose does the gentleman from Virginia seek recognition?
02:58 Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 1227, I call up House Resolution 1213 and
03:04 ask for its immediate consideration in the House.
03:07 The clerk will report the title of the resolution.
03:09 House Resolution 1213, Resolution Regarding Violence Against Law Enforcement Officers.
03:17 Pursuant to House Resolution 1227, the resolution is considered read.
03:21 The resolution shall be debated for one hour, equally divided and controlled by the chair
03:25 and ranking minority member of the committee on jurisdiction or their respective designees.
03:32 The gentleman from Virginia, Mr. Kline, and the gentleman from Maryland, Mr. Ivey, will
03:36 each control 30 minutes.
03:38 The chair recognizes the gentleman from Virginia.
03:41 Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days
03:45 in which to revise and extend their remarks.
03:47 Without objection.
03:48 I yield myself such time as I may consume.
03:51 The chair recognizes.
03:53 Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
03:54 Mr. Speaker, it's my pleasure to welcome so many fine men and women in blue here in our
03:59 nation's capital for Police Week.
04:01 However, as always, I'm concerned every day for the safety and well-being of these brave
04:06 men and women in the communities across this great nation where they live and work.
04:12 Radical policies in states and cities across the country continue to promote a disastrous
04:19 rise in crime and a dangerous environment for police officers.
04:24 Now more than ever, we must show our support for our law enforcement officers.
04:30 As a former local prosecutor, I know just how important a robust police force is to
04:34 keeping our communities safe.
04:36 For effective crime deterrence, you need prosecutors willing to pursue convictions and judges willing
04:43 to sentence and incarcerate.
04:45 But first and foremost, you need police willing to arrest and charge offenders for crimes
04:51 committed.
04:52 And you need local and state governments willing to fund and support our police forces.
04:57 Let me be clear.
04:59 This effort to defund the police has had a detrimental impact on efforts to combat crime,
05:06 but also on recruitment, retention, and morale among our law enforcement officers.
05:12 In Democrat-run cities across the country, areas where they defunded the police saw a
05:18 spike in crime and continue to struggle today with keeping their cities safe.
05:24 Despite Democrats' calls to defund the police and the emotional toll that that takes, we
05:29 know that law enforcement officers answer every call for help, regardless of who the
05:33 person is, what they believe, and regardless of the threat to their own lives.
05:39 So many of those brave men and women who answer the call of duty, put on the uniform, go to
05:44 work in the morning, never return home in the evening.
05:48 Today there are 23,785 names of law enforcement officers who have been killed in the line
05:55 of duty that are inscribed on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial here in Washington,
06:02 D.C.
06:03 Words can never express our gratitude to each and every individual whose name is on that
06:08 wall.
06:09 Unfortunately, we still see warning signs that the environment does not show any promise
06:15 of becoming safer.
06:17 According to the Fraternal Order of Police, 378 officers were shot in the line of duty
06:22 in 2023, the highest number recorded since FOP began collecting the data.
06:29 So far in 2024, 136 officers have been shot.
06:34 That must end.
06:36 That is completely unacceptable.
06:38 We must take a stand against these attacks and honor our fallen law enforcement officers.
06:43 This resolution does just that.
06:45 This resolution condemns calls to defund the police.
06:48 It also recognizes that law enforcement officers must have the training and the resources necessary
06:54 to protect the health and safety of the public, as well as their fellow law enforcement officers
06:58 on the job.
07:00 We must never forget those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty.
07:05 It is up to us in Congress to honor their memories and to stand up and protect those
07:10 who do so much to protect us.
07:13 I urge my colleagues to support this resolution, and I reserve the balance of my time.
07:18 The gentleman reserves.
07:19 The gentleman from Maryland is recognized.
07:23 Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
07:24 I yield myself such time as I may consume.
07:33 On August 29, 2002, two deputy sheriffs in Prince George's County, Elizabeth Magruder
07:40 and James Arno, were ambushed in the home of the shooter's family.
07:46 They had been called to the house to execute a warrant, a health warrant, because the parents
07:51 were concerned about the erratic behavior of their son.
07:56 Elizabeth Magruder was shot in the back of the head, and James Arno was shot and killed
08:03 as well.
08:04 He left behind a wife, two children, and two grandchildren.
08:07 She left behind a husband and a three-year-old son.
08:11 I had just been elected state's attorney in Prince George's County, but I hadn't even
08:15 been sworn in yet.
08:17 And so one of my first duties was to attend the funerals for both of them.
08:26 And my first memorial service during Police Week was in their honor.
08:33 So I take this very seriously.
08:35 The National Police Week commemoration, I think, is something that is very grave, and
08:42 we should treat with great respect.
08:46 And unfortunately, the ambush that Magruder and Arno faced that day, those haven't ended.
08:54 We just saw recently the ambush in Charlotte.
08:58 Four officers were killed, eight were shot, and we've had others like that all over the
09:05 country.
09:06 So my thought when we had Police Week approaching was that we would approach this in a bipartisan
09:14 manner.
09:15 And I actually reached out and worked with Congressman Hunt from Texas, and we put together
09:21 a bill that was aimed at expanding the number of police officers, because we know that there
09:28 are shortages across the country, and we know that we need to increase the pipeline so more
09:33 officers will come and take on these dangerous tasks and stand in harm's way, stand in the
09:39 gap, as the pastor said this morning.
09:42 And it was a bipartisan effort, came out of the committee by voice vote, was passed on
09:47 the floor in a similar capacity.
09:50 The Senate companion bill was passed as well, and we're looking forward to that becoming
09:54 the law of the land in short order.
09:58 Unfortunately, much of the legislation that's come after that has been anything but bipartisan.
10:06 And the legislation we're speaking to today, I'm afraid, falls in that category.
10:10 When I took a look at the bill, H. Res. 1213, I'd hoped to see praise go out to our officers
10:21 across the country for the work that they do, and the officers who've lost their lives
10:26 in the line of duty.
10:27 And indeed, there are paragraphs that speak to that.
10:31 But unfortunately, there's passages that don't.
10:35 And my colleague from Virginia, in his comments a few moments ago, made some of the same kinds
10:40 of comments with respect to, for example, the defund the police argument.
10:45 Now somehow, my Republican colleagues have concluded that defund the police, a phrase
10:52 that was used several years ago, is somehow fueling the rise of crime, and in this particular
10:58 instance, the death and attacks against police officers.
11:04 But as I just mentioned a moment ago, Magruder and Arno were killed in 2002, over 20 years
11:10 ago.
11:11 And we know we've been seeing deaths by officers in the line of duty for decades now.
11:18 It's nothing new.
11:19 So to kind of casually blame it on a slogan that I'm not aware of anybody in the body
11:26 here today that espoused that, certainly I didn't, to pretend that that's the reason
11:33 that these shootings are occurring, that these killings are occurring, is I think unfortunate
11:40 and an abuse of what this week is supposed to mean.
11:45 Now, in addition, I would say this.
11:48 I just mentioned that I don't know that anybody supports a defund the police slogan from a
11:53 few years ago, but we do have colleagues in the House right now, a House Republican, who
12:00 has a bill, HR 374, to defund ATF, and we have House Republican colleagues who called
12:07 for the defunding of the FBI.
12:09 Now, the irony of that, as those of us who've worked in law enforcement know, I was a prosecutor
12:15 for 12 years, four in the federal level, eight as a locally elected state's attorney, but
12:21 the local and federal prosecutors work together all of the time.
12:25 And it's critical, and sometimes they work together in task forces, because they can
12:28 bring the local, the state, and the federal forces to bear and provide maximum support
12:35 in protecting our communities.
12:38 But unfortunately, this piece of legislation and much of the legislation that's been discussed
12:43 this week, that's been offered by my Republican colleagues, intentionally ignores federal
12:49 law enforcement.
12:50 In fact, we had one that was marked up in my committee, Judiciary Committee, where I
12:55 offered an amendment to include federal law enforcement, and it was expressly rejected
13:00 on a party line vote by my Republican colleagues.
13:05 And I gotta say, you know, FBI, ATF, Border Patrol, they put their lives on the line,
13:10 too, and we should respect them as well.
13:13 And so one of the reasons I can't support this legislation is that it really is disrespectful
13:19 to those federal law officers.
13:21 But the other, I guess, is back to the defund the police issue.
13:26 There's a recognition in the legislation where it talks about the number of officers who've
13:30 died in the line of duty in 2021, 2022, and 2023.
13:35 And I can talk about the specific numbers in a moment when we move forward in the debate,
13:41 but one provision actually notes that 378 law enforcement officers were shot in the
13:47 line of duty in 2023.
13:51 And the one common thread between the vast majority of officers who've been killed in
13:57 the line of duty, like Arno and Magruder, like the people who were ambushed in Charlotte,
14:02 like most of the people with the names on the wall just a few blocks away from here,
14:06 is they were shot.
14:09 Now sadly, my Republican colleagues are unable, unwilling, unsomething to take a step to address
14:18 that gun violence.
14:20 And you know, the resolution here speaks in terms of defunding the police as the cause
14:25 of their deaths.
14:27 But all of us know that the greatest threat that these officers face is not being stabbed
14:33 to death, is not being beaten to death with a slogan like defund the police, it's being
14:39 shot to death.
14:40 And I just briefly, 2022, these are numbers from the cops working with the National Fraternal
14:47 Order of Police, a total of 331 law enforcement officers were shot in the line of duty during
14:52 calendar year 2022, and 267 separate shooting incidents, including 42 incidents where multiple
15:00 officers were shot.
15:03 Now I appreciate the fact that we're going to offer resolutions to praise officers, but
15:10 if we're really serious about protecting them, it's hard to ignore a data point like that.
15:17 Yet our officers have to go out there knowing that they face these threats all the time.
15:22 They go, traffic stops are particularly dangerous, but sometimes in the home, like for Arno and
15:28 Magruder, they can be ambushed there.
15:30 Sometimes it, like in Charlotte, they can be ambushed in the open air.
15:36 But taking that seriously, I think is an important piece.
15:39 Yet the resolution doesn't even mention it.
15:42 And I'll say this, and then I'll take a pause here for a moment, but there's legislation
15:50 pending right now in the House of Representatives.
15:53 I offered one, assault weapons ban, I think, you know, I figured it might be a bridge too
15:58 far for me to ask my Republican colleagues to co-sponsor that.
16:02 So I came up with a bill, it's called Raise the Age, and it would elevate the age from
16:08 18 to 21 to purchase assault weapons.
16:12 And I thought that would be a reasonable bill to offer because there was already a provision
16:16 in the law for handguns.
16:18 You had to be 21 to purchase a handgun.
16:21 And I believe that was put in place during the Reagan era.
16:23 Now for my bill, raising it to 21, you got to be 21 to buy alcohol.
16:30 I thought it might make sense to be 21 to buy an assault weapon as well.
16:34 And I think we have 170 plus co-sponsors for that bill.
16:42 But none of them are Republican, not one, even though Republicans had agreed to legislation
16:49 similar to that in previous years.
16:52 So you know, I'll speak in a moment about the resources issue as well.
16:56 In the 117th Congress, Democrats supported legislation to provide equipment to police
17:06 officers.
17:07 We'll get into the particular numbers of that in a moment.
17:11 But none of that's moving forward here in the House now.
17:14 And none of it is certainly moving forward in Police Week.
17:17 But I just want to point out one little factoid too from the COPS document that I mentioned
17:21 before.
17:22 It's about, it's under the heading bullet resistant vests.
17:27 At least 34 officers were protected from gunshots that struck a protected ballistic vest.
17:34 Yet we're struggling to find a way to provide additional support and equipment for officers
17:40 to help them stay safe on the street.
17:43 That's what we ought to be doing during Police Week.
17:46 And to the extent we're going to talk in terms of resolutions in support of officers, let's
17:52 strip out the political nonsense.
17:55 The defund the police stuff, I think, really has no place in helping to protect police
18:01 officers and make them safe.
18:03 And as I mentioned a moment ago, it's a slap in the face the way these legislative provisions
18:09 have been proposed to always exclude federal law enforcement.
18:14 I know you guys have issues on the other side about some of them, but I think this isn't
18:19 the time or the place to express it in that way.
18:22 Federal law enforcement deserves the same kinds of respect, the same kind of appreciation,
18:28 the same kind of protection that local and state law enforcement officers do.
18:33 So I'm going to urge my colleagues to oppose not only this resolution, but we've had others
18:40 that have come through before, and I think we've urged them to oppose those as well.
18:45 But I'm going to urge my colleagues on the other side, after this vote's over, and you're
18:51 in the majority, so you can move this kind of stuff, whether it really makes a difference
18:57 or not.
18:58 But hopefully after we get past this moment, we can actually sit down and get back to the
19:04 type of legislation that I worked with with Congressman Hunt that can really make a difference
19:10 to help make police officers safer, to help get more police officers on the street, and
19:16 to praise all of them for the great work that they do.
19:20 And with that, I reserve.
19:21 The gentleman reserves.
19:22 The gentleman from Virginia is recognized.
19:26 I thank the Speaker, and I thank the gentleman for his remarks, and I agree with him that
19:30 we should stand in support of all of our law enforcement officers at the local, state,
19:35 and federal level.
19:37 And in addition to the work that we have done together on bills affecting law enforcement
19:45 in the Judiciary Committee, I'm also honored to serve on the Commerce Justice Science Subcommittee
19:51 of Appropriations, where we deal specifically with support for federal law enforcement as
19:57 well as programs for state and local law enforcement.
20:00 And I can commit to the gentleman that the appropriations process, under Chairman Cole's
20:09 leadership, will be focusing on providing that support for law enforcement across the
20:14 country at all levels.
20:16 And so I encourage him to keep a close watch on those bills as they move through, and hopefully
20:21 we can get his support for those pieces of legislation that provide that funding.
20:27 We have loss of officers in every community, and during National Police Week, we pause
20:34 to thank those brave men and women in blue and in rural areas like mine wearing brown
20:41 uniforms as well, sheriff's deputies.
20:44 And we remember those who were lost.
20:47 We have had loss in the 6th Congressional District.
20:50 In Bridgewater, just recently, we had officers who we have lost.
20:55 And it really does take a toll not just on the families of the victims, but on the entire
21:00 community.
21:02 And we want to make sure that that number is reduced, eliminated, and we can do that
21:12 not only through funding efforts to support our police, but also through resolutions like
21:19 this where we try and reverse the trend that we've seen across the country, and in many
21:28 Democrat-run cities, quite frankly, where the antagonistic attitude toward men and women
21:34 in law enforcement has reached a fever pitch.
21:40 And we have to turn that around.
21:42 We have to restore that respect for law enforcement in our communities, that confidence in law
21:49 enforcement in our communities.
21:52 And through efforts like this, but also through efforts on the ground, nothing can replace
21:59 support for law enforcement among city councils, among elected officials at the local level,
22:05 among teachers, among community members.
22:10 That's what's going to be ultimately the driving force behind the reversal in this anti-police,
22:18 defund the police type attitude in our communities, and the restoration of that respect, and a
22:23 reduction in crime that would follow.
22:27 Because if you respect the police, hopefully it follows logically that you're not going
22:34 to be someone who wants to cross the police in a way that, by violating the laws.
22:42 So we will continue to push legislation like this, and legislation that we work on in a
22:47 bipartisan manner.
22:48 I'm sorry the gentleman says he can't support this resolution, but I hope that we continue
22:53 to work on these types of bills as we move forward.
22:57 As to the issue of gun violence, I would say that efforts to raise the age at which adults
23:10 in this country can exercise their constitutional rights to defend their homes, defend their
23:19 families, defend their communities, are not the answer.
23:28 We only need to look in the District of Columbia to see what has happened when the age at which
23:38 juvenile crimes, the age for covering crimes and determining that they are juveniles has
23:45 been raised over the years, and is now 25.
23:50 If you're under 25 years old in the District of Columbia, and you commit a crime, you can
23:56 be considered a juvenile for purposes of sentencing, and for purposes of punishment.
24:02 That doesn't make sense.
24:07 So we passed a bill this week that actually lowers that age from 24 down to 18, because
24:12 truly, if you commit a crime and you are a juvenile, and I worked in juvenile courts,
24:17 so I understand that there need to be different approaches to punishing juveniles.
24:23 They need much more restorative processes that bring them back to a point at which they
24:31 will be law-abiding adults.
24:33 But once they're adults, once they're 18, treating them as juveniles only without any
24:40 kind of punishment for the crimes that are committed, it really does nothing but encourage
24:50 that type of illegal behavior once they reach adulthood.
24:53 So we don't think that raising ages and pretending someone who's an adult is not an adult, and
25:02 can't exercise all of the rights enshrined to them under the Constitution, is appropriate.
25:08 So with that, I would like to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Minnesota,
25:15 great law enforcement officer, Mr. Stauber.
25:19 The gentleman is recognized.
25:21 Mr. Speaker, I'm frustrated and angry, but also deeply saddened.
25:26 The law enforcement profession is an honorable one.
25:30 To have so much compassion for others that you are willing to put your life on the line,
25:35 it is, as we say, a call to service, and not many hear that call today.
25:41 If you had asked me a few years ago if my children should become law enforcement officers,
25:46 I would have undoubtedly said yes.
25:50 But after these last few years observing the treatment of our law enforcement officers,
25:56 I would have to think twice about my answer.
26:00 Since 2020, I have watched the law enforcement profession become a punching bag, scapegoated
26:07 by rabid media pundits more interested in clickbait than the facts, villainized by Hollywood,
26:14 and disparaged by city councils, members of this Congress, both men and women, and even
26:23 our president.
26:25 Yet all these people expect law enforcement to respond to the calls for service.
26:29 They expect them to take the verbal assault and show up with a smile on their face ready
26:34 to serve.
26:35 The wonderful thing about my brothers and sisters in uniform is that despite this treatment
26:41 and abuse, they will show up.
26:44 They will answer every call.
26:48 They will sacrifice their safety for others.
26:52 They will help protect their community no matter how much ridicule or resentment they
26:57 face.
27:00 But I am here to say the things that they can't.
27:04 I'm here to protect my brothers and sisters in the blue and brown because others won't.
27:10 Enough is enough.
27:13 Law enforcement officers deserve our respect, our admiration, and our support.
27:19 To provide anything less is unacceptable.
27:22 The resolution before us acknowledges the change in attitude towards law enforcement
27:27 over the last few years and the subsequent violence directed toward them.
27:33 It acknowledges that they respond to the calls for service no matter who is on the other
27:38 line.
27:39 It acknowledges that the job has only become more dangerous and more mentally and physically
27:44 exhausting, yet they still show up for work not knowing if they've kissed their family's
27:50 goodbye for the last time.
27:52 Importantly, this resolution also acknowledges that we in this chamber set the standard.
28:01 We are the ones who must demonstrate a respect for the rule of law and a respect for our
28:06 law enforcement officers if we are to expect the public to do the same.
28:11 We must do so in our actions, in our conversations, and even the policies we consider.
28:19 Bills that never become law can have the most staggering ripple effect.
28:23 They can persuade local municipalities to implement soft on crime policies and strip
28:29 law enforcement of resources.
28:31 They can encourage the public to cheat, steal, and disrespect fellow community members.
28:37 They can cause good, noble people to change their minds about entering the profession
28:42 that I love so much, which is law enforcement.
28:46 Actions have consequences, and our communities are suffering as a result.
28:50 But let's take this moment to learn to change for the better.
28:55 We can rise to the moment, stand with our law enforcement officers, reestablish law
29:00 and order, and bring safety back to our communities.
29:04 I encourage all of my colleagues to vote on this resolution.
29:07 Mr. Chair, I want to take a few minutes to respond to my good friend and colleague who's
29:15 managing the time on the other side of the aisle.
29:18 Talked about his support for law enforcement, what he did.
29:22 I want to read something to you.
29:25 Quote, "It is not enough to hold the officers involved accountable.
29:31 In the past year, police killings have reached a record high.
29:35 Rogue, militant policing continues to run rapid across our country, threatening public
29:42 safety and the lives of millions of Americans.
29:45 Our antiquated criminal justice system has long allowed law enforcement to utilize excessive
29:54 force and prejudicial policing practices while avoiding accountability.
30:00 We need extensive reform now with de-escalation training, selective bias training, and better
30:06 policing.
30:07 I am urging my colleagues in Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.
30:12 Additionally, we must invest in our communities through unarmed first responder agencies,
30:18 mental health and crisis support treatment options, diversion programs, community intervention
30:23 groups, and reentry programs.
30:25 We can and must do better to avoid tragedies and improve public safety.
30:30 I will never stop working to support and enact changes that will make our country safer for
30:34 all Americans."
30:38 The first part, this whole quote that I read, was from my colleague who's managing time
30:46 on the other side of the aisle.
30:49 That's horrendous because the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act takes away qualified
30:54 immunity.
30:57 You take away qualified immunity from the American law enforcement officer, it will
31:02 devastate our communities.
31:04 It will devastate recruitment and retention morale.
31:08 You have to be kidding me.
31:10 Mr. Chair, this is what we're dealing with.
31:15 I became a law enforcement officer in late '94 when Ron Ryan and Tim Jones from the St.
31:22 Paul Police Department were ambushed and killed.
31:26 I was a young officer, I didn't even have my funeral uniform yet.
31:30 But I went to those funerals wondering what profession I was getting in.
31:38 Even taking a second thought whether I should stay in this profession.
31:41 One week on the job.
31:45 In Cottage Grove, Minnesota, I was working the night shift.
31:49 Myself and my partner at night, Tom Ulan, stopped at a gas station, have a cup of coffee,
31:55 midnight shift, talk about our families.
32:00 We split up.
32:01 He went one way, I went the other.
32:05 Within three minutes he's screaming for help.
32:09 He needs help on a traffic stop.
32:13 I couldn't get there fast enough.
32:16 When my squad car got on that scene, the whole engine was shaking.
32:20 I couldn't get to him fast enough.
32:24 He was being attacked by the driver, the dog, and the female passenger was crying.
32:32 We find out when Officer Ulan went to make that traffic stop, the driver said to the
32:38 female passenger, "I'm going to kill him."
32:42 When Officer Ulan went up to the window, the suspect was digging in his armrest, trying
32:50 to get a handgun.
32:52 And the female passenger was trying to move it away from him to save the officer's life.
32:59 I got there during the struggle.
33:02 And I looked five minutes before that.
33:06 He and I were having a cup of coffee talking about our families and our futures.
33:13 That's how quick it can change.
33:15 And the cavalier attitude of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle is unconscionable.
33:24 Where were they during the summer of Love 2020 when officers were getting ambushed?
33:29 Where were they, Mr. Speaker?
33:36 On December 15, 1995, at 10.32 p.m. at the intersection of 6th Avenue, East and 4th Street
33:43 in Duluth, Minnesota, a career criminal tried to shoot me in the head and kill me, and I
33:48 survived by the grace of God.
33:52 A career criminal that should have been put away years ago.
33:59 Don't tell me we don't have issues.
34:03 We have issues with prosecution, too.
34:06 The federal prosecutor in Minneapolis would not charge him with felon in the possession
34:12 of a handgun.
34:13 We couldn't figure out why.
34:17 Off-duty police officers shot in the head by a career criminal that should never have
34:21 had the gun wouldn't prosecute.
34:27 But it was about eight years later when the drug task force supervisor woke me up in the
34:35 middle of the night and called me and said, "Pete, we got him.
34:38 He's going to prison for a long time.
34:40 You've got the stolen guns on him.
34:43 He's not getting away with this one."
34:45 It took him years after to put this guy away.
34:54 Then on London Road in Duluth, Minnesota, suspects tried to kidnap some folks.
35:04 I get the call with my supervisors, and I don't get to choose what call I go on.
35:10 I don't get to say, "I don't want to go on this gun call.
35:13 I don't want to go on that."
35:15 I get the call and we go.
35:17 Then every single police officer in this nation does the same thing.
35:23 Kidnapping a suspect with a gun.
35:30 I go clear the room, Mr. Chair, and the suspect comes flying in the room, points a handgun
35:37 right at me, pulls the trigger.
35:39 And by the grace of God, it didn't go off.
35:42 And you know why I knew it didn't go off?
35:44 It happened so fast, I sat in his eyes.
35:46 I was in a street fight for my life.
35:52 And yes, I needed some help after that call.
35:56 And that's why I'm adamant that the professionals that serve our communities get the mental
36:01 health they need, and they need it now sometimes.
36:07 So to listen to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle pretend they support law
36:11 enforcement, they've never worn the boots, or many of them never worn the boots.
36:19 They've never answered a call, "Two shot, officer needs help."
36:27 They've never, most of them have never, had a suspect with a rifle in his hand ready to
36:34 kill you.
36:37 And I have to make a decision, Mr. Chair, if that rifle comes up, I have to save my
36:42 life.
36:44 I have to do that.
36:45 I don't want to, but his actions are causing me to save my own life and the life of others.
36:56 Mr. Chair, the honorable men and women in law enforcement in America deserve better
37:05 treatment.
37:06 This week we celebrated Law Enforcement Week, Police Week.
37:12 We saw the men and women in uniform, the proud men and women in uniform, come to our nation's
37:20 Capitol and be proud of their profession.
37:26 This week, Law Enforcement Week, should be 52 weeks a year.
37:34 Every week we should support law enforcement and protect law enforcement.
37:41 I am sick and tired of seeing this happen to law enforcement, men and women, Mr. Chair,
37:46 throughout this nation.
37:49 There's members in this body that stand in a microphone and vilify law enforcement.
37:57 They'll go to their funerals, though.
37:59 They'll go to their funerals.
38:04 When it comes to supporting a legislation that I have here, a resolution regarding violence
38:13 against law enforcement, my colleague says it's partisan.
38:20 You have to be kidding me.
38:24 A resolution regarding violence against law enforcement officers, and my good friend calls
38:31 it partisan.
38:35 And yes, defund the police was real.
38:38 We're seeing the effects of it today.
38:40 The recruitment, retention, morale are at the lowest ever.
38:44 Shortages, Mr. Chair, in police departments across this nation, including my hometown.
38:52 They want to sit up here in police week and pretend, uh-uh, we're not going to have it.
39:00 You either support law enforcement or you don't.
39:03 And you know what, Mr. Chair?
39:06 We need to, most departments today wear body cameras or have squad car cameras, and squad
39:12 cameras.
39:14 We as a nation, cooler heads must prevail on the support for law enforcement.
39:20 We have to understand what they go through.
39:26 We must push, comply now, challenge later.
39:35 Comply now, challenge later.
39:38 Mr. Chair, in 23 years of law enforcement, when I placed somebody under arrest, please
39:42 put your hands behind your back, you're under arrest, palms out, don't resist, you understand.
39:48 And I placed my handcuffs on them, gapped them, double locked them, escorted to the
39:52 right rear seat of my squad car.
39:54 When they obeyed my lawful order, Mr. Chair, I didn't get hurt.
39:59 The suspects didn't get hurt.
40:02 The public didn't get hurt.
40:05 When a law enforcement gives you a lawful order, obey her.
40:16 Obey a lawful order.
40:20 When a law enforcement officer says, "Put your hands on the steering wheel," put your
40:24 hands on the steering wheel.
40:27 When a law enforcement officer says, "Sit on the sidewalk," for safety purposes, sit
40:33 on the sidewalk.
40:35 When a law enforcement officer says, "You are under arrest for domestic assault," obey
40:41 a lawful order, Mr. Chair.
40:44 Where did society, where did we want to be judge, juror, executioner on the streets of
40:51 the United States of America?
40:53 It's wrong.
40:57 Mr. Chair, we have to change.
40:59 And it's up to leadership in our nation's capital and elected leaders at all levels
41:06 in every state.
41:12 To the men and women who wear the uniform in this great nation, I will tell you it's
41:20 a noble, honorable profession.
41:24 And no matter what you hear from some folks that you're not wanted, it's unwarranted,
41:33 it's not a good career, I will tell you, I spent 23 years as a police officer in the
41:41 city of Duluth, Minnesota.
41:44 I helped build a community policing program.
41:48 I love the profession.
41:50 And I enjoyed the profession.
41:52 Yes, Mr. Chair, the darkest hours of someone's life we deal with.
41:58 And we deal with compassion and professionalism.
42:03 It's not easy.
42:06 But we need the good men and women.
42:09 And Mr. Chair, we also need people that perform violent acts against innocent citizens.
42:20 We need to hold them accountable.
42:22 We need prosecutors to hold them accountable when they perform a violent crime.
42:29 I will tell you, in closing, Mr. Chair, we in this country, we better reshape our thinking
42:47 and our focus towards safety of all of us.
42:53 And we do that by supporting the men and women in uniform.
42:58 And we do that by electing leaders at all levels of government that support law enforcement.
43:08 We in law enforcement want to be held accountable, okay?
43:13 But let me tell you something.
43:15 Right now, we have a rogue attorney general in Hennepin County, Minnesota, that is taking
43:23 that is bringing murder charges against Minnesota Trooper Ryan Londrigan for what he did to
43:29 save his partner's life.
43:31 And the use of force expert opined to that.
43:35 That the Trooper Londrigan used lawful force to save his partner's life.
43:40 He's now being charged in Hennepin County by an anti-law enforcement attorney general.
43:49 In fact, she can't even find an attorney in her own department, Mr. Chair, to prosecute
43:56 the case.
43:57 She's spending over a million dollars of taxpayer money, Mr. Chair, to come to this town and
44:02 find a prosecutor.
44:04 It's unbelievable.
44:07 And the people of Minnesota and Hennepin County should understand what's happening to that
44:12 good man, that good trooper and his family.
44:15 I will stand up to the good men in law enforcement no matter what I have to do.
44:22 No matter what I have to do.
44:26 Mr. Chair, I will say this, if we don't have a change of attitude towards law enforcement,
44:42 this country is going to be in trouble.
44:44 And before I close, I want to ask, this is an ask to the American people, every American,
44:52 the next time you see a law enforcement officer, I want you to look her in her eye and you
44:59 tell her, "Thank you for your service.
45:03 We appreciate you."
45:08 She will take that response and carry it with her the rest of the day, rest of her shift,
45:18 and forever.
45:19 We need to show appreciation.
45:22 With that, Mr. Chair, I yield back.
45:26 We reserve.
45:27 The gentleman reserves.
45:28 The gentleman from Maryland is recognized.
45:33 I've got to say I am deeply shocked and offended by the statements that were just made, especially
45:42 regarding me.
45:45 But the larger context, too.
45:47 The gentleman from Minnesota read a quote that he attributed to me, and it's a statement
45:52 I made.
45:54 But it was about the killing of Tyrese Nichols.
45:56 Now, Tyrese Nichols was the gentleman in Tennessee who was beaten to death over a period of like
46:05 10 to 15 minutes by, I believe it was six police officers.
46:11 In fact, I remember watching the video, and there were multiple videos because they had
46:14 different angles.
46:15 One of the officers who had been beating him got tired, stepped away so he could catch
46:22 his breath, and then came back to continue beating him.
46:26 I'd never seen anything like it.
46:28 I was shocked.
46:29 I had cases when I was the state's attorney where police officers used excessive force,
46:35 and I prosecuted those cases.
46:37 In some cases, we convicted those individuals.
46:41 But I guess my colleague from Minnesota thought that the beating death of Mr. Nichols was
46:48 good policing.
46:50 But keep something in mind.
46:51 The chief of the police of that department fired those officers because he recognized
46:57 that that had crossed the line that good police officers recognize and follow every day, under
47:04 every circumstance, and in every situation.
47:08 I thought that's what we were going to honor this police week.
47:11 To sort of hold up the Tyree Nichols scenario as an example of what police officers are
47:16 supposed to be doing during police week is insane.
47:21 I can't believe it.
47:23 But that's what he did.
47:24 Let me say this.
47:26 It's important for us to make sure that we walk and chew gum at the same time.
47:32 We want to honor good policing for sure, because every community needs it.
47:36 We need police officers who go out and do the, you know, they respond to calls for robberies
47:42 or shootings or whatever.
47:44 We need detectives who respond in homicide and rape proceedings, both at the local, state,
47:50 and federal level.
47:52 We definitely need it.
47:54 But even they've recognized over time that the bad apples and the ones in Tyree Nichols'
48:00 case were clearly not just bad apples, but about as bad as you can get.
48:05 They have to be separated out, because it's important for the police to police themselves.
48:10 I know it's hard, but we've got to make sure that they do it.
48:13 And he mentioned body cameras a moment ago.
48:16 Guess why we have body cameras?
48:18 That was one of the innovations that was made to address excessive force.
48:24 And guess what?
48:25 One of the things that's led to is better policing.
48:28 When I first ran for state's attorney in Prince George's County, one of the issues I ran on
48:33 was videotaping interrogations.
48:37 And I wrote an op-ed.
48:38 It was called "Safeguards for the Innocent."
48:41 And I was joined by the former head of the Homicide Unit here in Washington, D.C.
48:47 We wrote it together.
48:49 And the reason we wrote it was because we knew that if you videotaped these interrogations
48:54 and we'd had a flurry of false confessions that had been made in Prince George's County,
48:59 and we knew they were false because they were proven to be innocent by DNA evidence.
49:05 So we knew they were false confessions.
49:07 And so we made this change to try and address that.
49:10 And guess what happened?
49:11 Initially, the police officers had opposed it, but the good detectives realized quickly
49:18 that the videotapes showed the great work that they were doing and they were going about
49:22 it the right way.
49:23 And the juries appreciated that, too.
49:26 Because then we could just bring it in, set up the video, hit the tape, and the jurors
49:31 could see for themselves and make the decision.
49:35 That's good policing.
49:36 And I think it's important for us to make sure that we hold police officers, just like
49:42 we do prosecutors or any other law enforcement profession, to a basic level of following
49:48 the law, even as they try and protect us from misconduct.
49:53 Now I guess this is kind of the par for the course now for my Republican colleagues.
50:01 You know, the January 6 piece, for example, we've got people running around on the other
50:07 side of the aisle who are calling the perpetrators of January 6, the rioters of January 6, they're
50:14 calling them hostages and patriots, the people who were patriots who participated in it,
50:19 according to them, and the ones who've been prosecuted and convicted and jailed, even
50:23 though I think over 900 of them pled guilty.
50:26 But others were convicted after jury trials.
50:29 They've had their day in court, they've had their due process, they were rightly convicted
50:32 and held accountable, they've been sentenced to jail, but we still have people over there
50:37 calling them patriots and hostages, even though five officers died as a result of January
50:45 6.
50:46 And many others were injured, too.
50:48 So I'm hoping, you know, again, this is Police Week, and I'm hoping that we can get back
50:55 to trying to do things in a bipartisan way here, but based on what I heard from my colleague
51:00 from Minnesota, that's not likely to happen.
51:03 It's important to make sure that we do this.
51:06 We've got to make sure that we recognize the challenges we've faced in law enforcement,
51:13 and I support law enforcement, as I mentioned earlier.
51:15 We've got legislation to try and increase the number of police officers who are going
51:18 to be out there on the street, because we need more police officers on the street.
51:23 But the George Floyd Act, which was referenced, I think, a minute ago, is aimed at making
51:28 sure that in addition to having more on the street, they do the job in the right way.
51:33 Now, when I first got elected, we didn't have iPhones very often, and so we'd prosecute
51:41 these cases, we'd present the evidence to the jury, excessive force cases, and many
51:47 times the jury would reject it.
51:50 One of the transformations that happened with the iPhone, though, was that people standing
51:54 there on the street while excessive force was taking place, they videotaped it, and
52:01 then they were able to bring that to the police, and cases that probably wouldn't even have
52:05 been charged previously were not only charged, but led to convictions.
52:10 The George Floyd scenario, the person who that legislation's named after, is a paradigm
52:16 example of that.
52:18 Derek Chauvin was there with his knee on his neck for nine and a half minutes.
52:25 The police report that he filled out and the other colleagues on the street made no mention
52:29 of all of that, but the videos made it clear that Derek Chauvin had basically just strangled
52:36 him to death with his knee, and he was held accountable.
52:40 And the other officers around him, who basically did nothing while it was happening, they were
52:45 held accountable, too.
52:47 Now, hopefully my colleagues, maybe my colleague from Minnesota had that in mind when he made
52:52 some of the statements he just said a few minutes ago.
52:55 I sure hope not, because officers who do that belong in jail.
53:00 They shouldn't have a badge, a gun, and a license to kill.
53:04 That has to be given to the people who we can trust to enforce the law in the right
53:08 way.
53:09 And the vast majority of police officers, that's how they do it, and that's why we
53:13 appreciate and respect them.
53:15 But when they cross the line, I hope we don't have people like the gentleman from Minnesota
53:20 who's going to act like that's okay, because it's not.
53:24 We've got to hold them accountable.
53:25 Now, a minute ago I mentioned serious legislation.
53:29 It's a little surprising to me we're having such a debate like this over legislation that's
53:34 just a resolution, basically.
53:38 It speaks only of defund the police and the like.
53:41 But the Democrats in the last Congress, for example, we passed meaningful reforms to support
53:46 police, even though in many instances they were opposed by Republicans.
53:52 So last police week we passed HR 6943, the Public Safety Officers Support Act, which
53:59 extended death benefits to law enforcement officers with PTSD.
54:04 It came over the objection of 17 Republicans, including four on the Judiciary Committee.
54:10 Last police week, HR 2992, the Traumatic Brain Injury Law Enforcement and Training Act, passed
54:18 legislation as well.
54:19 21 Republicans objected to that as well.
54:22 Now, we keep passing legislation, or we did when the Democrats were in control, to actually
54:28 provide additional resources and benefits to police officers who get injured in the
54:32 line of duty.
54:33 And I think that's important for us to continue to do.
54:37 But our colleagues aren't doing that.
54:39 They're bringing this political legislation, and it got real political a minute ago when
54:44 the gentleman from Minnesota was up there, frankly, kind of ranting about things he attributed
54:51 to me, which I think was wrong and incorrect.
54:56 But more importantly, things he keeps trying to attribute to Democrats and the change in
55:01 policy.
55:02 A couple other quick points about some of the things he said.
55:07 The decline in police officers.
55:09 Now I got to be clear.
55:11 One of the things we have in the bill I did with Mr. Hunt was we got a report that's going
55:16 to come and study this because I think it's going to help address a lot of the misinformation
55:21 that's coming out on the other side about why we're having some shortages.
55:25 And they're saying it's based on the defund the police slogan, but the roots of these
55:30 shortages started many, many years ago.
55:34 And in some instances, in some jurisdictions, we just have a cycle of people who are coming
55:38 up for their retirements at their 20 and 30-year marks.
55:43 But in any event, let's try and make sure we get the evidence and the data so we can
55:48 correct those challenges.
55:49 It's not just fixing the slogan on the street.
55:52 It's a dangerous job.
55:53 Doesn't pay as much as it should.
55:55 Where many of the officers or potential officers find that they can have jobs that pay as much
56:01 and don't have to work as hard.
56:02 For example, Homeland Security, I remember the Border Patrol agents testifying that they're
56:09 having trouble retaining officers at the border, not because of a defund the police slogan,
56:16 but because they can leave the job and make more money doing other things and stay in
56:20 the same community.
56:21 And it's less taxing than being an officer.
56:25 If we're honest about it, then we can come up with better solutions to try and retain
56:30 them, like maybe paying them more money.
56:32 But if we just keep spreading rhetoric about this is defund the police, we won't fix the
56:36 problem and we won't get more officers.
56:39 If money is the issue, and of course it's a factor, then just standing here and haranguing
56:44 about defunding the police doesn't fix it.
56:47 We have to find ways to raise the salaries and help attract and retain more of them to
56:52 go out on the street.
56:54 Now I'm going to stop with this at the moment.
57:05 I first went into law enforcement in 1990 as a prosecutor.
57:10 And I took it seriously then.
57:14 The gentleman on the other side is accusing Democrats of not being serious about police.
57:20 We have police officers, former police officers here on this side of the aisle who are Democrats,
57:25 and I know them all across the country.
57:27 And not only that, every time I've run for office, I've been endorsed by the FOP in my
57:32 jurisdiction.
57:34 So it's a little unfortunate to sort of use those kinds of attacks to justify the resolution
57:40 that is proposed here.
57:42 Let's get serious.
57:44 Let's get back to doing things that actually will address the problems and retain more
57:48 police officers, recruit more police officers, address the concerns that we have with respect
57:54 to keeping safe on the street.
57:56 And yes, gun violence is a big factor in the dangers that they face on the streets.
58:03 And so I think it's kind of hard to be serious about protecting them if we're not even going
58:09 to discuss that.
58:10 My colleague from Virginia mentioned that he thinks we want to make sure that they're
58:14 21.
58:15 If you wait until they're 21, it undermines their Second Amendment rights.
58:21 And I appreciate that.
58:22 I don't agree with that take.
58:24 But let me say this.
58:28 Ghost guns, I haven't come across anybody that thinks those make sense.
58:33 They are intentionally designed to avoid prosecution.
58:37 They don't have any numbers on them in order to avoid being tracked in the event of use
58:44 for a criminal enterprise.
58:46 And the use of ghost guns in crimes on the street is exploding.
58:51 We need to get our Republican colleagues to help us support legislation like that.