Remarks at First Responder Rally

You know, the last time I was at Fire Station Four, it was in May, Congressman Bill Pascrell was on my left, and a large group of firefighters were right there, behind my back, announcing your endorsement.

Well, for the last five months, a day hasn't gone by where you haven't had my back and I hope you know that when I'm in Congress, I'll always have yours. And the same goes for all first responders, including the men and women in blue who protect our communities every single day. It's an honor to have the backing of five New Jersey first responder associations -- the PBA, the FOP, FMBA, PAFNJ, and the Port Authority PBA. You should know that I will always fight for you, through rain or sunshine, just like you fight to protect our communities.

Not even two weeks ago, we had a scare here in New Jersey and in New York the likes of which we haven't seen in 15 years. In Seaside, Elizabeth, and Linden, New Jersey, and in Chelsea, a Lone Wolf Terrorist sent a shockwave through our communities.

Thankfully, no one was killed in any of those incidents -- in large part to the quick work of our law enforcement and first responders.

I want to thank all those who worked around the clock to evacuate the area, keep the public safe, and dispose of the bombs.

That was no small feat. And I know there are threats, incidents stopped, and lives saved every hour, every day that we don't read about in the newspaper. I know that we are all safer today because our first responders have the training, the tools, and the resources they needed to respond to those terror threats and respond quickly and effectively. And obviously it's not only terror. It's warehouse fires, domestic disputes, heart attacks, a shooting at a mall. It's what you do every day that often goes overlooked. No press releases, no fanfare -- you're just doing your job to keep our communities safe. We must never forget how lucky we are to have you on the front lines and you should never have to wonder if we are going to be there for you.

I was just at breakfast with a group of first responders a few weeks back, and they were telling me that every year, we are getting fewer and fewer resources to respond or prepare for a crisis -- for an attack. For instance, the Assistance to Firefighter Grants are down 55% from 2004 and SAFER grants -- which help train more firefighters -- are off 20% from 2010 levels.

With the growth of Lone Wolf Terror at home and the rise of ISIS abroad, now is not the time to weaken our law enforcement and our first responders. Now is not the time to turn our backs on police officers protecting our families.

Unfortunately, we have too many people, like my opponent, Scott Garrett, who like to live under the blanket of your protection, but then go out of their way to cut the resources you need to do your job.

What's equally galling is how consistent Scott Garrett votes against these resources -- against COPS grants, training to fight lone wolf terrorists, against resources for firefighters, fire trucks for our towns, support for the fallen -- and then he runs around and lies about his record, because he knows people wouldn't want to hear the truth.

It's cowardice. It's shameful. It's Scott Garrett.

Garrett is so obsessed with pushing his radical Tea Party agenda that he votes against the very interest of the people who live in this District -- and against those who protect them.

The unfortunate part for Scott Garrett is that, as Ronald Reagan once said, "Facts are stubborn things."

When it comes to making sure that our police have the legal tools they need to help women, children, and victims of abuse, Scott Garrett has made a career out of looking the other way.

Here are the facts: Garrett was the only New Jersey Legislator to vote against tougher penalties for sexual predators. He opposes the right to choose, even for victims of rape. Garrett was 1 of 9 members of Congress to vote against reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act to stop domestic abusers. He has consistently voted against protections for victims of sexual abuse and against the creation of rape crisis centers.

And, unlike other members of Congress, Garrett has refused to denounce and donate to charity the $15,000 worth of campaign contributions from sex offender and child abuser and former Speaker Dennis Hastert, who is now in prison for his crimes.

I have a seven-year-old daughter and a beautiful wife, who was a federal prosecutor, who prosecuted terrorists, and, I'll tell you, I want law enforcement to have all the tools to stop sexual predators.

I wish that were it. Just last night, on a campaign tele-townhall, Garrett bragged about how he has supported the Zadroga Act, the 9/11 health care law for first responders, from the very beginning.

This is a week after he basically called Chief Zadroga, the father of Detective James Zadroga, a liar for stating Garrett's own record on the Zadroga Act, which you can find, vote after vote, on my website.

The only problem for Garrett is that if you look at the first time the Zadroga Act was introduced in 2006, Scott Garrett wasn't a cosponsor of the bill.

In fact, Garrett was the only representative from the tri-state area -- Democrat or Republican -- to vote against health care for our 9/11 First Responders -- three separate times.

When it came up again last year, Garrett voted against reauthorizing the Zadroga Act, yet again.

Garrett's argument? I voted for it before I voted against it. Or, as he likes to say now, too, he didn't like the full bill -- the full legislative package. It gave him, as he put it, "heartburn."

Well, if that's the case, then why has Garrett voted for so many other legislative packages that are -- in his mind -- fiscally irresponsible?

In 2011, for example, Garrett seemed to have no problem voting for a package with the infamous "Bridge to Nowhere" in Alaska in it?

In other words, Garrett had no problem voting to build a bridge literally to nowhere in Alaska, yet got "heartburn" when it was time to stand by our sick 9/11 first responders here in New Jersey.

Here's the deal and you all know this. Not every bill is perfect. But there's a reason why Democrats AND Republicans, like Republican Congressman Peter King, voted to pass and then reauthorize the Zadroga Act. It's called getting things done. It's called working across the aisle. It's called standing by first responders -- those who were there for you. Plain and simple.

Time and again, using every excuse in the book, as homegrown terror has exploded, my opponent, Scott Garrett, has sat on the sidelines and now, unfortunately for Garrett, the facts are getting out. Garrett voted against COPS grants, not once, but twelve times. He votes against support for veterans who put their lives on the line to fight terror abroad. Last year, Garrett voted to strip the Department of Homeland Security, include, essential resources to fight homegrown terrorists right here in our community.

He came out against secondary barriers on our airplanes to prevent terrorists from charging into the cockpit, like they did on 9/11, which earned him the title "weak on terror" from the head pilot at United Airlines. And he opposed the "No Fly, No Buy" legislation that would stop suspected terrorists on the FBI Terror Watch List from buying assault weapons.

And, year after year, Garrett has simply refused to write letters and make calls to take advantage of public safety grants -- for new officers, for training, and for new life-saving equipment, in neighboring towns like Paramus and Oradell. And then, Garrett came out against rail safety legislation that would have done more to protect our towns, like here in Teaneck, from hazardous and harmful materials.

An estimated 15-30 trains carrying as much as 7 million gallons of crude Bakken oil pass through Bergen County and other in densely populated towns like Bergenfield and Teaneck each week.

This is why I've called for first responders to have all of the information they need to respond to potential disaster -- whether it is about the hazardous and harmful materials traveling through our towns by train or God-forbid, there is an attack or accident in one of our towns.

It's why I've introduced an Anti-Terror Action Plan and a Five Point Plan to Fight Lone Wolf Terror. It's also why I've argued that we must have a strong COPS program, to keep our communities safe. And why firefighters need the latest equipment and training. We can't have safe communities for our families without strong fire departments and police departments. Finally, we have to make sure that, when something goes wrong, our first responders are always taken care of.

No one gets left behind. I want you to know that those are my values. Those are Jersey values.

Protecting our community and standing with law enforcement is nonnegotiable.

Putting aside partisanship to protect the lives of those who stand by us is nonnegotiable.

Standing strong against terror is nonnegotiable.

This is not about being a Democrat or Republican. This is not about party label. It's about being an American.

As your Congressman, I will always stand by those who stand by us. I will always stand by our police officers, our firefighters, and our EMTs. Thank you.

Source