Remarks at Professional Firefighters Association of New Jersey Endorsement

Thank you, George, for your kind introduction. I'm honored to have your support -- and the support of all of those in the Professional Firefighters Association of New Jersey and the International Association of Firefighters here today and across our state. Thank you for going into harm's way every day to keep our communities safe. Thanks for having our backs and please know that, when I'm in Congress, I will always have yours.

It's hard to talk about politics and not mention the elephant in the room: Donald Trump's latest -- and most reprehensible -- comments about women.

While Donald Trump has spent his career insulting women, Garrett has spent his career endangering them. Garrett was the only state legislator to vote against tougher penalties for sexual predators. He was one of nine members of Congress to vote twice against the Violence Against Women Act. He consistently voted against Equal Pay and against health coverage for mammograms. He voted against rape crisis centers for women, and would deny women the right to choose even in case of rape.

So with all that is going on nationally, the question I have now is will Garrett draw the line on his own record against women? After all that's the "Garrett Playbook," vote against something, don't do anything for anybody, don't stand by anybody, and then run away from your own record and try to change the truth.

Last week, Josh Green in Bloomberg BusinessWeek reported that Congressman Garrett attended a fundraiser, where he was the star attraction. But this just wasn't any gathering. It was hosted by Edward Durfee, the Republican Municipal Chair of Northvale and the regional coordinator of the "New Jersey Oath Keepers." And an admitted 9/11 Truther -- those who believe 9/11 was a hoax and that the government, not terrorists, were behind the attacks. For those of you who don't know this, the Oath Keepers are a group the New Jersey Department of Homeland Security, under Governor Christie, has designated as a "terrorist organization" of "militia extremists."

Scott Garrett attended a breakfast fundraiser for these homegrown terrorists, potentially breaking New Jersey state law, and thanked these 9/11 deniers for their "blood, sweat, and tears," and then pitched them for their dollars and their votes. He asked for their help.

There are pictures of him with Durfee, audiotapes of his comments. My four year old could piece together what happened here.

So, I guess it's no surprise that Garrett's trying to change the story and say he just had no idea who these people were, who Durfee was. It's the same strategy he tried when Chief Zadroga brought to light Garrett's votes against the Zadroga Act -- the health care for the 9/11 first responders. Deny and then desperately and pathetically try to change the story.

Look this is not a political controversy. It is a threat, and it is possibly criminal according to New Jersey statutes -- and the lawyers I've spoken and who have called me have made that point to me. Scott Garrett's ties to this terrorist organization are alarming and I presume his ties will be investigated. But, just as bad, spending time with these 9/11 deniers is yet another slap in the face to our fire fighters, law enforcement, our first responders, and all of those who perished in 9/11 and protect us every day from Lone Wolf Terror and other threats in our community.

Because Scott Garrett didn't just bagels and eggs with a person who thinks the federal government caused 9/11 -- the audiotape we received actually shows him calling out that individual and saying he's an "unsung hero." Garrett now refuses to admit he has known this man, who he called "Eddie" at the event and has taken a photo with him at another meeting back in 2013. An easy Google search connects Durfee to the Oath Keepers. How can Garrett call a man an "unsung hero," if you don't know the guy, who has bragged about his connections to this domestic terror organization on his LinkedIn page, Facebook, and Twitter? I even saw Durfee this past weekend in West Milford at their Autumn Lights festival. Durfee was in front of an Oath Keeper booth they had set up. Garrett walked right by it.

This morning, the Star-Ledger editorial page said it best, "It's like appearing at an event for David Duke, hailing him as a "hero," then claiming to have no clue about the KKK -- and refusing to outright denounce it when asked."

Maybe Garrett is confused about who the real heroes are -- they're the men and women like the ones standing behind me. The people who ran into the buildings on 9/11, who fight fires every day, who administer CPR and save a life. The real heroes.

For fourteen years, Scott Garrett has been in Congress -- and he's never understood this. He's put his Tea Party radical agenda ahead of you. He tried to say he was there for you. He voted against our first responders. He's voted against the COPS program, to help put more community police in our neighborhoods. He's voted against those programs not once, but 12 times. We have seventy fewer officers in Bergen County than we did just ten years ago.

He's voted against more resources for fire trucks and firefighters and refused to write a letter for fire trucks in Oradell and Paramus.

Garrett voted to shut down the Department of Homeland Security and voted against resources to fight Lone Wolf Terrorists.

And worst of all, when Garrett was asked if he'd support health care for 9/11 First Responders -- the Zadroga Act -- people who were dying because they ran toward the attack when others were running away -- Garrett said no.

He said, and I quote, the bill "gave him heartburn." And he voted against it. I don't care what his excuse was at the time. Every other member of Congress -- Democrat or Republican -- from New York and New Jersey did the right thing and voted for the bill. Only Garrett conveniently found an excuse, even after voting for plenty of other packages of legislation that weren't absolutely perfect, like the one that included the bridge to nowhere in Alaska.

It's pathetic. It's insulting. It's selfish. It's dangerous to our families and communities. And it's the exact opposite of what our members of Congress should do. And that will change the day I'm sworn in as your congressman.

I believe that we must stand by those who stand by us -- our firefighters.

I've announced a plan to help bring more resources to this firehouse -- and to every one in our communities to fight Lone Wolf Terror and to get you the information you need to respond to Bakken oil filled train crashes.

One big policy I want to focus on is communication:

After 9/11, there was big push to make sure that, when a crisis happened, first responders from many different towns and cities could communicate and coordinate on one radio channel -- they call it interoperability. And we made that happen -- the government set up a standard bandwidth for all emergency personnel to communicate.

The problem is that a lot of communities across the state don't have the necessary radios to communicate on that channel -- or the resources to buy them.

I was at breakfast with a group of first responders the other week, and they were telling me that every year they get less and less help from the federal government to do nationally-important work -- like prepare at a crisis. The Assistance to Firefighter Grants are down 55% from 2004 and SAFER grants -- which help train more firefighters -- are 20% off from in 2010. Bill Pascrell and others are working to stop the bleed and so will I when I'm in Congress.

This must end.

We must stand by those who stand by us. Scott Garrett has failed to do that his entire career.

If you're a Congressman, you take an oath -- the same oath as the President -- to "preserve, protect, and defend the United States of America against all enemies foreign and domestic."

The oath doesn't say, "preserve, protect, and defend the United States… so long as it's convenient for you. Or if you're a Tea Partier" And it certainly doesn't say you should have breakfast with domestic enemies who want to overthrow the government.

It says, "I will preserve, protect, and defend the United States of America from all enemies, foreign and domestic."

I will work with everyone, with Democrats, Republicans, and Independents, to protect our communities and keep all of our families safe. Thank you.

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