Memorializing Officers Lost in the Line of Duty

Floor Speech

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Mr. RUIZ. Mr. Speaker, it is an honor to speak on the House floor today in recognition of National Police Week and to memorialize the officers lost in the line of duty.

For me and for the communities that I represent, it is personal. Just 2 years ago, Officers Lesley Zerebny and Gil Vega from the Palm Springs Police Department were shot and killed in the line of duty, responding to what appeared to be a routine domestic disturbance.

In the wake of this tragedy, our communities came together to remember Officers Zerebny and Vega and to do more for the entire law enforcement community.

Over the past year, I have worked with law enforcement, firefighters, and other local and national public safety officer leaders to draft the Heroes Lesley Zerebny and Gil Vega First Responder Survivors Support Act, legislation that honors those who have passed by serving the living.

We developed this bill with one central idea in mind: that those who risk their lives for our community deserve the peace of mind to know that if something happened to them their family would be okay--that they would be able to pay off their debt, put their kids through college, and have a fair shot of making it in the world.

So we did the math, looking at the existing Public Safety Officer Benefit Program to see if it achieved these principles, and we found that families of fallen first responders, those who gave their all to protect us, are being shortchanged and don't even have enough to pay off their debt and pay for the rising cost of an education.

Families of fallen public safety officers are still struggling. My bipartisan bill will correct this and provide needed relief for those who sacrifice so much. It will increase the Public Safety Officer Benefit from $350,000 to $500,000 in order to pay off the calculated national average debt most families have. It will increase the monthly education benefit from $1,024 per month to $2,000 per month to ensure they can afford the actual rising cost of an education. And it will fix a bureaucratic loophole that costs families tens of thousands of dollars for no fault of their own.

Right now, our men and women who risk their lives in order to save our lives are being shortchanged. I urge all Members of Congress to do the right thing, to follow words with action and actually do something pragmatic that will improve the lives of fallen first responders' families.

I hope that all Members will cosponsor and support my bipartisan Heroes Lesley Zerebny and Gil Vega First Responder Survivors Support Act, and I urge the Speaker to bring it up for a vote immediately. Let's support this bill and stand up for these families that have sacrificed so much for us. Honoring Christopher's Clubhouse

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Mr. RUIZ. Mr. Speaker, I want to honor an incredible organization in my district that, for more than a decade, has served the community by providing information and resources to help children, the elderly, and vulnerable individuals protect themselves from violent crimes.

Christopher's Clubhouse was started in 1996 after Mika Moulton's son, Christopher, was kidnapped and murdered at 10 years old. The family made the brave and selfless choice to turn their grief into something positive. They realized that, while they had done everything right like telling Christopher not to talk to strangers, no one had told them that there was more that they could have done. They realized that they had not taught him what to do if someone had grabbed Christopher.

They didn't want any parent to face that same realization and that same grief, so they started Christopher's Clubhouse to provide safety skills and personal defense techniques for children, teens, and the elderly throughout the Coachella Valley.

Over the years, Christopher's Clubhouse has served more than 100,000 people through their programs in schools, community events, and churches. There is no doubt that they have made a difference and saved lives, preventing other parents from going through their pain.

I thank them and I applaud them for their years of service. While Christopher's Clubhouse may be closing, the legacy of their work will be felt for generations.

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