Executive Session

Floor Speech

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Mr. CRAMER. Madam President, I thank my colleague Senator Hoeven, and I associate myself with everything he said about Officer Holte. He is right. It was an appropriate celebration of Officer Holte's life on Tuesday of this week as we attended the funeral, along with Congressman Armstrong, Governor Burgum, Adjutant General Gorman, and a whole bunch of other friends, family, members of law enforcement, community leaders, and even strangers who came to provide that heroes celebration that Cody earned.

An interesting thing about what Cody went into, he and a fellow officer from the Grand Forks Police Department were called to a scene where shots had already been fired and the deputy sheriff had already been hit by somebody who was simply being served an eviction notice, assigned by a judge--somebody who was very well armed with an AK-47. He had shot 41 rounds before doing the damage that he had done and before he was stopped. When Cody arrived, like all good officers do, he didn't run from the fire but ran to it. He saved lives by giving up his own. It is what heroes do. It is what all of our men and women in law enforcement who wear the badge are prepared to do.

We live in an interesting time. It was ironic, to say the least, that we in North Dakota, along the Red River, Grand Forks, are just up the interstate from Minneapolis, paying tribute to a hero, and yet that hero doesn't seem to get the same attention that a criminal gets. That hero and his brothers and sisters who wear the badge don't seem to be as respected by our media as criminals are. In fact, the restrictions and the restraint that our heroes exercise in carrying out their duties, the vast majority of them, are really rarely, if ever, highlighted.

Yet we celebrate the life of Cody Holte--29 years old, the father of a 10-month-old son and a husband to Mandy. It is just really important that we stand in this Chamber today and give Cody the respect and the honor that he earned here in these hallowed halls and tell his story to a nation that is intrigued and fixated, in many respects, on those that Cody protects us from.

It was a great honor to be there with his family and with hundreds-- thousands, perhaps--of other law enforcement officers to pay tribute to a real hero. I think it is important to note that this hero is also a real person. I thought that his chief of police gave an absolutely marvelous speech, and I want to just reiterate a couple of things that the Grand Forks chief of police said about Cody at the funeral.

Chief Mark Nelson said that he and Cody had formed a close bond--by what?--in part, by sharing baby photos, the chief's of his grandchild and Cody's of Gunnar, his son. He recalled that Cody was a friend to all. Now, who doesn't want a cop who is a friend to all and with a grin that could brighten anyone's day? More importantly, he said that Cody was a cop's cop, whose heart was bigger than his courage and who had passion and an unwavering dedication for protecting and serving his community. He said, when Holte was on duty, there was never any need to worry.

So we pay tribute today to this hero, but we are reminded that he was also a husband to Mandy and a father to Gunnar. He was a son to Bret and Tracy. I know Bret and Tracy very well. I have known Bret nearly all of my life. He was a brother to Brady and Alexis, as Senator Hoeven said. Brady is his twin brother and a police officer in Fargo, which is just an hour down the interstate from Grand Forks.

Bret and Tracy are raising heroes, but, today, they are mourning the death of a son. I know something of that, as you know. It has been an interesting experience for Kris and me to share our journey, after the loss of our son a couple of years ago, with Bret and Tracy. I want them to know how very, very much we love them and that, in the valley they are in, as deep as it is, they are not in it alone.

Just as King David walked through the Valley of the Shadow of Death with the confidence that God was with him, they, too, can do that but that, in addition to God, there are a whole bunch of other people who are holding them up in prayer, who have their backs, with love, hugs, and whatever is needed and that, likewise, Mandy, as the wife of a fallen hero, has all of the brothers and sisters who wear the badge as part of her extended family. It is an incredible group. In addition to being a hero, Cody was these things, these very personal things.

I thought the eulogy that was provided by his uncle, Anthony Carter, was exceptional. Anthony reminded us, as did other speakers but particularly Anthony, that when Cody swore an oath 3 years ago, he said, in protecting the city of Grand Forks, he likely knew there would be challenging days, which is why he wore a medallion around his neck that bore his favorite Bible verse, Philippians 4:13: ``I can do all things through Christ, who gives me strength.''

Cody has left--because somebody left for him--a legacy of faith. I know that to be true. I know that to be true because I know the Holtes so well. In fact, his Grandpa Pete was in my very first TV ad for Congress in 1996. It was a losing cause, but Pete was in the ad. His Grandma Sue was my mom's very best friend. They were prayer partners. They did Bible study together. They ministered together. They might have gossiped a little, but they were forgiven. Sue and Pete left for Bret and his sisters a legacy of faith, and Bret and Tracy left for Cody and Brady and Alexis a legacy of faith. It is that legacy of faith in a risen Lord and in a Father who knows the grief of losing a Son, who died for freedom, too, you see. That faith is what sustains them today.

It is really important that we as national leaders, as community leaders, as local leaders, and as family members stand in this valley with the family, and that is what we are doing today in addition to paying honor.

Finally, to Cody's brothers and sisters who wear the badge, it seems like the world is upside down. It feels like the country is on fire. Yes, there is the occasional criminal police officer who does something really awful, and that person needs to be brought to justice, and, in Minnesota, that is happening. Yet the heroes far, far outnumber the criminals in our police officers. So I think it is important, as we pay tribute to a fallen hero, that those who are still out there protecting us, as we stand in this building and express our views, and who are standing in the gap throughout our country and throughout our communities protecting the rights of people to assemble and express themselves peacefully that they know we are in their corner, that we have their backs, and that we honor them along with Cody today. We respect them, and we hold them up because we love them--because we love them for what they do for us. I ask their forgiveness for taking them for granted and for not expressing the gratitude often enough.

Cody's short 29 years of life, with his last 3 years as a police officer and his several years as a member of the North Dakota National Guard--his testimony in his life and now in his death--reminds us to never take for granted our own safety and security.

Say thank you to a police officer in honor of Cody, who I know is OK. I know that he is OK today. I hope he is with his Grandpa Pete and his Grandma Sue somewhere. I hope that my Isaac, my son, bumps into him. We had a lake cabin right next door to the Holtes when those kids were growing up. So I stand with confidence that he is OK, but I continue to pray for those left behind, especially his family--especially his young son and beautiful wife and mom and dad and brother and sister--in that they, too, are confident that they will be OK but that, while we are in this valley, they are not alone.

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