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Floor Speech
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Mr. BARRASSO. Well, Madam President, I come to the floor today to join my colleague and friend from Texas in support of this very important piece of legislation.
What happened in Uvalde was a tragedy. It was horrendous. I commend the citizens of that community for their strength in a time of heartache.
Every Member of this body agrees that we need to find the best way to protect children who go to school. Whether in Washington, DC, or Wheatland, WY, we need to find a way to protect those students.
That is why Senator Cruz and I have introduced the Safe Kids, Safe Schools, Safe Communities Act of 2022. Our bill provides the kind of safety and the kind of security that our children, our schools, and our communities desperately need. And we do this while always protecting the constitutional rights of law-abiding Americans.
Now, as a doctor who served in our State legislature in Wyoming and now in this body, I have seen the devastating impact of mental health challenges, and Senator Cruz talked specifically about those, and that is why we addressed them in this bill. I have seen how much those challenges contribute and what we have seen in these terrible acts. Our bill would make a difference--make a difference by providing mental health professionals with the resources they need to identify and to address these behavioral health needs of our students.
Our bill would hire 15,000 more mental health professionals at middle schools and high schools.
It also significantly increases the physical safety of our schools. Our bill would double the number of police officers in our schools. It would help schools buy more security equipment and metal detectors, door locks, and alarms.
Our bill also would do all of these things at no cost to the taxpayer. It wouldn't add to inflation. People might ask, how? Well, it is because our bill would redirect money that has already been allocated in the Democrats' spending bills. Our bill would work, and it wouldn't cost taxpayers a dime.
School is back in session now all across the country, and now is the time to take the real action that we need to keep our kids and our schools safe. No child should live in fear of going to school. No parent should live in fear of sending their child to school. And no law-abiding gun owner should be denied his or her constitutional rights.
So I want to thank my friend and colleague from Texas for introducing this vital piece of legislation.
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