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Floor Speech

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Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, this week is National Police Week, a time to honor the service and sacrifice of America's law enforcement officers. These brave men and women have chosen a difficult and often dangerous career. They have dedicated their lives to protecting the rest of us, defending our civil liberties and protecting our cities and neighborhoods. That decision requires tremendous courage and sacrifice by both the officer and their family.

We have recently been reminded of the dangers they face every day. Just a week ago, shoppers wandered in and out of a busy outdoor mall in Allen, TX, near Dallas. It was a beautiful, seemingly normal Saturday afternoon until the day took a tragic turn. A man pulled up in his vehicle, got out of his car with multiple weapons, and started firing.

Fortunately, out of this terrible tragedy, fortunately, an officer was already on the scene for an unrelated call. He did what he was trained to do and what his conscience told him to do and ran immediately toward the danger. He didn't hesitate to put his own life on the line in order to stop the shooter and save countless lives.

The shooter killed eight innocent people and wounded seven more. Had this brave officer not been on the scene, it is difficult to imagine how many more casualties would have been incurred, how many more lives would have been lost.

The shooter was carrying multiple weapons and had five additional guns in his car. If not for the quick action of that Allen police officer, more families would be making funeral arrangements today.

Stories like this underscore the dangers our officers take in their daily lives. A routine call or a traffic stop can turn deadly without warning. And these men and women still lace up their boots and put on a uniform each morning.

Each year for National Police Week, we honor the law enforcement community, naturally, and remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. One of the most striking reminders of that sacrifice is the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, which sits along the National Mall here in Washington, DC.

It is a powerful tribute for the State, Federal, and local law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty and features marble walls, filled with more than 23,000 names. Each of those names represents an American hero. And, sadly, the names of 67 Texans will be added this year.

These officers gave their lives in service to their communities and our country. And while there is nothing we can do to console the families of those heroes, we can do more to support their brothers and sisters, still in blue.

Over the last couple of years, members of our law enforcement community have faced an onslaught of new challenges. From the pandemic to dangerous ``defund the police'' rhetoric to baseless attacks, the men and women in blue who keep us safe are subject to tremendous risks and strain.

They have watched as progressive politicians have made calls to fund the police and attempted to villainize the very heroes who keep us safe.

I am proud to say I have never been ashamed to support the men and women of our law enforcement community. I will always proudly stand with them. In the face of increasing crime rates and growing concerns about public safety, Congress must do more to support and empower our men and women in blue.

Last year, we made some progress. The Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program was reauthorized through a bipartisan bill I introduced with Senator Klobuchar, the Senator from Minnesota. We have already seen some real-world impact these grants have made in communities across Texas. And this will promote even greater collaboration between law enforcement and the mental health providers that they serve alongside.

We also took a big step toward improving training for officers by passing the Law Enforcement De-Escalation Training Act, which was signed into law by President Biden last December. This new law will ensure that officers have the skills they need to navigate and defuse potentially dangerous situations, particularly involving those undergoing a mental health crisis. I am proud of the bipartisan progress we have made, and I hope we can build upon it more this year.

In honor of National Police Week, I introduced the Back the Blue Act to strengthen laws that protect our officers. This legislation sends a strong and powerful message to the more than 800,000 officers serving our country--a message that they are supported and that violence against them will never be tolerated.

The Back the Blue Act adds stiff mandatory penalties and makes it a Federal crime to kill--or attempt to kill--a law enforcement officer, a Federal judge, or a federally funded public safety officer. It also makes it a Federal crime to assault a law enforcement officer.

As I have said, these men and women put themselves in harm's way every day to keep our communities safe, and we must make it absolutely clear that violence against them will not be tolerated.

This legislation was endorsed by leading law enforcement organizations like the National Association of Police Organizations and the Fraternal Order of Police and is cosponsored by 39 Senators, so far.

I hope other colleagues will support this bill and show law enforcement across the country that we stand shoulder to shoulder with them.

There is another piece of legislation that I hope will pass soon called the Project Safe Neighborhoods Program. This is a reauthorization of an existing national nationwide partnership between Federal, State, and local law enforcement officers and prosecutors that aims to reduce violent crime, particularly gun crime.

It achieves that goal through data-driven, evidence-based, and trauma-informed practices that have proven to reduce crime rates. Since it was first launched two decades ago, Project Safe Neighborhoods has helped reduce violent crime in large cities and small towns all across this country.

A study in 2013 found that the program was associated with more than a 13-percent decrease in violent crimes in cities and a high rate of program participation.

Given the growing concerns and already serious concerns about crime in our country, there could not be a more important time to make this program better, stronger, and more effective.

This is among the range of bills the Senate should consider to pass and support law enforcement, including the Federal Law Enforcement Service Weapon Purchase Act that would allow retired officers to purchase their service weapons that would otherwise be destroyed.

This bipartisan legislation would prevent waste by allowing agencies to recover the value of these weapons. This bill has been endorsed by multiple organizations that represent law enforcement officers, and I hope we can advance it this year.

I am also a proud cosponsor of other bipartisan bills that were introduced by Senate colleagues. Senator Peters from Michigan and I introduced the Strong Communities Act, with the goal of improving trust between law enforcement officers and the communities they serve.

I am also a cosponsor of the Recruit and Retain Act, led by Senator Fischer of Nebraska and Senator Coons of Delaware. It aims to alleviate the personnel shortages that are being felt in police departments across the Nation and ensures that America's police forces are well staffed.

I hope the Senate Judiciary Committee, on which I serve, will advance some of these bills later this week and send a strong message that the U.S. Senate supports America's police officers.

Every day, I am grateful for the service and sacrifice of our law enforcement officers in Texas and across the country. And that includes the Capitol Police that keeps this building and Capitol Hill safe, protecting not only the people who work here but also people who visit here.

In honor of National Police Week, we honor the brave men and women who protect us. We pay tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice. And we commit to doing everything in our power to ensure that they have all the resources they need to keep our people safe.

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