National Police Week

Floor Speech

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Ms. SPANBERGER. Mr. Speaker, I stand here today to thank the men and women who work every day to keep our communities safe and to honor those who have given their lives in service to our communities.

As the daughter of a retired career law enforcement officer and as a former Federal agent, I know the responsibilities, the pressure, and the stress that can come with putting on the badge.

I stand here today during this National Police Week to honor Virginia's Seventh District and the officers who call it home.

Across our Commonwealth, we reflect on the service and the sacrifice of our community's law enforcement officers. As the Representative for Virginia's Seventh District, it is my great privilege to represent so many public servants: the men and women who have answered the call to serve their fellow Americans, their neighbors, and our communities.

This week and every day, we remember their colleagues and friends-- those who never returned home. In their absence, our communities, our Commonwealth, and our country have felt tremendous loss.

Today, on the floor of the United States House of Representatives, I am honored to read the names of fallen officers from Virginia's Seventh District. May they never be forgotten and may their service and their sacrifice inspire their fellow law enforcement officers to continue to serve and protect.

From the Prince William County Police Department: Police Officer Ashley Marie Guindon, Police Officer Chris Yung, Police Officer Philip Michael ``Mike'' Pennington, and Police Officer Paul Thomas ``Pete'' White, Jr.

From the Prince William County Sheriff's Office: Deputy Sheriff David William Myers, Jr.

From the Stafford County Sheriff's Office:

Deputy Sheriff Jason Edward Mooney and Deputy Sheriff Ford T. Humphrey.

From the Fredericksburg Police Department:

Police Officer Todd Allen Bahr, Officer William Franklin Mines, Sergeant Roy Glen Wright, and Officer Ellsworth Alexander Moore.

From the Culpeper County Sheriff's Office: Captain James Anthony Sisk and Deputy Sheriff George Robert Lillard, Jr.

From the King George County Sheriff's Office: Deputy Sheriff Craig Lamont Brooks.

From the Caroline County Sheriff's Office: Deputy Sheriff Strother W. ``Ted'' Lewis, Sr.

From the Greene County Sheriff's Office: Investigator Chadwick Alan Carr and Sergeant Rodney Lee Davis.

From the Orange County Sheriff's Office: Sheriff William B. ``Willie'' Young and Sheriff Willie C. Bond.

From the Spotsylvania County Sheriff's Office: Deputy Sheriff Bryan Marshall Berger, Deputy Sheriff Dean Ridings, and Detective Richard Lee Samuels.

This week, we remember these officers, these Virginians, and these heroes. They are someone's loved one, fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, children. Their names are not only remembered here in the U.S. Capitol and throughout the Halls of Congress, but their sacrifices are honored throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia.

These officers were dedicated public servants. They were valued loved ones across our communities, and they represented the best of Virginia.

Mr. Speaker, during National Police Week, I thank the public servants who protect the U.S. Capitol every single day, those who stand watch over the very function of our democracy.

I know I stand with my colleagues expressing gratitude and appreciation for the U.S. Capitol Police.

On January 6, 2012, their heroism alongside that of the Metropolitan Police Department protected Members of Congress, Capitol employees, staff, and our very democracy. More than 150 police officers were injured that day, and yet they still stand strong, committed to their duty.

As the Representative for Virginia's Seventh District, I am proud to represent many of the men and women of the U.S. Capitol Police in Congress, and I am committed to making sure that they have the resources, support, financial security, and retirements they deserve and have earned through their selfless sacrifice.

It is the least we can do in return for their professionalism, their fervent commitment to duty, their devotion to our country, and their work every day in the Halls of Congress.

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