Issues of the Day

Floor Speech

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Mr. LAWLER. Madam Speaker, this week, we commemorate National Police Week. It is a time for us to honor our brave men and women in blue who steadfastly dedicate their lives to serving and protecting our communities.

This week is a solemn reminder that our peace and security are often maintained at great personal risk to these brave individuals.

I thank our officers and first responders throughout the 17th Congressional District of New York. Many of them I have had the good fortune to know personally and to understand the sacrifice that they and their families make day in and day out to keep our community safe.

My district has roughly 50 percent of households that have a cop, a firefighter, a first responder, or a veteran living in it. These brave men and women go to work every day knowing that they are risking their own lives to protect, defend, and save the lives of others.

Just last week, I joined my colleagues in placing wreaths at the names of fallen police officers all along the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.

I placed a wreath by the names of Sergeant Edward O'Grady and Police Officer Waverly Brown, who, along with security guard Peter Paige, lost their lives protecting Rockland County during the Brinks robbery in 1981.

We will never forget their sacrifice or their families--nine children who are fatherless because of the actions of depraved criminals and domestic terrorists.

Placing that wreath served as a solemn reminder to me that our police officers stand on the front lines of our society, never knowing if they will make it home while working to keep our communities safe, which is why our support must transcend beyond mere words. It must reflect in our actions as a Conference and as a House, which is why House Republicans just passed H.R. 2494, the POLICE Act.

This legislation will help maintain the dignity and safety of our officers by providing serious consequences for those who harm them. Under this bill, noncitizens found guilty of assaulting a police officer would face deportation.

In the face of increasing challenges, the POLICE Act is a crucial step toward ensuring that our police officers are afforded the respect and protection they deserve.

Another important bill we are voting on tomorrow is H. Con. Res. 40, which expresses support for law enforcement officers all across the country and condemns calls to disband or defund the police.

There are colleagues on the other side of the aisle who spend days assailing the brave men and women in law enforcement, and this resolution will very quickly weed out those who back the blue and those who don't.

Living just north of New York City, I am reminded of the days of 9/11 and the aftermath, and the brave men and women who went running toward danger, going to Ground Zero to try to recover and save lives.

Many of these individuals today suffer from 9/11-related illnesses. It is a travesty, and we must always stand by them and show our support for them.

Today, when I think of New York City, I see a city that is hurting, a city with a massive increase in violent crime, disastrous policies at the State and city level, and a failed cashless bail law, which releases violent criminals back onto the streets.

Over 40 percent of those who have been released on nonmonetary bail for felony offenses have been rearrested while those charges are pending.

It is such a disaster that the Governor and the State legislature have tried to amend it three times. It needs to be scrapped, and they need to start over.

You have the anticrime unit being disbanded. Its primary function is to get illegal guns off the street--parole for unrepentant cop killers and child rapists; non-enforcement of petty crimes; raising the age where 16- and 17-year-olds are being treated in family court while using a gun in the commission of a crime rather than criminal court.

It is not just New York City. It is happening in Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Portland. It is shameful what is going on across America, and it must be stopped.

As we honor police officers and law enforcement everywhere during National Police Week, let's make a commitment to act at a Federal level, at a State level, at a local level. Let's stand up and support the men and women in law enforcement. Let's hold violent criminals and repeat offenders accountable for their conduct.

This is a choice. They choose to commit crimes. Nobody is making them commit a crime. They must be held accountable, especially in cases of violent offenses, period.

I thank the chairman for hosting this Special Order hour tonight, and I encourage all of my colleagues to stand in support of the men and women in law enforcement.

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