Thanking the Law Enforcement Community

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. MANN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the brave men and women who wear the badge and put their lives on the line to serve us, protect us, and keep our communities safe. I proudly back our women and men in blue, and National Police Week is an opportunity for our Nation to come together and thank the law enforcement community.

According to a recent study, 58 percent of Americans believe reducing crime should be a top priority for the President and Congress to address, yet some Washington Democrats maintain their calls to defund the police.

We must reject that nonsense and support the brave men and women who serve on the front line by collecting accurate data to address the rise in antipolice attacks, empowering law enforcement to detain any illegal immigrant charged with or convicted of assaulting a law enforcement officer, and ensuring our officers have access to a variety of mental health services as they bear the weight of protecting their neighbors and our communities.

This body will have the opportunity to offer that support this week by voting ``yes'' on bills that will do just that.

Americans deserve to live in an environment that is safe and secure. It is not lost on me that our law enforcement plays the most significant role in securing and defending that safety. We are grateful. Every State in America Is a Border State

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. MANN. Mr. Speaker, 370 days ago, this body passed the Secure the Border Act of 2023. After President Biden's policies created the worst humanitarian crisis in our Nation's history, House Republicans rallied together to end the crisis and secure the southern border.

Sadly, some Washington Democrats are more loyal to progressive activists than to keeping Americans safe. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle would rather leave the border wide open than consider our legislation. In the meantime, America suffers.

Since House Republicans passed H.R. 2, there have been more than 2.1 million encounters with illegal immigrants trying to enter the country at the southern border. Nearly 120 of those individuals' names appear on the terrorist watch list, and almost 33,000 of them have some sort of criminal background.

In the past year alone, our Border Patrol agents have seized enough fentanyl to kill 3.8 billion people. That is the entire population of the United States, China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Nigeria, and Brazil combined.

It doesn't matter what the White House says. The numbers don't lie. President Biden's policies are failing, and our country is less secure because of it.

Under President Biden, every State in America is a border State. Kansas and the Big First feel that, and that is why they are so concerned about President Biden's border crisis.

In my commitment to the Big First, I pledged that I would fight for a nation that is secure and work to end the crisis at the border. That commitment is one of the reasons why I supported H.R. 2.

Rather than working with House Republicans to fix the President's crisis, Senate Democrats have decided to let H.R. 2 just sit in the legislative graveyard. In the meantime, Mexican cartels are more empowered while more drugs and more crime pour into our country over the border.

Mr. Speaker, Americans deserve better than this. Our children deserve to live in a country where they are safe and secure. It is beyond time for President Biden to work with House Republicans to secure the southern border. Enough is enough.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source