Providing for Consideration of H.R. Improving Law Enforcement Officer Safety and Wellness Through Data Act; Providing for Consideration of H.R. Leosa Reform Act; and Providing for Consideration of H.R. Federal Law Enforcement Officer Service Weapon Purchase Act of 2025

Floor Speech

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Mr. ESPAILLAT. Mr. Speaker, both Democrats and Republicans should be forever grateful to the police officers who protected this Capitol as an angry, racist, violent mob came in. We will forever remember the 140 officers who were injured and the five officers who lost their lives as a result, including Brian Sicknick, a Capitol Police Officer; Howard Liebengood, a Capitol Police Officer; and Metropolitan Police Department Officers Jeffrey Smith, Gunther Hashida, and Kyle DeFreytag.

I am also grateful to those officers that testified in front of the January 6th Committee, including Michael Fanone, Officer Harry Dunn, Police Sergeant Aquilino Gonell, and Officer Daniel Hodges.

It has been more than 2 years, Mr. Speaker--take a look at this plaque--that the other side has failed to properly honor police officers. Yet, they stand here and want to dictate to us how supportive they are of the men and women in police departments across this country. They have failed to put this plaque up to properly honor those men and women that protected our lives as an angry, racist mob came into this building and chanted: ``hang Mike Pence.'' Let's kill Nancy Pelosi. That is what they intended to do, and you failed to recognize the police officers that protected all of us, Democrat and Republican.

As the ranking member of the Legislative Branch Subcommittee, I am more than willing to work with the Architect of the Capitol and Republican leadership to make sure that we honor our police officers, and this Police Week it is important that we do that.

What do we get from the White House? We get a pardon of very violent people that wanted to hurt all of us.

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Mr. ESPAILLAT. Mr. Speaker, I am compelled to say to the Republican leadership that they must honor police officers in the proper way, particularly those of them that gave their lives for us and the American public. Let's do this. It has been years now since they refused to do this, and yet they call themselves the party of law and order.

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Mr. Speaker, a vote on the previous question is a vote to protect the police.

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