[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 114 (Thursday, July 14, 2016)]
[House]
[Page H4930]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                               TAKE STOCK

  (Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge what 
is happening in America. I think it is important that all of us, every 
single citizen, take stock of what is going on in our country.
  There are a lot of people hurting. There are a lot of people upset, 
high anxiety, a lot of confusion. I think this is a time for us to take 
stock as citizens and to think about how we can be better listeners to 
each others' concerns. I think this is a time for us to calm down and 
think deliberatively: How do we open our heart, open our ears, and see 
if we can understand the perspective that other people share?
  I think there is one thing that we must all reflect on the most as 
citizens. I think about Chief Brown in Dallas and that press conference 
he gave a week ago, where he said: Most days, we don't feel 
appreciated. Let's not make this most days.
  When a member of our law enforcement wakes up, gets out of bed, has 
breakfast with their family, kisses their loved ones good-bye, puts 
that badge on, and walks out the door, they go out there to keep us 
safe. They go out there to protect the streets. They go out there and 
risk their lives to preserve our lives.
  We throw a lot of big words around in this Chamber: ``duty,'' 
``honor,'' ``sacrifice.'' They do it every single day. So I think it is 
so important that, as Americans, we take stock and we thank the men and 
women serving in our law enforcement all around this country for what 
they do for us. I think it is really important that we thank their 
families for enduring the stress and the hardship that comes with such 
a job.
  As we try to make most days different than most days in the past, and 
as we try to make sure that we give our law enforcement community the 
respect and the thankfulness that they deserve, let's make sure that we 
listen to each other in this country so we can better understand, so 
that we can make most days in the future better days than we have had 
in the past.
  Our country is hurting, and it needs to start healing. I urge all 
Americans to do their best to make this country better.

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