[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 85 (Wednesday, May 17, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2996-S2997]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                          National Police Week

  Mr. COTTON. Mr. President, over the weekend I heard a story I wanted 
to share with everyone here today. The story goes that there were three 
candles burning on a porch right across the street from the Cornwell 
Funeral Home in Dardanelle, AR--my hometown, just a couple blocks away 
from my home. A family had lit them in the memory of the three people 
who were brutally murdered last week in Chickalah, just a few miles 
outside of Dardanelle.
  One of those slain was Lieutenant Kevin Mainhart of the Yell County 
Sheriff's Department, who was killed after he stopped a man wanted in a 
domestic disturbance. In honor of his 5 years of service to Yell 
County--on top of the 20 years of service he rendered to the West 
Memphis Police Department--his fellow officers escorted in their 
cruisers the white hearse carrying his body from the State crime 
laboratory in Little Rock back to Dardanelle.
  The family across the street had lit a green candle, specifically for 
Lieutenant Mainhart, and the three candles burned all the night. But as 
the hearse pulled into the funeral home, the green candle suddenly went 
out.
  You could say that it was nothing more than a strange coincidence, 
but I think there is something especially poignant about the sudden, 
tragic loss of Lieutenant Mainhart's life so close to National Police 
Week, which began on Sunday. Like that green candle, Lieutenant 
Mainhart lit up his community, and, like that flickering flame, his 
life was too brief.
  Like every American this week, I wish to pay my respects to 
Lieutenant Mainhart and the noble profession he chose. One of the 
things which struck me about Lieutenant Mainhart's death was that it 
came so early in the morning. The stop occurred at 7:18 a.m. He had the 
whole day and his whole life in front of him.
  He was only 46 years old, but he had made the most of his time on 
this Earth. He was a husband, a father, an Air Force vet, a beloved 
member of our community. Hundreds of people don't line the streets for 
just anybody. Yet, in a moment, he was gone--his family bereft, our 
community in mourning. It is a reminder of how precious and fragile 
every life really is.
  It also goes to show just how brave every police officer really is, 
because this is the risk they take every morning. They put on the 
uniform, they kiss their families good-bye, and they go to work, never 
fully certain they will get home that night. Yet the ever-present 
threat of death doesn't hold them down. It doesn't hold them back. It 
doesn't dim the brilliance of their service. They give it their all, 
day after day, without giving it a moment's thought. That, to me, is 
the ultimate sign of character--when you do the right thing without 
even thinking about it.
  People like this are hard to come by. The sad truth is, we need a lot 
of them. A free country always does, because there is no freedom 
without security. We are so used to this basic fact--that for most of 
us, most of the time we are safe--that we forget how remarkable it is. 
Not so many people on God's green Earth can take that safety for 
granted. We often forget what it takes to secure it. We forget how 
easily we can lose it--and lose men and women like Lieutenant 
Mainhart--in an instant.
  It is with this in mind--this grave understanding of what our safety 
requires--that I once again speak against continued efforts to water 
down Federal sentencing laws. I thought this ill-advised idea had 
expired last year, especially after Donald Trump's election. But 
advocates for criminal leniency are at it again, even though violent 
crime continued to rise in our cities for 2 years straight, and law 
enforcement officers are being killed in the line of duty.
  I have already made my position clear. If we want to take a second 
look at punishments for first-time drug possession, let's do that. But 
we should know that fewer than 500 people are in Federal prison for 
such offenses. If we want to clean up our prisons, rehabilitate felons, 
and help them achieve redemption, by all means, let's do that, too. I 
would even consider a bill to speed up review of inmates' applications 
for pardons and commutations, to help the President exercise this 
constitutional authority. But we should not--we should not--lower 
mandatory minimums for violent crimes, repeat offenders, and drug 
trafficking. There is nothing compassionate about putting the lives of 
innocent people--and our law enforcement officers--at risk.
  Lieutenant Mainhart isn't the only one. There were three police 
officers killed in the line of duty last year in Arkansas: Robert 
Barker in the McCrory Police Department, William Cooper in the 
Sebastian County Sheriff's Office, and Lisa Mauldin in the Miller 
County Sheriff's Office. Every one of these losses was too steep a 
price to pay, and unwise criminal leniency policies put at risk their 
fellow officers and our communities.
  I know it is considered old-fashioned to be tough on crime--or, even 
worse, cold-hearted and mean. But a man doesn't put a lock on his door 
because he hates those on the outside. He does it because he loves 
those on the inside--his wife, his kids, all his family--because they 
are the joy of his life. The men and women of law enforcement don't 
just protect their own families--they protect all of our families. 
Every day those men and women put their lives on the line for their 
fellow citizens. The least we can do is to stand behind them and 
support them, both for the work they do and for the lives they lead.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.

[[Page S2997]]

  

  Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.