[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 82 (Wednesday, May 12, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H2199-H2200]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          NATIONAL POLICE WEEK

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Joyce) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, equal justice under the law 
is a cornerstone of our American democracy. At home in Pennsylvania and 
around our country, our communities are blessed with dedicated law 
enforcement officers who work daily to protect and to serve. During 
National Police Week, the American people honor and thank the law 
enforcement officers who keep us safe each and every day.
  While no organization is perfect, our local police work hard to 
uphold the law and maintain peace in our communities. As Chambersburg 
Police Chief Ron Camacho told me just this week, good police forces are 
centered on protecting and learning how to protect better. He said that 
good police forces are constantly evolving and improving.
  I wholeheartedly agree with my friend, the chief of police in 
Chambersburg, and Congress must do our part to support these heroes. 
Instead of talking about defunding the police, we should be working to 
better train and equip law enforcement officers to do the job that we 
have entrusted them to do.
  As we move forward, the American people know that Republicans are 
leading commonsense, bipartisan solutions. For over a year, Senator Tim 
Scott and Congressman Pete Stauber have led our efforts to improve 
transparency, accountability, and training. Rather than defund or 
dismantle the police, the Justice Act will enact bipartisan reforms to 
better equip these brave Americans who serve our communities. I was 
proud to cosponsor that legislation, and I encourage my colleagues on 
all sides of the political spectrum to join us in this commonsense 
approach.
  Democrats say that they want to work together on police reform. Now 
is the chance. Getting this right today is critical for the future of 
policing in our Nation. We cannot allow the radical left to erode trust 
in the justice system and degrade the good name of the public servants 
for the sake of their own woke agenda. Right now, our law enforcement 
community is facing unprecedented attacks. Every day, the left 
threatens to abandon these heroes who protect us.
  Chief Camacho leads an exemplary police force in Franklin County, 
Pennsylvania. He and the vast majority of the law enforcement community 
go above and beyond to protect our communities.
  As a nation, we must never turn our backs on the police. We must 
never defund the police. During National Police Week and throughout 
this year, it is my privilege to stand with the thin blue line, and I 
will always back the blue.

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