[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 60 (Tuesday, April 9, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H2236-H2241]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 COMMEMORATING THE LIFE AND HONORING THE SERVICE OF MURDERED NEW YORK 
                  CITY POLICE OFFICER JONATHAN DILLER

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 9, 2023, the gentleman from New York (Mr. D'Esposito) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.


                             General Leave

  Mr. D'ESPOSITO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and to submit extraneous material on the subject of this Special Order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. D'ESPOSITO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the life and 
honor the service of a murdered New York City Police Officer, Jonathan 
Diller.
  I rise today also to honor his wife, Stephanie, and his 1-year-old 
son, Ryan. They both will spend the rest of their lives reeling from 
the loss of a beloved husband and father in a way that none of us can 
fully understand.
  Jonathan Diller's death is a national tragedy. It is an indescribable 
loss not only for his family, for Long Island, for the great State of 
New York, but for the United States of America and law enforcement in 
every corner of this globe.
  Horrifically, Officer Diller's death is not the only death endured by 
the NYPD in recent memory.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today as well to honor the lives and service of 
Anastasios Tsakos, Jason Rivera, Wilbert Mora, Adeed Fayaz. We pray for 
these slain NYPD heroes and their families, and we remind those retired

[[Page H2237]]

and those serving here in the House of Representatives that we will 
always stand with the men and women of law enforcement.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor as well, the some 374 officers 
slain in the line of duty since President Biden began to steadily chip 
away at law and order in this country since 2021.
  President Biden and allied politicians in Governor's mansions, 
District Attorneys' offices, and right here in the House of 
Representatives may pay lipservice to these officers and their 
families, but their votes, their rhetoric, their spewing of hatred tell 
a very different story.
  Mr. Speaker, there is a reason why Governor Hochul's presence was 
universally rebuked by those, including myself, in attendance at now 
Detective First Grade Diller's wake. The reason, Mr. Speaker, Governor 
Hochul and far-left lawmakers have at every single turn prioritized 
equity over the lives of men and women who wear the uniform.
  They have pursued disastrous, procriminal policies when they could 
have and should have pursued public safety. As a result, brave public 
servants and innocent Americans are paying the price in blood, and we 
have, thankfully, across this country many organizations who support 
men and women in blue in some of our worst times.
  Some of them are here with us today. I will thank Project Thank Cop 
for being here and always supporting men and women in blue.
  Public safety is not rocket science. When we witness record assaults 
and attacks against law enforcement officers, we begin to look at those 
in power in these places and wonder why are they choosing to allow this 
to happen.
  When Americans and New Yorkers watch videos of illegal migrants 
brutally beating NYPD officers in Times Square, we begin to look at 
those in power and wonder why they choose to allow these people to be 
here in the first place.
  Just minutes ago, the New York Post issued another article. It is 
titled: ``Migrant repeat offenders viciously attack cops during bust 
for ransacking NYC Target.''
  Whether it is cashless bail or open borders, the common denominator 
among these stories is radical progressive policy and the American 
people know, see, and suffer this reality.

                              {time}  1945

  Mr. Speaker, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle--not all of 
them, but some of them--are no doubt aware that the animal who shot 
Officer Diller had 21 prior arrests. He had 21 prior arrests for 
charges ranging from drug convictions to assault to hate crimes.
  When someone like Detective Diller's killer can commit heinous acts 
of violence, be apprehended, and then let out on the street the same 
day, we have a problem. Mr. Speaker, that problem lies not with the 
police, not with the men and women of law enforcement, not with the men 
and women who put on that shield and that gun belt every day. Mr. 
Speaker, it lies with elected officials who have no regard for public 
safety.
  Time and time again, those elected officials have chosen to preserve 
this revolving door of criminality through their explicit embrace of 
policies like cashless bail and open borders.
  The American people know that it does not need to be this way and 
that it was not this way until very recently when those in power 
changed course. Mr. Speaker, nightmares like those of Officer Diller 
will continue to occupy our headlines and our hearts.
  You are going to hear from other Members from the great State of New 
York tonight. In New York, not only is our Governor a Democrat, but the 
State legislature is also run by Democrats. Not only are they saying 
that cashless bail is working and that criminal justice reform is 
working, but they are doubling down and saying that it is better for 
the city and the State of New York.
  Mr. Speaker, I plead with my colleagues in all branches of government 
to come to their senses. I humbly ask that they listen to law 
enforcement experts. Give them the tools they need. Do not take the 
handcuffs from officers' gun belts that are meant to be used on 
criminals and use them on them. Let them do their jobs.
  I ask that they change course, that they understand in their reckless 
pursuit of equity and social justice, they are hurting those trying to 
protect us. In my years as an NYPD detective, I saw enough death and 
suffering. We don't need to see more.
  Mr. Speaker, that morning just a week ago, when Stephanie Diller gave 
the eulogy for her hero husband, she mentioned the funerals of Police 
Officers Mora and Rivera and referenced the speakers who said that we 
needed change.
  To those elected officials who were in that church in Massapequa, and 
of course the thousands upon thousands in the streets and the thousands 
listening at home, she asked a simple question: What has changed? In 
places like New York that are run by Democrats, the answer is nothing. 
Nothing has changed in our pursuit of justice.
  The only thing that has changed is people's lives have become more 
dangerous, and our streets have become more dangerous. We don't need to 
see more death and suffering. We don't need to see more nightmares like 
Detective First Grade Diller.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. 
Malliotakis).
  Ms. MALLIOTAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague Anthony D'Esposito 
for his service and for highlighting the dangers that our law 
enforcement face each and every day.
  As a Representative from New York City, it breaks my heart to see 
that we are losing police officers year after year, not just to 
retirements and then those who are fleeing our State, but those who are 
being murdered by criminals who should not be on our streets.
  We talked about how 374 police officers have been killed in the line 
of duty since Joe Biden became President in 2021. That includes five of 
our brave NYPD: Detective Tsakos, Detective Rivera, Detective Mora, and 
Officer Fayaz, and the latest being Jonathan Diller. We must listen to 
the words and the pleas of their widows, of their parents, of their 
family members, of their fellow law enforcement officers who are saying 
that this is preventable.
  If we see that our police officers are not safe in cities like ours, 
how can the public be safe?
  It is truly tragic because we know it is preventable, and there are a 
certain number of laws that the State legislature in New York has put 
in place that have caused this crisis. The individuals who were 
responsible for the death of Officer Diller were career criminals.
  Guy Rivera, who was the one who pulled the trigger, had 21 prior 
arrests, and he was still on our streets. He was most recently released 
from a 5-year prison stint for a drug conviction, and then he went off 
to parole in 2022. He was on the streets because of a new law that the 
legislature passed called the Less is More Act. He had parole 
violations, but he wasn't in jail, and that is because of the actions 
of our Governor and the State legislature.
  His partner, the other perp, was arrested at least 14 times for 
things like robbery, assault, and even attempted murder in 2001. He was 
sentenced to a decade behind bars, but guess what? He is back on the 
street. In April, he was caught with a loaded illegal gun. The DA 
sought bail. The judge agreed on bail, but not to monitoring, so he 
made the bail and was released back onto our streets again.
  It is so tragic to see that these laws put in place by our 
legislature have caused the deaths of these police officers. New 
Yorkers are being hurt each and every day by people who have not a 
dozen, not two dozen, not three dozen, but sometimes even four dozen 
prior arrests. They are still on the streets because of the revolving 
door.
  We just heard of another cop who was hospitalized last week after 
being attacked by six migrants at a Target on the Upper East Side. Once 
again, lawlessness is taking over the streets of New York City.
  What you are seeing taking place is a combination of the Federal 
policies of this President, open border policies, the policies of our 
left-leaning State legislature with bail reform, Raise the Age, as well 
as the Less is More Act, and couple it with the city policy that 
handcuffs the NYPD and doesn't allow for any cooperation for 
individuals who are committing crimes to be deported or at least 
detained.
  If ICE makes a detainer request for these individuals, which they 
have, the

[[Page H2238]]

city won't comply. They will just release them back on the street so 
they can continue wreaking havoc in our city, in our country. That is 
wrong. It is not going to stop, and we are not going to bring public 
safety to the streets of this city or this country, unless we change 
these policies.
  The left-leaning Democrats who continue to vote for these policies, 
support these policies, refuse to repeal or even adjust or fix these 
policies, we are speaking to them tonight. We are echoing what the 
widows, the children, the parents, the family members, and the 
community where these police officers are and the millions of crime 
victims we are seeing across our country reside.
  They want action, and they want it now. We must continue to fight for 
it. We won't stop until we get cooperation from the other side of the 
aisle.
  Mr. D'ESPOSITO. Mr. Speaker, I now yield to the gentlewoman from 
Indiana (Mrs. Houchin), my good friend.
  Mrs. HOUCHIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a heavy heart to address 
the tragic murder of NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller, whose life was 
senselessly taken while serving his community.
  This heinous act of violence not only took the life of a dedicated 
officer, but it also serves as a stark reminder of the dangers our law 
enforcement officers face every day.
  Guy Rivera and Lindy Jones, the perpetrators of this despicable 
crime, are no strangers to the criminal justice system. With extensive 
criminal histories, including prior arrests for violent offenses, 
Rivera and Jones epitomize the threat posed by repeat offenders who 
continue to roam our streets despite arrest after arrest.
  Officer Diller's death clearly exposes the threat that soft-on-crime 
policies in Democrat-led cities have brought to communities across the 
country. These atrocities have enabled individuals, like Rivera and 
Jones, to evade accountability and continue to live freely while law-
abiding citizens and our brave men and women in law enforcement pay the 
price.
  As we mourn the loss of Officer Diller, we must also demand action 
and policies to restore accountability in our criminal justice system 
to support crime victims and prioritize the safety of our communities 
and our law enforcement officers.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in calling for 
meaningful change to prevent tragedies like this from ever happening 
again.
  Mr. D'ESPOSITO. Mr. Speaker, I now yield to the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Williams), my good friend.
  Mr. WILLIAMS of New York. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to join my 
colleagues from New York, particularly a veteran of the New York Police 
Department, Mr. D'Esposito. Before serving in this august body, he 
served his neighbors and helped keep them safe. He speaks out of 
passion and experience on this critical topic.
  This is a time of soul-crushing grief for the Diller family. I can't 
feel what they feel, but I can say this: They are not alone.
  Across America, people are standing up, and they are saying that this 
senseless violence has to stop. It cannot go on.
  When New York City and Albany turned their backs, letting someone 
with 21 prior arrests back on the street, Massapequa Park was left to 
pick up the pieces, left to ask questions like: How many crimes does 
someone have to commit and how many people does someone have to 
threaten to kill before you make sure they don't have the opportunity 
to do more damage?
  They want to know why, time and again, dangerous, violent criminals 
who public servants have the responsibility to remove from society are 
instead free to victimize more innocent people like Officer Diller. 
They want to know why they have to suffer while career criminals so 
often avoid real consequences.
  There is so much more that we must do at the policy level to prevent 
more tragedies like these from occurring, to prevent career criminals 
from destroying families like this one.
  Radical policies like no-cash bail cannot continue. Willful ignorance 
from elected officials cannot continue. Preventable killings like this 
one simply cannot continue.
  We cannot stop working until we reach the day when our Nation's 
police officers and their families--in fact, when all decent, law-
abiding folks who are just trying to get along and do the right things 
are able to trust that their elected officials here and at the local 
level truly have their backs. May that day come soon.
  Stephanie and little Ryan, my heart breaks for you. America lost a 
hero, but you lost a husband and a father whose selfless dedication and 
service will not be forgotten.
  Mr. D'ESPOSITO. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New Jersey 
(Mr. Van Drew), my good friend.

                              {time}  2000

  Mr. VAN DREW. Mr. Speaker, first and foremost Jonathan Diller is an 
American hero, a hero whose wife will now have to grow old without a 
husband who she loved so much, a hero whose 1-year-old son will grow up 
without a dad.
  Yet, what makes this tragedy so gut-wrenching, so horrible, so foul 
is the fact that it was 100 percent avoidable. It did not have to 
happen.
  What kind of society are we when we let individuals who have been 
arrested 14 times, 20 times, or more times than even that, back out to 
roam the streets and hurt our good American citizens?
  What kind of a society are we when we prioritize identity politics 
over the safety of the American public and our law enforcement 
officers?
  This is a dangerous pattern that we see in New York, but it is all 
across the country. The left continues to vilify our law enforcement. 
The left continues to undermine or outright ignore the laws meant to 
protect our American citizens. The left continues to push weak-on-crime 
laws and elect weak-on-crime district attorneys, and that is where the 
blame goes.
  This isn't a matter of policy differences; this is a matter of good 
versus evil, right versus wrong, law and order versus criminality and 
chaos.
  Of course, Jonathan Diller, an American hero serving his community, 
it cost him his life. How many times must we lose good Americans before 
people wake up and realize that we need to stand up for our law 
enforcement officers?
  How many families must suffer the loss of a loved one before we 
continue to say enough is enough, that this is it, we have had it?
  This is the time. This is the place. It has to be more than words. It 
has to be more than resolutions. It has to be in change.
  We need to make that change now. We cannot allow brave men like 
Jonathan Diller to die in the future.
  Our police already have one of the hardest jobs that anyone could 
imagine. We cannot make their whole lives harder by defunding them. We 
cannot make their lives harder by demeaning them. We cannot make their 
lives harder by demonizing them. We cannot make their lives harder by 
allowing career criminals to stay out of jail over and over and over 
again.
  We are a nation of laws, and we owe a tremendous debt to those men 
and women who enforce those laws. We owe it to them. We owe it to them 
to pass laws that ensure that they are properly funded and to enforce 
laws that keep the bad guys off the streets.
  I thank Officer Diller. I thank him for his brave service, and I am 
praying--we all are; America is praying--for his family.
  As I said before, that is not enough. We must make the change.
  I thank my friend, Congressman Anthony D'Esposito for bringing us all 
together today. I thank him for his good work.
  Mr. D'ESPOSITO. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California 
(Mr.  Mike Garcia), my friend.
  Mr. MIKE GARCIA of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in 
solidarity with my good friend from New York, and I thank him for his 
service as a law enforcement officer before coming to Congress.
  Most importantly, I stand here today in support of our law 
enforcement officers who are currently wearing the uniform. We have 
similar problems in California as New York does.
  These brave men and women wake up every morning and think about the 
sobering and very realistic thought that today may actually be the last 
day of their life. Despite having that realization every morning, the 
realization that they may have to deal with someone who will literally 
try to kill them,

[[Page H2239]]

they still get up, they still put on the uniform, and they proudly 
serve our communities.
  They do it despite the radical policies like defunding the police, 
despite the lunatics dressed in suits disguised as DAs like our own 
district attorney in Los Angeles County who goes by the name of George 
Gascon.
  Gascon, instead of being the DA is more like a defense attorney 
rather than a district attorney. He is more like the Penguin of Gotham 
City who enables the death of his constituents and puts our sheriffs' 
and LAPD officers' lives at risk every day. He helps the bad guys 
instead of protecting the innocent, instead of allowing the police to 
do their job. He allows for early release of felons, downgraded or no 
charges at all for serious offenses--most of them felonies--and zero-
cash bail policies instead of supporting law enforcement and law-
abiding citizens.
  The brave peacemakers in blue wake up every morning and serve, 
despite the fact that they are working double overtime because our 
county supervisors and our mayors aren't hiring enough new cadets into 
the academies.
  They get up and put their lives on the line on a daily basis despite 
their own elected officials who are supposed to represent them at all 
levels of government not supporting them.
  They also suffer disproportionately high divorce rates, and 
unfortunately, astronomical suicide rates. In my district alone, we saw 
four law enforcement officers commit suicide in just 1 week.
  But to the 708,000 police officers, please know this: The good guys 
have your back. As a former combat Naval aviator and the son of an LAPD 
officer, I know the dangers that are faced on a daily basis, and I 
appreciate their courage and their sacrifice and that of their 
families. Their families face fear on a daily basis, the reality that 
some of them may not come home at night because evil still does exist 
on our streets. We are eternally grateful to them, and most people in 
our communities are.
  Each year more than 100 cops give their lives in our defense. Last 
year, 136 cops were killed in the line of duty.
  Someone doesn't need to become a cop, or someone doesn't want to 
become a cop. They don't do it for the money. They don't do it for the 
benefits. They do it because they want to serve, they want to protect, 
and they want to do what is right and what is noble.

  There is no greater form of love than being willing to give your own 
life in defense of another human being, and for many of us that is true 
for our kids, that is true for our spouses or close friends. We would 
die for them.
  But the amazing thing about law enforcement officers is that they 
wake up every morning willing to give up their lives in defense of 
complete strangers. That is extremely powerful, and that should be very 
humbling to the rest of us.
  The least we can do as elected officials at all levels of government 
is to give our law enforcement officers every dollar of funding and 
every policy tool to make sure that they come home at night and that 
the bad guys go to prison. We should never bend the knee. Never bend 
the knee to an organization or human being that supports defunding or 
jeopardizing the lives of our police officers.
  I urge leadership in this body, the House of Representatives, to 
bring my bill, the Sergeant Steve Owen bill to the floor for a vote.
  Sergeant Steve Owen, who is pictured here, was a brave sheriff who 
was brutally executed in broad daylight in the Antelope Valley, just 
like Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer, who is also pictured here, was shot in 
the head while sitting in his patrol car in the afternoon in the 
Antelope Valley.
  The Sergeant Steve Owen bill would make the intentional killing of a 
cop a Federal felony with a punishment no less than the death penalty 
or life in prison without the possibility of parole. This should be the 
law of the land in all 50 States, and, Mr. Speaker, we should all agree 
that it is a reasonable law. This is a reasonable punishment for such 
evil.
  May God look over our peacemakers. I thank my colleague from New York 
for putting this Special Order on. May the lawmakers and the district 
attorneys, the elected officials, do their jobs and take care of those 
who provide our communities with our security blankets on a daily 
basis.
  God bless our law enforcement officers. God bless this country.
  Mr. D'ESPOSITO. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New Jersey 
(Mr. Kean).
  Mr. KEAN of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend and 
former NYPD Detective Anthony D'Esposito for holding this Special Order 
today to honor the life and the memory of New York City Police Officer 
Jonathan Diller.
  On March 25, 2024, during a routine traffic stop in Queens, New York, 
Officer Diller was shot by man with 21 prior arrests who was released 
on parole just 3 years ago.
  The fact that this killer was able to be released on parole should be 
a shock to anyone and is unfortunately endemic to the soft-on-crime 
policies that extreme Democrats are pushing across the country.
  This tragedy was entirely avoidable, and we as leaders must act to 
ensure that it does not happen again.
  I rise today to honor a young man who was a credit to his community 
and to his profession. During his 3 years in the NYPD, Officer Diller 
was recognized three times for excellent police duty. He was respected 
in his community and deeply loved, as seen in the tremendous outpouring 
of support during his funeral and wake services last week.
  Let us remember the sacrifices that he made and the lives he touched. 
We in this Chamber need to make clear our complete support for the 
brave men and women who proudly wear the badge, risking their lives to 
keep our communities safe.
  I offer my sincerest condolences to Jonathan's wife, family, and the 
NYPD community. To those members of law enforcement and first 
responders in New York, in New Jersey, and across our country, stay 
safe and know that we are with you.
  Mr. D'ESPOSITO. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New York 
(Mr. Molinaro), someone who throughout his career in public service has 
always supported law enforcement, whether as a State legislator or as a 
county executive.
  Mr. MOLINARO. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, Mr. D'Esposito, not 
only for today's Special Order but for a lifetime of service and 
sacrifice on behalf of the people of the city of New York and his own 
community. He knows firsthand the sacrifice that men and women in law 
enforcement make every day, and by the way, by extension the sacrifice 
their families have to offer in that service.
  Today, I certainly rise in support and recognition and extend my love 
and prayers to the family of NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller. We heard 
some powerful words from his widow reminding us how absolutely 
important it is that we establish policy that protects men and women in 
law enforcement in the State of New York but also across the country. 
Too many are passing policies that make the job of law enforcement that 
much more dangerous, undermining the ability to provide for public 
safety.

  We have to remember that Jonathan Diller was killed senselessly by a 
man who had previously been arrested 21 times--21 times in the State of 
New York--21 times.
  I want to speak specifically to New York State's cashless bail policy 
and some of the laws that have come out of Albany, New York, that have 
made law enforcement that much more difficult, and sadly, have made 
this particular tragedy--the loss of Officer Diller--a sad story that 
gets told and retold across New York.
  Since the establishment of cashless bail in New York, New York 
State's criminal justice system has acted as a revolving door for 
repeat offenders. What New York has done is instead of taking the smart 
way of ensuring judicial discretion, the ability to evaluate risk, and 
by the way, giving local law enforcement the ability to intervene with 
the appropriate tools to de-escalate and to end recidivism, New York 
threw that all out.
  The State of New York instead established a policy that emboldens 
criminals.
  Now, the response from leaders in Albany, New York, and some across 
the country is that crime is on the decline. They point to arrest 
statistics as a suggestion that somehow crime is going down.

[[Page H2240]]

  In places like New York arrests aren't being made. Why? Because small 
business owners on Main Streets across the State, in neighborhoods in 
New York City, they know not to even bother calling in many cases 
because the law enforcement community is unable to respond to even the 
simplest of crimes, and because of that they consistently see the 
escalation of crime. Those who are committing lower level offenses 
sooner or later are committing higher level offenses and maybe even 
taking the life of a law enforcement official, and then it is too late.
  Mr. Speaker, 21 times that person was arrested and released before 
killing Officer Diller. Mr. Speaker, 21 times this criminal justice 
system had the ability in the State of New York--if it only had the 
backing of policymakers--had the ability to intervene and to protect 
Officer Diller and the 20-plus victims that came before him.

                              {time}  2015

  Officer Diller's death is just one more example of how 
incomprehensible the decision to eliminate cash bail throughout New 
York has made our State, my State, a community that I have served since 
1994, as a whole more dangerous for men and women, small business 
owners, and families. We know it.
  For the State of the Union, I brought two upstate county sheriffs. 
They know firsthand how crime has continued to rise and violence 
continues to escalate.
  Because of decisions out of Albany, New York, the Governor, State 
legislators, Democrats empowered one-party rule in my State, New York 
is more dangerous, and the ability to provide for public safety, that 
much more difficult.
  Under current law, instead of receiving the innovative services and 
programs which help to discourage recidivism and empower law 
enforcement officials to intervene at the right moment, instead of 
doing that, those apprehended due to criminal activity are free to re-
offend; because of it, they are back out on the streets within moments, 
if not immediately, creating more victims, creating more crimes, 
undermining community safety--by the way, even putting their own 
ability to find their way to a life free of crime, putting that at 
risk.
  Now, while touted as progressive, New York's State bail reform is 
anything but. New York State's cashless bail is not progressive. It is 
cruel, and it is dangerous, and it has put the lives of too many New 
Yorkers, including the life of Jonathan Diller, at risk.
  The first rule of policymaking is to do no harm, and cashless bail in 
the State of New York has only produced harm.
  Albany's bail reform experiment has failed. Yet, the politicians in 
the State of New York continue to avoid the necessary question to 
revisit this disaster of a policy.
  It is time that lawmakers in Washington and lawmakers in State 
capitals across this country, like in Albany, prioritize public safety, 
prioritize supporting law enforcement, and end senseless tragedies.
  Prior to coming to Congress, I spent 12 years as a county executive 
where we focused on intervention, prevention, and diversion tools, 
giving law enforcement the capacity to make communities safer. New York 
State threw it all out, and with it, has made our communities less safe 
and the work of law enforcement more dangerous.
  Mr. Speaker, I join my colleagues in expressing our deepest sympathy 
and extending our love to the family of Officer Diller, but also to the 
men and women of law enforcement across New York and across America and 
their families. May they come home to families that love them and 
ultimately communities and governments that support them.
  Mr. D'ESPOSITO. Mr. Speaker, we have heard this evening from Members 
of this body from throughout the country that we are faced with a 
problem, and the problem is that in far too many places, in far too 
many progressive Democrat cities and States, we have chosen to put 
criminals ahead of law-abiding citizens.
  Throughout the last couple of weeks, many of us who support law 
enforcement and support the repeal of cashless bail, have heard the 
naysayers talking about gun violence and that Republicans should focus 
more on banning certain types of weapons.
  I would point out that in a place like New York, we have on the books 
some of the strictest gun laws in the country. I myself have taken 
hundreds of guns off the street as a New York City detective, and I 
will tell you that there was one thing in common with those hundreds of 
arrests for firearms: Never once was I presented with a license to 
carry it.
  You see, the guns being used to kill people throughout this country 
are illegal firearms, illegal handguns.
  Just weeks ago, the Committee on House Administration held a hearing 
to discuss the violence here in the Nation's Capital. We, again, from 
the other side of the aisle were poised with the question: Well, what 
about banning certain types of guns?
  We heard from law enforcement professionals with almost 80 years of 
combined service, and they gave us the facts. They said of the hundreds 
of guns recovered, over 90 percent of them were illegal handguns.
  You see no signs in cities that say a no handgun zone. That is not 
going to solve the problem. Banning certain types of weapons, those 
aren't the weapons that are killing people. Those are not the weapons 
that killed the brave hero and detective from New York City.
  What we need is to have district attorneys actually enforce the law, 
actually live up to the oath that they took to be the highest ranking 
law enforcement officer in their jurisdiction, not someone like in New 
York City and Manhattan, where we have a rogue DA by the name of Alvin 
Bragg, who even before he took his oath of office, he thought that it 
was his job not to enforce the laws, but in New York apparently rewrite 
the penal code, and only enforced those laws that he deemed necessary. 
Well, we see where that ended up.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues from across this country who 
joined with me here this evening to salute Detective First Grade 
Jonathan Diller.
  Mr. Speaker, when I took the oath to become a member of the NYPD, I 
raised my right hand and I swore to protect and serve but I also made a 
promise, and that is the same promise that law enforcement officers 
make throughout this country when they take their oath, and that is to 
never, ever, ever forget our fallen brothers and sisters.
  For those on the other side of the aisle in State houses throughout 
this country and in this Chamber, and our colleagues on the other side 
of the House who think that the failed progressive policies that they 
have put in place are actually working, I ask them to do one thing.
  I remember the night when Officers Ramos and Liu were shot and killed 
in Brooklyn, New York, and I heard the radio transmissions. I have 
listened to the radio transmission of Officer Diller and his partner 
just weeks ago when they were at what they thought was just a routine 
car stop. When you hear Officer Diller yell into the radio that he had 
been shot, I ask my colleagues who think that these failed policies 
aren't putting people in danger, sit down and listen to those blood-
curdling radio transmissions.

  Mr. Speaker, in just a few weeks from now, there will be thousands, 
tens of thousands of law enforcement agencies from throughout this 
country here. They will make their way to Capitol Hill. Just the other 
day they began to engrave the names of fallen officers from throughout 
this Nation on our Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. We will gather. 
We will gather on the lawn for the vigil, and we will commemorate and 
pay homage to every single member of law enforcement who died in the 
line of duty.
  On the statue at the Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, there is a 
beautiful statue of a lion, and underneath that lion is a simple quote. 
It says: ``It is not how these officers died that make them heroes, it 
is how they lived.''
  Mr. Speaker, it is not how Detective First Grade Jonathan Diller died 
that made him a hero, it is also how he lived. He was a loving father, 
a giving husband, someone who surrounded himself with friends who 
wanted to be near him because he made them laugh. He made them feel 
special.

[[Page H2241]]

  Even with just a few years on the job, he went out into some of the 
most dangerous neighborhoods in the city of New York and did real 
police work. He was willing to stop those cars to take those illegal 
guns off the street, even when he knew that district attorneys wouldn't 
do their best to prosecute. He went out there and did God's work. He 
did the work that he took the oath and swore that he would do.
  Mr. Speaker, again, I thank my colleagues for sharing this hour not 
only with me, but with the family of Detective Diller, with members of 
law enforcement throughout this country, and with the NYPD. Every night 
I pray for the mayor of the city of New York, Mayor Adams; our police 
commissioner, Ed Caban; the hierarchy of the NYPD; and the rank and 
file, the men and women who go out there each and every day to do that 
great work.
  You see, the men and women that we have honored tonight, it is not 
how they died that make them heroes, it is how they lived.
  I thank all law enforcement officers throughout this country, whether 
it is right here in this beautiful Capitol building and the Capitol 
Police that protect us each and every day, to the counties, the cities, 
the villages, the States, from sea to shining sea. Stay safe. And 
realize that in a country where each and every night we watch the news 
and it seems like in our social media streams that all elected 
officials are fighting against the good work of law enforcement, there 
are good people that are praying for them, that are rooting for them, 
that are making sure that they have the resources each and every day to 
do the job that they need to do.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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