[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 81 (Wednesday, May 14, 2025)]
[House]
[Pages H2006-H2007]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   RECOGNIZING LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS IN SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON

  (Ms. Perez of Washington was recognized to address the House for 5 
minutes.)
  Ms. PEREZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today during National Police Week to 
recognize the local law enforcement officers of southwest Washington 
who work around the clock to protect our community.
  During my time in Congress, I have made it a priority to do ride-
alongs and roundtables with local law enforcement and other first 
responders across the district to see firsthand their work and 
dedication.
  These men and women don't have the luxury to view the fentanyl crisis 
in academic or sanitized terms. They see it in its most brutal, human 
scale.
  I have also had the opportunity to see how we are training and 
supporting the next generation of officers. In August of last year, I 
toured the new law enforcement training center located in Clark County 
in my district. One of the first questions I asked the room was how 
many of them had children under the age of 5, and about half the room 
raised their hand. This makes sense, right, because they are at the 
beginning of their careers.
  Before this new regional training center opened, these recruits would 
have to travel across the State, away from their families, for 5 months 
to complete the basic law enforcement training academy course. Now they 
can train closer to home, which is a game changer for recruits with new 
families.
  The work done by law enforcement is exhausting and dangerous, yet 
absolutely critical. I am committed to ensuring Congress does its part 
to support our law enforcement partners, but it can't stop with 
Congress.
  Law enforcement officers and their families make huge sacrifices to 
serve our communities and often feel like their work isn't respected or 
is intentionally vilified by some. You cannot substitute respect with 
another Federal grant or program or initiative. We need a cultural 
shift that values and respects the sacrifices these officers and their 
families make.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank sincerely all of our law enforcement officers, 
their spouses, their families, and the communities that support them in 
this incredibly patriotic and challenging calling. I assure them that 
their work does not go unappreciated.


                    Recognizing Corrections Officers

  Ms. PEREZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today during National Police Week to 
recognize corrections officers who have one of the most difficult and 
stressful roles in our law enforcement.

[[Page H2007]]

  I made it a priority to tour jails in my district, and the 
corrections officers I have met are patriotic professionals who perform 
an unseen and often thankless job under incredibly stressful 
circumstances.
  When I asked these COs what their priorities are, how can I be 
useful, the first five times I asked the question, they kept telling me 
what their detainees need, what would make life better for their 
detainees.
  Every day corrections officers see firsthand the starkest crises of 
our society. They deal with the most violent offenders, our most 
difficult mental health challenges, inmates who have been caught up in 
the national fentanyl crisis, and people who have generally fallen 
through the cracks of society.
  Every day they do the hard and necessary work that makes our judicial 
system function and receive little to no respect or gratitude from 
society. It should not surprise anyone, given all this, that they have 
a suicide rate seven times higher than the general population and an 
average life expectancy of only 59 years. This is an indictment against 
our country.

                              {time}  1015

  Mr. Speaker, we must do more to support and recognize the role that 
corrections officers play in our communities. I, therefore, rise today 
to recognize and thank our corrections officers across my district for 
the difficult work they do and urge Congress and policymakers not to 
forget these law enforcement heroes.


     Recognizing Skamania County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue

  Ms. PEREZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today during National Police Week to 
recognize the work that the Skamania County Sheriff's Office Search and 
Rescue team does in my community.
  Skamania County is home to the Columbia River Gorge, the Gifford 
Pinchot National Forest, and Mount St. Helens. Though the population of 
our rural county is only about 12,000, the natural beauty of my home 
county attracts recreational visitors from across the world.
  Being in search and rescue is an unpredictable role, where you could 
get called to locate hikers who misread the map or relied on their 
phone or dig people out from an avalanche. Thus far, 2025 has been a 
record-setting year for search and rescue missions, with a 550 percent 
increase. Skamania Search and Rescue this year alone has saved an 
elderly woman with dementia who got lost wandering off the trail and a 
family with an infant who got stuck in the snow off-roading.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the Skamania County Sheriff's Search and Rescue 
team for their dedication to ensure both residents and visitors of 
Skamania County are able to recreate safely in our beautiful country.


             Honoring Vancouver Police Officer Nick Copley

  Ms. PEREZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today during National Police Week to 
recognize Vancouver Police Officer Nick Copley. In addition to his 
service as a police officer, Nick Copley also served in the United 
States Navy.
  When Officer Copley was deployed to Afghanistan, he was one of the 
two crane operators in his battalion. In this role, he was tasked with 
going to the areas where the Taliban had been pushed out, and his team 
would work to replace barriers with permanent concrete barriers around 
the base perimeter.
  During his deployment, Officer Copley flew an American flag above a 
former Taliban base and flew that same flag from the base on September 
11, 2010, and then brought it home with him. Three years later, on 
September 25, 2013, Officer Copley had the same American flag flown 
over the USS Arizona Memorial when he was stationed at Pearl Harbor.
  Now a distinguished Naval officer, Officer Copley is retiring from 
the Navy. To recognize his service to this country, it is my honor to 
have that same American flag that he flew over the base in Afghanistan 
and Pearl Harbor flown over the U.S. Capitol.
  I thank Officer Copley for dedicating himself to a career of service 
and representing what it means to serve his country and his community. 
I look forward to his continued service as a member of the Vancouver 
Police Department.

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