[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Pages 5982-5983]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



             TREATMENT OF FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I have to take issue with the extreme 
rhetoric that some are using to attack our Federal law enforcement 
officers who helped return Elian Gonzalez to his father.
  For example, one of the Republican leaders in the House of 
Representatives was quoted as calling the officers of the U.S. 
Immigration and Naturalization Service, the U.S. Border Patrol, and the 
U.S. Marshals Service: ``jack-booted thugs.'' The mayor of New York 
City, a man who is seeking election to this body, called these 
dedicated public servants ``storm troopers.''
  I know both men who made these remarks. I hope they will reconsider 
what they said because such intemperate and highly charged rhetoric 
only serves to degrade Federal law enforcement officers in the eyes of 
the public. That is something none of us should want to see happen.
  Let none of us in the Congress, or those who want to serve in 
Congress, contribute to an atmosphere of disrespect for law enforcement 
officers. No matter what one's opinion of the law enforcement action in 
south Florida, we should all agree that these law enforcement officers 
were following orders, doing what they were trained to do, and putting 
their lives on the line, something they do day after day after day.
  Let us treat law enforcement officers with the respect that is 
essential to their preserving the peace and protecting the public. I 
have said many times on the floor of this body that the 8 years I 
served in law enforcement are among the proudest and most satisfying 
times of my years in public service.
  Thus, this harsh rhetoric bothers me even more. I do not know if I am 
bothered more as a Senator or as a former law enforcement official. But 
I am reminded of similar harsh rhetoric used by the National Rifle 
Association. In April 1995, the NRA sent a fundraising letter to 
members calling Federal law enforcement officers ``jack-booted thugs'' 
who wear ``Nazi bucket helmets and black storm trooper uniforms.''
  Apparently, the vice president of the NRA was referring to Federal 
Bureau of Investigation and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms 
agents involved in law enforcement actions in Idaho and Texas.
  President George Bush, a man who is a friend of ours on both sides of 
this

[[Page 5983]]

aisle, was correctly outraged by this NRA rhetoric, and he resigned 
from the NRA in protest. At the time in 1995, President Bush wrote to 
the NRA:

       Your broadside against federal agents deeply offends my own 
     sense of decency and honor. . . . It indirectly slanders a 
     wide array of government law enforcement officials, who are 
     out there, day and night, laying their lives on the line for 
     all of us.

  I praised President Bush in 1995 for his actions, and I praise him 
again today.
  President Bush was right. This harsh rhetoric of calling Federal law 
enforcement officers ``jack-booted thugs'' and ``storm troopers'' 
should offend our sense of decency and honor. It is highly offensive. 
It does not belong in any public debate on the reunion of Elian 
Gonzalez with his father.
  We are fortunate to have dedicated women and men throughout Federal 
law enforcement in this country. They do a tremendous job under 
difficult circumstances, oftentimes at the risk of their lives and, 
unfortunately, too often losing their lives. They are examples of the 
hard-working public servants who make up the Federal Government, who 
are too often maligned and unfairly disparaged. It is unfortunate that 
it takes high-profile incidents to put a human face on Federal law 
enforcement officials, to remind everyone that these are people with 
children and parents and friends, spouses, brothers and sisters. They 
deserve our respect. They don't deserve our personal insults.
  In countless incidents across the country every day, we ask Federal 
law enforcement officers who are sworn to protect the public and 
enforce the law to place themselves in danger, in danger none of us has 
to face. These law enforcement officers deserve our thanks and our 
respect. They do not deserve to be called jack-booted thugs and storm 
troopers. I proudly join the Federal Law Enforcement Officers 
Association in condemning these insults against our Nation's law 
enforcement officers. The public officials who used this harsh rhetoric 
owe our Federal law enforcement officers an apology.
  I also want to note the misplaced swiftness in those calling to 
investigate the law enforcement action needed to reunite Elian Gonzalez 
with his father. The same congressional leaders who broke speed records 
calling Attorney General Reno to Capitol Hill and now call for Senate 
Judiciary Committee hearings to investigate this law enforcement action 
are the same congressional leaders who stalled the juvenile justice 
conference for nearly a year. With just a word, these congressional 
leaders can order politically charged meetings and hearings, though 
they remain silent when it comes to moving a comprehensive youth crime 
bill toward final passage into law. Unfortunately, we are in a Congress 
that is quick to investigate but slow to actually legislate a solution 
that could improve the quality of our constituents' lives. I think this 
is a misplaced priority on politics over commonsense legislation. I 
hope we will calm down the rhetoric.
  There are those who feel strongly about where Elian Gonzalez should 
be, either with relatives in Miami or with his father. I am one who has 
stated from the beginning that the little boy should be with his 
father. The fact is, he is with his father. I hope we can all just let 
them be alone, let them reestablish the bonds that a father and child 
naturally have. Let him enjoy the company of his new brother. Let him 
be out of the TV cameras. Let's stop seeing this little boy paraded out 
several times a day before crowds, even adoring crowds. Let him be a 
normal little 6-year-old. Let him hug his father. Let his father hug 
him back. Let them read stories. Let them do things together.
  I ask his family, his relatives in Miami--I have to assume they love 
him--let them have this time alone. Back away. Don't let your own egos 
or feelings get in the way of what is best for this little child. Let 
him be with his father. There will be a time where all of them will be 
together again. Right now, this little boy needs his dad.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Florida.
  Mr. MACK. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as in 
morning business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________