[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 16547]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  ANNIVERSARY OF CAPITOL POLICE DEATHS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. STENY H. HOYER

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 24, 2008

  Mr. HOYER. Madam Speaker, every morning when I go in to work, I pass 
by a plaque honoring Detective John Gibson and Officer Jacob Chestnut 
on the spot where they were killed, 10 years ago today. It's a quiet 
hallway today: Down the hall you can hear the sounds of visitors to the 
Capitol, and a few feet away, the work of the Majority Leader's Office 
goes on every day.
  What a shock to think that that hallway could be filled with gunshots 
and blood--to know that our Capitol, the most sacred space in our 
democracy, could be filled with violence. But what a saving grace to 
know that, every day, we are surrounded by brave men and women who will 
stand in the way of violence, even at the cost of their own lives. 
Detective Gibson and Officer Chestnut died doing just about the most 
worthwhile thing one human being can do for another: shielding the 
vulnerable--and yes, that includes every single one of us in this 
Chamber.
  Detective Gibson and Officer Chestnut deserve every tribute they've 
been given: lying in honor under the Capitol dome; yesterday's words 
dedicated to their memory; today's moment of silence. But we know that 
what they did, every member of the Capitol Police--and every law 
enforcement officer--stands ready to do. We honor Detective Gibson and 
Officer Chestnut not because they were unique in their sacrifice, but 
because their willingness to sacrifice was so typical--typical of all 
the best in those who wear the badge.
  Edmund Burke wrote that ``Good order is the foundation of all 
things.'' It is certainly the foundation of everything that happens in 
this building. Let us thank those men and women who risk their lives to 
give us order, safety, freedom from fear. And let us keep their 
families in our thoughts, today and every day--especially their wives, 
Evelyn Gibson and Wendy Wenling Chestnut.
  Without such brave officers, the work of this building--and the work 
of our democracy--wouldn't last a day.

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