[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Page 15116]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO CAPITOL POLICE

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, every day Members of Congress come to work 
at the U.S. Capitol. I said some of this yesterday afternoon, but 
because of the melee, the death and destruction outside the Capitol, 
the sound system did not work, so I want to make sure that people 
understand a few things about how I feel about the Capitol Police 
force.
  Members of Congress come to work here, and we come with 16,000 staff 
people. We are here with millions of tourists every year. These good 
men and women, most of whom are in uniform, but not all of them are, 
are here to keep us, members of our staff, and the public safe from 
harm.
  Yesterday's events were a sobering reminder of that fact. I spoke 
yesterday afternoon, shortly after the incident, to Brian Carter, a 23-
year veteran of the Capitol Police force who was hurt during 
yesterday's incident. I talked to police officers whom I came in 
contact with over the last 16 hours or so. I said: Do you know Brian? 
Almost everyone knows him. Almost everyone said the same exact thing: 
What a fine man.
  As I spoke to him yesterday--he is expected to make a recovery--I 
wished him and his family the best during this difficult time for him 
and for all of us. I wish a speedy recovery to the Secret Service agent 
who was also injured yesterday.
  But I thought the most memorable thing we had in our short telephone 
conversation was, he said: My job is to keep you safe. He was not 
referring to me, even though he and I were on the phone. He meant his 
job was to make sure everyone is safe. That was something I will always 
remember.
  These brave men and women put their lives on the line every day, 
Capitol Police, other law enforcement agencies who work here in the 
Capitol. Why do they do that? Because that is their job.
  So my thanks go out to every Capitol Police officer. We owe them a 
debt of gratitude.

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