[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 1]
[House]
[Pages 360-362]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    LAW ENFORCEMENT APPRECIATION DAY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Bost). Under the Speaker's announced 
policy of January 6, 2015, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Jolly) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
  Mr. JOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the time, and I would like to 
claim this time to spend a few moments on the floor of this House to 
express the appreciation of myself and my colleagues to those who serve 
every day in our law enforcement community.
  There is no better way to kick off this time than to yield to a 
colleague of mine from the State of Washington, a former sheriff of 30 
years in law enforcement, and a former Sheriff of the Year from King 
County, my colleague from Washington (Mr. Reichert).
  Mr. REICHERT. I thank the gentleman for yielding and his kind 
introduction.
  Today, Mr. Speaker, is National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day. I 
hope this becomes a yearly thing. It is sponsored today by the National 
Sheriffs' Association, the International Association of Chiefs of 
Police, the FOP, and other law enforcement organizations--national, 
State, and local organizations.
  As Mr. Jolly said, I served 33 years in the sheriff's office in 
Seattle, starting in a patrol car and eventually ending my career as 
the sheriff. I know from my own personal experience in serving those 
years that a cop's mission is to protect their community.
  I know this from working with law enforcement not only in the 
sheriff's office in Seattle, but with the Seattle Police Department, 
all the police departments and sheriffs' offices in the State of 
Washington and even across this country. I have had the opportunity to 
work with a number of law enforcement organizations--local, State, and 
Federal.
  Mr. Speaker, they come each day with the heart of a servant. They 
come each day knowing that, when they put on that badge and that 
uniform, that they may not go home. They know that, but they do it 
anyway.
  Why do they do that? Why do they take that risk? Why did I take that 
risk for 33 years? Let me tell you, Mr. Speaker, I did come close 
several times in my career to losing my life to protect the community I 
served.
  Let me also say that I lost some dear friends over those 33 years. 
One was my best friend, Sam Hicks, who was shot and killed in June of 
1982. Another good friend in 1984 was stabbed to death.
  It is a dangerous job, but it is a job they choose to do because they 
choose to serve the community. They choose to put their life on the 
line to protect and serve all of us, protect our families, our 
children, our businesses, and our property each and every day.

                              {time}  1345

  But no one is perfect, we know that. There are good police officers 
and there are bad police officers. There are good mechanics and there 
are bad mechanics. There are good lawyers and there are bad lawyers. We 
all come from the human race. There is good and bad in all of us. So no 
police department is perfect, and no police officer is perfect, and 
sometimes things go wrong. They are required to make split decisions, 
life-and-death decisions. In a moment's notice, you can have a gun 
pointed at you, and you have to make that decision: Do I shoot or not? 
Can I talk that person out of that gun? I have been in that position, 
too. Fortunately, I was able to talk that person out of his gun and 
took him to jail.
  But sometimes things go wrong, and when it does, police, rightly so, 
must be under the microscope. There must be public scrutiny. Cops know 
that. Police chiefs know that. Sheriffs know it, and we accept that, 
too. But when things go wrong and we watch these incidents and these 
events unfold over the media, let us all remember that police officers 
have constitutional rights, too. They are allowed due process, too. 
They are American citizens, too. They have constitutional rights and 
protections also.
  The Constitution, as was mentioned earlier, was read today, reminding 
us that we all have those constitutional rights. You are innocent until 
proven guilty. So when something happens that we think is wrong, let's 
pay attention to the facts. Let's let the process go forward; and then 
based on the facts--based on the facts--let's work with the community, 
with the police department and the mayor and city council and change 
the policy, change the procedures, and make sure that it doesn't happen 
again.
  But today, let us also remember the service of the men and women, the 
brave and dedicated men and women who put that uniform on every day. I 
am going to name a few police officers from Washington State who, 5 
years ago--and this is the 5-year anniversary of the death of these 
police officers, gunned down, four of them gunned down while sitting in 
a coffee shop in Lakewood, Washington--paid that ultimate sacrifice, 
that ultimate price that we often hear talked about: Sergeant Mark 
Renninger, Officer Ronald Owens, Officer Tina Griswold, Officer Greg 
Richards, as well as Seattle Police Officer Timothy Brenton and Pierce 
County Deputy Kent Mundell, all from Washington State, all not with us 
today, all of their families missing them.
  During these difficult times, Mr. Speaker, we need to come together 
as a community, as a country, as a nation, and recognize the service of 
these police officers across the country. I will end with the simple 
act that comes so easily for us with people who serve in the military, 
just a simple ``thank you.'' If you see a police officer today as you 
go about your duties, your day's duties, please walk up and say ``thank 
you.'' Please tell them you appreciate their service. That means the 
world to them.
  Mr. JOLLY. I thank my colleague from the State of Washington.
  Today, on Law Enforcement Appreciation Day, I would like to yield to 
a champion supporter of law enforcement, the gentleman from Alabama 
(Mr. Byrne).
  Mr. BYRNE. I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time and for 
scheduling this Special Order to honor the men and women who put their 
lives on the line every day, as we just heard from our colleague from 
Washington.
  Last year in the United States of America, 119 law enforcement 
officers lost their lives in the line of duty; 119 lives snuffed out. 
It was not because they did anything wrong, but they were performing 
their duty to protect you and me so that every night when we go to 
sleep, we put our heads on our pillows and sleep soundly.
  We take it for granted. There is something about it that we think is 
just natural. There is nothing natural about someone who goes out every 
day and consciously gives of themselves and puts their life on the line 
for someone else. Jesus said there is no greater love than this, than 
someone who would lay down his life for his brother. And law 
enforcement officers do that every day.
  Yet sometimes when we get these incidents in America, we somehow 
forget that. We forget that they have husbands and wives and children 
and parents and sisters and brothers and friends, that they are people, 
too. They are citizens in our community, just like we are, and they go 
out every day to protect you and me and give us a quality of life that, 
as I say, we take

[[Page 361]]

for granted. So it is altogether fitting that we would take today and 
recognize them, salute them, recognize them, honor them, thank them for 
what they do for all of us.
  I hope that we won't just do it for today. I hope we do it 365 days a 
year, because they are here for us 365 days a year.
  So on behalf of my constituents in the First Congressional District 
of Alabama, I say to law enforcement officials in my district and 
throughout America: We thank you. We salute you. God bless you.
  Mr. JOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Alabama.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today as well to say thank you to law enforcement 
officers throughout Pinellas County, Florida, and across the Nation. 
Thank you for your service and thank you for your sacrifice. And I 
thank your families.
  Each day in Pinellas County, Florida, the community I have the 
opportunity to represent, as well as across the country, thousands of 
law enforcement officers serve and protect us, often at great sacrifice 
to their families and at risk to their very own lives.
  This was the case on December 21 when Officer Charles Kondek of the 
Tarpon Springs Police Department in Pinellas County responded to simple 
a noise complaint. It would be Officer Kondek's end of watch as he 
tragically lost his life at the hands of a gunman, a gunman whose 
actions represent the type of inhumanity that we entrust our law 
enforcement officers each day to protect us from. Officer Kondek was 
only 45 years old, and he is survived by, and his memory lives on 
through, his wife and his six children.
  Sadly, Mr. Speaker, this story repeats itself throughout communities 
across the country. The Nation witnessed, on December 20, in New York, 
two law enforcement officers who were assassinated by an individual 
with one intention: to take the lives specifically of law enforcement 
officers.
  Mr. Speaker, in my hometown of Pinellas County, the brotherhood of 
law enforcement officers, the sisterhood of law enforcement officers 
who protect us each day understands, just like law enforcement officers 
across the country, the very risk to their safety and to their lives 
and the risk and the heartbreak of their families and their children, 
that that risk is very real.
  In our county, we have lost a total of 24 officers, including, in 
recent years, St. Petersburg officers David Crawford, Jeffrey 
Yaslowitz, and Thomas Baitinger, each representing a precious loss of 
life while serving and protecting us.
  And yet we find ourselves today listening to some, a minority in our 
society, who wish to give voice to those who undermine the very honor 
of law enforcement officers, who undermine the very sacrifice of our 
law enforcement officers, and who undermine the very danger that these 
law enforcement officers face each day. Instead, we should be rising to 
say ``thank you'' to the men and women of law enforcement, ``thank 
you'' to the men and women in our communities who protect and defend 
us.
  So, Mr. Speaker, I rise today to do just that, to say ``thank you.'' 
Thank you to Officer Kondek of Tarpon Springs for his service, and 
thank you to his family for sharing him with a community that will 
forever remember his ultimate sacrifice. Thank you to the families of 
all fallen law enforcement officers, and thank you to those who 
continue to serve each day.
  I want to thank our local law enforcement leadership in my hometown 
of Pinellas County: Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, Clearwater 
Police Chief Dan Slaughter, St. Petersburg Police Chief Anthony 
Holloway, Chief Terry Hughes of my hometown of Indian Shores, Belleair 
Police Chief Bill Sohl, Gulfport Police Chief Robert Vincent, Kenneth 
City Police Chief Kevin Matson, Largo Police Chief Jeffrey Undestad, 
Pinellas Park Police Chief Dorene Thomas, Pinellas County Schools 
Police Chief Rick Stelljes, Tarpon Springs Police Chief Robert Kochen, 
Treasure Island Police Chief Tim Casey, and Chief David Hendry of the 
University of South Florida, St. Petersburg.
  I especially want to thank all members of law enforcement in my 
hometown and those throughout Pinellas County who get in their cars 
each day and walk the streets, respond to crime, investigate crimes and 
respond to disturbances and ultimately protect us. I want to thank 
those I am privileged, within the law enforcement community, to call 
friends, officers from the Clearwater police force: my dear friend 
Detective Jonathan Walser, Detective Michael Stonelake, Detective 
Christopher Precious, Sergeant John Brown, Officer Bill Renfro, 
Lieutenant Juan Torres, and Lieutenant Richard Harris. And from the 
Pinellas County Sheriff's Department, my friend, Sergeant Steve Wagner.
  Thank you to each of you.
  And I want to thank the Capitol Police officers who protect each of 
us here as Members of Congress and the thousands of Capitol visitors 
each year that are protected from threats that at times can be 
tragically real. Thank you to all who serve, from Pinellas County, 
throughout the State of Florida, communities across the country, and 
right here in this very Chamber. Thank you for protecting us. Thank you 
for serving. Thank you to every law enforcement officer for your 
commitment to duty, your service to your community, and your service to 
your fellow man.
  As my colleague, Bradley Byrne said, blessed are those who would lay 
down their life for their brethren. That is the oath--to risk their 
life to protect others--that our law enforcement officers renew each 
day.
  Indeed, may our loving God richly bless each one of you who put on 
the uniform of law enforcement, and may God richly bless your families. 
May God's loving hands protect and defend each of you every day of your 
service, just as you protect and defend each one of us. Please know 
that this Member of Congress and millions of people across the country, 
including those in Pinellas County and Florida's 13th District, 
including communities throughout our Nation, are forever grateful for 
the service of law enforcement officers, your service to your fellow 
man. So today, on behalf of millions of Americans, I simply say to each 
of you serving as law enforcement officers, thank you.
  With that, I yield to a new colleague of mine from Texas, Mr. 
Ratcliffe.
  Mr. RATCLIFFE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida for 
yielding me this time.
  This week, I was honored and grateful to be able to vote for and help 
pass several bills that will improve the lives of so many hardworking 
Americans.
  Earlier today, I was proud to be an original cosponsor of H.R. 3, the 
Keystone XL Pipeline Act. I am grateful to be pushing this bill across 
the finish line because the Keystone runs through the Fourth 
Congressional District that I am privileged to represent. It is a long 
overdue, commonsense piece of legislation which will create good-paying 
jobs, will grow our economy, and will support more manufacturing and 
trade in this country.
  During its construction, it is estimated that 42,000 jobs will be 
created by the Keystone, and it will put more than $2 billion in the 
pockets of American workers.

                              {time}  1400

  To put this impact in perspective, those 42,000 jobs are 12,000 more 
than the unemployed population in the Fourth Congressional District of 
Texas.
  Unfortunately, President Obama has indicated that he will veto the 
Keystone if it passes both Houses. I hope that this is just an idle 
political threat because, if it is not, then the President is 
intentionally harming the middle class Americans that this great job 
creation bill is going to help.
  I hope and pray that our President won't play politics with 
legislation that will provide opportunities to create jobs for tens of 
thousands of Americans to support their families.
  This week, I was also proud to be able to support H.R. 30, which 
changes the definition of a full-time employee from 30 hours a week to 
40 hours a week under the perversely named Affordable Care Act.

[[Page 362]]

  ObamaCare's 30-hour rule places an impossible burden on individuals 
and small businesses in my district and across this country, and I am 
glad to be able to help pass a bill which repeals a terrible provision 
from a terrible law.
  But I say we haven't gone far enough. I know the people that I 
represent in east and north Texas won't be satisfied until we repeal 
every provision of the Affordable Care Act.
  I was sent here to Washington to deliver results for the hardworking 
people of north and east Texas, and these bills show that I am doing 
that, and it is what I intend to keep doing because, while these are 
great bills and I am proud that we passed them this week, it is just a 
start.
  We need more good bills to combat the President's executive 
overreach; to restore fiscal sanity; to secure our borders; to repeal 
all of ObamaCare; and, most importantly, to defend our great 
Constitution.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to direct their remarks 
to the Chair.
  Mr. JOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers for this time.
  With that, I yield back the balance of my time.

                          ____________________