Supporting the goals and ideals of Peace Officers Memorial Day.

I thank the distinguished gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, this is an appropriate resolution that comes before us. I know that in a couple of days many of us will be out on the West Lawn commemorating and celebrating the Nation's law enforcement officers from across the Nation. We welcome them to this Congress every year, and we do so humbly and with great appreciation.

Let me acknowledge the work that many of us have done with our local law enforcement in the State of Texas. We have a multitude of law disciplines, from the constables office. I have the privilege of representing the first African American constable, Mae Walker, and representing Constable Victor Trevino, a Hispanic constable. We have deputy sheriffs. We have the sheriff's department. We have the Houston Police Department, the Department of Public Safety. In many instances we find great leaders who believe not only in crime fighting, but crime prevention.

I rise today to focus in particular on the importance of law enforcement in working in the community. I salute the former mayor of the city of Houston, Lee Brown, former chief of police of the cities of Houston, New York, and Atlanta. I consider him the father of community- oriented policing that really speaks to the hearts and minds of the people.

It lets the police officers, law enforcement officers, become knowledgeable about the community, and in particular they work to know the ``good guys'' and the ``bad guys.'' Neighbors become comfortable with law enforcement officers when they are engaged as people who are certainly concerned about the neighborhood and the community. They are eager to help them bust, if you will, the crime situation or bust the criminal or make sure that the situation is corrected.

At the same time as we raise up and respect our law enforcement officers, let me applaud those who I speak to all the time as I travel to Washington. We have a very effective aviation police force. I get an opportunity as I go through the airport to listen to them and to thank them.

Let us be concerned about the benefits for law enforcement officers. In particular, I know that my city, a very large city, has seen the decline of senior officers. For some reason or another, because our belts are being tightened, we don't have enough resources to provide them with the upward mobility, the professional development and the protection of their pensions and to recognize the sacrifice that they and their families are making. We as communities across the Nation should be concerned about making sure they have the right kind of benefits.

On the Federal level, I am very glad that the House Judiciary Committee has just passed out a COPS bill reauthorization. I think that is a very, very important aspect of the work of this Congress. The COPS program worked. It provided police officers for rural communities and urban communities. I spoke to my police personnel there and they said, yes, it would help us greatly if the COPS program were reauthorized. So as we salute our peace officers across America, let us make sure that we are actually doing as we are saying, and that is providing them with the resources that they need.

At the same time, let me also add the importance of training. There is the sensitivity that our police officers are able to get through experience, but training also helps them detect those with mental illness and have the best resources to address those suffering from mental illness so that those persons can be taken away from society before they do harm to themselves or someone else.

This legislation is timely because we thank those who are serving today. We offer our deepest sympathy to the families of those who have lost their lives on the front lines of law enforcement in America over the last year, and we certainly acknowledge the continued sacrifice that law enforcement officers will make.

The best point about what this says as we stand on the floor today saluting them is that we should promote and congratulate good law enforcement officers. We should not allow the bad incidents that occur, the mishaps that occur, and many of them have occurred, and I have stood up vigorously against them and I will stand up yesterday, today and tomorrow, when there is abuse. But we should not allow those kinds of situations to take away from the grandeur, the respect, the honesty, the integrity and the downright commitment that the law enforcement agencies of America, particularly those in our local communities, show every single day with the idea that as they leave in the morning and kiss their families good-bye, that they might sacrifice their lives so that we might be safe.

We owe them a great debt of gratitude, and it is my pleasure to thank the distinguished gentleman from Illinois and thank the sponsor of this legislation for allowing me to pay tribute at this time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 291, supporting the goals and ideals of Peace Officers Memorial Day.

Peace officers, the sworn, public-sector officers entrusted with law enforcement authority and the power of arrest, risk their lives daily to protect our Nation. These individuals, who are responsible for safeguarding the rights and freedoms we enjoy as Americans, are true heroes.

Peace Officers Memorial Day honors those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for the safety and security of their communities and our Nation. Created by Public Law 87-726, signed by President Kennedy in 1962, this day gives us the opportunity to acknowledge and pay our respect to those who, through their courageous deeds, have fallen in the line of duty.

Mr. Speaker, on Sunday, May 13, 2007, 382 names will be added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial during the 19th Annual Candlelight Vigil. These 382 names include 145 officers who died in the 2006, plus 237 from earlier years who had previously been lost to history. Of these 382 names, 55 represent Texas law officers who lost their lives in the line of duty, nine of them in 2006.

Mr. Speaker, one of the names of the fallen heroes to be added to the list is Officer Rodney J. Johnson of the Houston Police Department. Officer Johnson, a 12-year veteran of the Houston Police Department, was killed September 21, 2006, while taking a suspect in custody during a traffic stop. He leaves to honor his memory his beloved wife, Houston Police Department Officer Joslyn Johnson, and five teenage children; three daughters and two sons, ages 14 to 19.

Officer Rodney Johnson was born in Houston and served in the U.S. Army as a military police officer until being honorably discharged in 1990. He then went to work as a corrections officer for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and then as a jail attendant. He graduated from the Houston police academy in 1994.

As a member of the department's Southeast Gang Task Force, Officer Rodney Johnson earned two Lifesaving Awards and one Medal of Valor from the State of Texas. In January 1998, Officer Rodney Johnson rescued a physically challenged driver trapped in rising floodwaters in January 1998 and later that year he rescued mentally challenged people trapped inside of a burning house.

Officer Rodney Johnson, who stood 6 feet 5 inches tall and weighed nearly 300 pounds, served on his union's board of directors. As Hans Marticiuc, the president of Officer Johnson's union stated, ``he was big and he was intimidating-looking, but he was as gentle as a baby bear.''

Mr. Speaker, the number of officers killed in the line of duty last year declined nearly 8 percent from 2005, when there were 157 officer deaths. The 2006 figure was the lowest annual total since 1999, when 143 officers were lost.

Although the number of officers killed in the line of duty has declined in recent years, the fact that one officer is killed every 2\1/2\ days in our country is a sober reminder that protecting our communities and safeguarding our democracy come at a heavy price. Including this year's officers, there are now 17,917 names engraved on the Memorial, representing offices from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories, and Federal law enforcement and military police agencies.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this important resolution, honoring the Federal, State, and local peace officers killed or disabled in the line of duty.

I want to thank the gentlelady from North Carolina for yielding the time.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to also thank the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Chairman Waxman and Ranking Member Davis, for their support of this legislation, and, of course, the gentleman from Illinois as well.

Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 291 supports the goals and ideals of Peace Officers Memorial Day, our Nation's first line of defenders. I would also like to thank the 78 Members of Congress who cosponsored this bipartisan resolution for their support.

Law enforcement officers are a special type of people. They put on the uniform and the badge of a law officer. They swear an oath to uphold the law of our land and vow to protect the citizens of all communities.

In carrying out their duties, law enforcement officers are routinely subjected to threats against their personal safety. According to the National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund, more than 56,000 law enforcement officers are assaulted every year in the line of duty. They are subjected to being slapped, punched, kicked, bit, stabbed, and even shot by suspects. And this does not include what could happen in the course of high-speed chases that occur throughout our country.

Most of these peace officers that are assaulted walk away from that fight with minor injuries and the suspect generally is carted off to jail in handcuffs. There are those community protectors, however, that aren't as fortunate, because they give their lives in the line of duty.

Since the first recorded police department death in 1792, over 17,900 peace officers have been killed while performing the duty of a law officer somewhere in this great country. Statistics show that every 53 hours a law enforcement officer is killed in the line of duty. Last year, 2006, 143 officers were killed in the line of duty.

We all remember September 11 and what occurred on that day, how many of us watched on television when those planes hit the World Trade Center, when they hit the Pentagon; how thousands of people, good people, as soon as that terror hit those buildings, those people were running as fast as they could to get away from that danger.

But there was another group of people, not very many, but they were there running as fast as they could to get to the danger, and those were the people who wear the badge. That also included our firefighters and our emergency medical technicians. Seventy-two of those peace officers that ran to those buildings that were being assaulted from the air were killed in the line of duty that one day.

Of course, it strikes all communities, even our community down in Beaumont, Texas, and the Beaumont Police Department and its recent tragedy of a peace officer killed in the line of duty. Last week, this community suffered the loss of one of their own, Officer Lisa Beaulieu, the first female peace officer in southeast Texas that has been killed in the line of duty.

She was a 6-year veteran of the Beaumont Police Department. She was on patrol by herself at 1 a.m. when she responded to the scene of a motorcycle accident in Beaumont. As she got out of her vehicle and started directing traffic, a drunk driver slammed into her, throwing her over the side of the freeway and killing her. It was a tragic end for a peace officer that loved to protect the people of our Nation.

Mr. Speaker, during the time that I was a judge in Texas for over 22 years, I encountered many, many peace officers who wore the badge, and proudly did so; and I considered those peace officers who would do that, that cross over the line to represent the rest of us and protect us, a rare and noble bleed.

So on Tuesday, May 15, thousands of local, State and Federal peace officers will gather across the Nation to remember their fellow officers. Known as National Peace Officers Memorial Day, established by President Kennedy in 1962, the day serves as a tribute to the men and women who daily put themselves in harm's way to ensure the safety and security of our country and our Nation. The flags will be lowered at half mast and ceremonies will be held across the entire country.

The national memorial ceremony is held right here on the lawn of the United States Capitol, where the President of the United States, thousands of law enforcement officers, and Members of Congress will be there. Those officers that are in attendance, their badges will be draped in black as a remembrance of their fellow officers who were killed in the line of duty.

Law enforcement officers are the first line of defense between law- abiding citizens and those who violate the law. They are public servants who dedicate their time and their lives to protect us. They wear the badge of courage with pride, and we as a Nation need to honor them for their service of the American people.

I hope that our Congress, these folks in this body, will pass this legislation as fast as possible.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

H. Res. 291 supports the goals and ideals of Peace Officers Memorial Day to honor Federal, State and local law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty, and encourages the citizens of the United States to observe the day with appropriate ceremonies and respect.

Police officers have been protecting American citizens since April 1631, when the city of Boston first established its ``night watch'' law enforcement program in the colonies. There is a quote by President George H.W. Bush engraved on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial located at Judiciary Square here in Washington which summarizes the mission of the 870,000 current sworn law enforcement officers in the United States. It states that it is their daily ``quest to preserve both democracy and decency, and to protect a national treasure that we call the American Dream.''

Law enforcement officers face dangers on the job every single day. On May 17, 1792, New York City's Deputy Sheriff Isaac Smith became the first recorded police officer to be killed in the line of duty. Today, more than 56,000 are assaulted each year, and every 53 hours an officer is killed while serving the American people. September 11, 2001, was the deadliest day for police officers in all of American history when 72 officers were killed while responding to terrorist attacks.

Mr. Speaker, I want to recognize the life of Sergeant Howard Plouff from my district, who was killed recently in the line of duty. He was known as an honorable man who selflessly served his family and community for more than 17 years in the Winston-Salem Police Department. He was dedicated to community development and service. His is a legacy of the spirit of service that permeates this great country.

He earned the respect of his fellow officers and did not hesitate to go above and beyond the call of duty. In fact, during his time with the Winston-Salem Police Department, he was awarded its highest honor, the Medal of Valor. He left behind a loving wife and two daughters. He was an extremely positive role model and an example of all the officers we are honoring with this resolution.

May 15 is Peace Officers Memorial Day, a holiday created in 1961 by Congress to honor fallen law enforcement officers who dedicated their lives to protecting this country and its citizens. The flag is flown at half staff and thousands of people visit the memorial which was authorized by President Ronald Reagan in 1984. Built in 1989, it currently has 17,912 names etched into the wall. Each of these names reminds us of the sacrifices these brave law enforcement officers have given in order to keep American citizens safe. They also stand for those living officers who would, without hesitation, do the same to protect all of us.

With gratitude to our law enforcement officers' devotion and dedication to our country, I ask all Members to join me in supporting H. Res. 291.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the distinguished gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe), the author of this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to my distinguished colleague, the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Reichert).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Granger).

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

I thank the gentlelady for yielding time.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to stand here today as a cosponsor of this resolution to honor our law enforcement officers across this Nation. I was one of the 870,000 sworn law enforcement officers that are on the job today just a couple of years ago, until I came to this House. I have to be honest and confess that my heart still lies with my fellow officers and deputies in the King County Sheriff's Office in Seattle, Washington.

I was one of those officers who have been spit on, kicked, called every name that you can think of and maybe some that you can't think of, stabbed, shot at, threatened. All of those things happened in my 33-year career.

But I am here today alive and well to talk about those officers that sacrificed their lives. Some of those were my good friends. Two were my partners. One was an academy mate. One was my best friend. Murdered. Shot and killed.

Now, just last year the King County Sheriff's Office lost another dedicated law enforcement officer by the name of Steve Cox. Imagine you are Deputy Steve Cox and you are responding to a call on an early Saturday morning back in December. You really don't know what kind of a call you are going to. But then you hear that shots have been fired. Part of your job is to interview every person at the scene, so you start to interview these people. All of a sudden, in the middle of the interview, somebody pulls a gun, and before Deputy Cox could react, he was shot in the head and killed. He left behind a wife and a 1-year-old son.

These are things that happen every day on the streets of our great Nation. We owe such a debt of gratitude to the men and women who wear the badge, whether they wear a blue uniform or green, gray or whatever color it might be, who are there to protect us from those people on our streets who choose not to obey the laws of the land.

There are four people from the State of Washington who will be added to the memorial this year: Joselito Barber from the Seattle Police Department; Edwanton Thomas from the Brier Police Department; Dick Rhodes from the Kittitas County Sheriff's Office; and Deputy Steve Cox from the King County Sheriff's Office.

Mr. Speaker, as you can tell, this is very close to my heart. It should be close to each and every one of us. Every time we see one of the Capitol Hill police officers or the Washington, D.C. police when we are back here, please stop and say thank you for a job well done in putting their lives and their family's lives on the line for us every day.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 291) supporting the goals and ideals of Peace Officers Memorial Day.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I might consume.

As a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, I am pleased to join my colleague in consideration of House Resolution 291, which honors our fallen law enforcement officers.

H. Res. 291, which has 72 cosponsors, was introduced by Representative Ted Poe of Texas on March 29, 2007. H. Res. 291 was reported from the Oversight Committee on May 1, 2007, by a voice vote.

Historically, America has been blessed with citizens of courage and character who have dedicated their lives to keeping peace in our communities. Five years after the creation of the U.S. Marshals Service in 1789, U.S. Marshal Robert Forsyth was shot and killed in the line of duty. He was the first of more than 14,000 law enforcement personnel since that time to give his or her life to uphold the law.

Last year, 143 officers gave their lives in the line of duty. For these heroes, the safety of their fellow citizens was their purpose and passion. They made the ultimate sacrifice to fulfill their duty and service to humanity.

Each year, the President issues a proclamation naming May 15 as National Peace Officers Memorial Day. Our Nation owes a lasting debt and gratitude to the men and women of law enforcement who risk their lives each day to protect and serve the citizens of this Nation.

Every American should honor peace officers, not only in words and ceremony but in their commitment to promote justice, fairness and peace in their homes, communities, schools and businesses.

Mr. Speaker, I commend Representative Poe for seeking to honor our fallen heroes, and I urge swift passage of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson- Lee).

Mr. Speaker, I reserve my time.

Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I want to commend the gentleman from Texas for introducing this very meaningful and worthwhile legislation. I think all of us owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to our law enforcement officers and personnel throughout the country. I urge passage of this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.