Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, today I am here to talk about a bill that should be a fully bipartisan bill supported by all Members of this body. It gives our probation officers the tools they need to defend themselves, but also, at the same time, protect the people who are on probation that the probation officers are trying to help and protect and keep on track and get them back on a path to productive citizenship in this country. Sometimes they are impeded from doing their job, not just verbally.

I was a cop for 33 years. I was verbally abused thousands of times. I have lost track. Those bounce off the badge, and that is what probation officers do. Verbal abuse is verbal abuse. You deal with it, you handle it, and you go about your day. But when somebody puts their hands on you, or they spit on you, that is physical. That is assault. Probation officers should be able to protect themselves and take actions in those instances when they are assaulted. You don't need an arrest warrant. You don't need a search warrant to arrest someone who has just assaulted an officer. This is common sense.

So to say you need a search warrant or an arrest warrant to arrest someone who has assaulted you is the wrong way to look at this law. The person who is being supervised lives in a residence, and the probation officer has the authority to go to that residence and has the authority, by the way, Mr. Speaker, to walk into that residence. They have the authority to force their way into that residence if it is known to be owned by the person who is on probation. And if they are obstructed in doing that, it is a violation of the law. Furthermore, if they are assaulted, it is another violation.

In the past, what has happened is that the probation officers had to step away, walk away, and say: Oh, well. The guy just spit in my face. He punched me in the face. He pushed me. He obstructed me. I guess I will go back to my car and get on the radio, and 30 minutes from now when police officers can finally show up--because we are shorthanded across this Nation as far as police officers go. We have hundreds and hundreds, thousands, of vacancies across this Nation in every police department, every sheriff's office. So we are going to just step away, we are going to call for backup, and we are going to wait for a half an hour and see what happens.

I think this not only puts the probation officer at risk, but it also puts the person who is on probation at risk. What is happening in that house that that person doesn't want us to come in and see?

I have worked with, as you might guess, probation officers from the local level, Federal level, all across the spectrum. They are well trained. They have an academy that they go through. They raise their right hand and swear to uphold the Constitution, all the laws of this country. They are trained. Every year they have a minimal amount of training, 40 hours. That is the minimum. They have additional training on top of that on specific issues on how to handle situations where it escalates to a physical event. They know how to de-escalate verbal events. These are professional people who are doing a job that a lot of people don't want.

And already States across this country have recognized that their State probation officers need this sort of authority. In some States, for example, they have given them full police authority. I repeat, full police authority.

In this case, it is very limited. It is limited to the obstruction. It is limited to the physical obstruction of the probation officer doing their job that we have asked them to do on behalf of all of us in this country. The least we can do, as we wrap up National Police Week, is to say we support law enforcement.

Mr. Speaker, there are Members in this body who have found a way-- decided that there is a way that I can vote ``no'' on this instead of standing up and saying--there are Members here that have had police officers added to the memorial wall this past week; in

some cases, five people from one State. Those Members have decided to find a way to not support law enforcement, and they are going to vote ``no.''

Mr. Speaker, we can yak all we want about supporting cops, but if we don't show it with this vote, it is all talk. When I was a cop, you had to walk the talk. And today, Members of this body, if you support law enforcement, you better walk the talk.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the topic of this Special Order.

Mr. Speaker, on Monday this week, hundreds of families, friends, colleagues, and loved ones from every corner of the country gathered at the United States Capitol for the 36th annual National Peace Officers Memorial Day. They were here to honor all of those names at the memorial, 21,000 names, Mr. Speaker. And this year, 394 more were added. Now, some of those are over past years--not this past year, but prior years--but 394 additional names were added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. Their names will ever be etched in our hearts and on the walls of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, and, as I said, with 21,000 others who came before them.

People who walk by and view these names may not recognize the names or may not know all of the names. They may have a special loved one whose name appears on those hollowed walls. But the thing to remember here is that these are brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, and some even grandfathers. They are real people who sacrificed their lives. Some were ambushed and executed, and some lost their lives responding to a call to save a life or someone who called for help. These are the men and women who gave their lives so we could, in many cases, keep ours.

I have a lot more to say on this, and we have some time. I am going to yield to other Members, Mr. Speaker, who arrived here tonight to share their stories and remember the officers who served their communities.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to Chairman Goodlatte, chairman of the Judiciary Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman. I thank him for all his hard work in his committee to support law enforcement across the country. I look forward to working with him on some of the law enforcement reforms that his committee is looking at. I appreciate it.

It is an honor for me, Mr. Speaker, to lead this Special Order. I am very humbled at the response that we have received tonight by the Members who want to be here and talk about their law enforcement officers in their communities.

Another one of our Members who wants to share his thoughts and feelings is the son of a State trooper from Georgia.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Collins).

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Georgia. As he shared his story about his father, it reminded me of my own story of coming home to my three young kids and my uniform being torn and bloodied, in some cases. I never really thought about what my kids or my spouse was thinking when I came home. I was still wrapped up in the shift that I had just come from and the struggles that I had been through on the streets.

I served for 33 years in the King County Sheriff's Office, and I would do that job all over again, Mr. Speaker. I loved it.

But I wanted to share another story, too, of Officer Jake Gutierrez from the Tacoma Police Department, which is a city just south of Seattle. Officer Gutierrez tragically died in the line of duty. He lost his life while protecting a woman from domestic violence. Jake was supposed to exchange wedding vows with his fiancee just a few weeks later. Instead, his fiancee, his three daughters, and his granddaughter attended his funeral. They struggled--and I am thinking they are still struggling today--to picture a life without him.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Gowdy). Our U.S. Attorney, prosecutor, knows law enforcement well, and he has a story to tell about one of his officers.

Mr. Gowdy, I have a feeling that Kevin knew anyway when he left that courtroom how you felt. Thank you for sharing that powerful story. I think it really clearly points to a lot of things:

One, the job is tough and you have got to make those split decisions, and they are life and death decisions;

Two, that the human side of the police officer is not very often recognized; that the connection to their family--as I said in my opening statement, these are people that are fathers, they are sons, they are sisters, they are mothers, in some cases they are grandparents.

Sometimes we see a person just wearing a uniform, but there is a human being inside that uniform wearing that badge and carrying that gun to make sure that we can get home to our families and enjoy our families.

I lost a best friend and partner in 1982. It still hurts today. If I can get past the emotional part, I might share that story a little bit later.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe).

Mr. Speaker, I thank Judge Poe for his words. When he mentioned police officers don't do this for the money, I always considered it a calling. And I think if you talked to any police officer or deputy out on the street today, I think they would tell you that they felt called to serve, and called to serve in the uniform, and called to put their life on the line and to risk their life for others.

I was going to share the story of my partner, Sam Hicks, who was killed in 1982. He left behind five sons. He was ambushed and shot in the chest and killed instantly.

The killer was a man who was already wanted for murder. One of the hardest things I ever did--I was the only homicide detective at the scene when they captured him--was to sit in the back seat with this killer, advise him of his rights, and get him a glass of water and something to eat because he had been on the run for 3 days. I spent an hour in the back seat of that cop car with this killer, knowing that Sam's five sons no longer had a father.

Thank you for your words tonight, Judge.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Jacksonville, Florida (Mr. Rutherford), the second sheriff in the House.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the sheriff for being here tonight honoring those who fell in his community and under his command. I thank him for his 40 years with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. I am proud to serve with him in Congress. We need more sheriffs in Congress, by the way.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Ferguson).

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. DesJarlais).

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Kustoff).

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Indiana (Mrs. Brooks).

Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time is remaining?

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Demings), the former police chief of Orlando.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chief. It is an honor to serve with the gentlewoman. I know the gentlewoman has a special quality about her now that I heard her husband was a sheriff. The gentlewoman is all thumbs up on my team, and I thank her for her sincere, thoughtful comments.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. O'Halleran) who is a former Chicago police officer.

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

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize Ms. Lisa Cohen, Executive Director of the Washington Global Health Alliance, in light of her retirement. During a CODEL to the Middle East I visited Afghanistan as a freshman in Congress and visited an abandoned school meant for female students. Yet unfortunately, it was not used for very long due to rule of law that girls are not allowed to be educated. Since then, I made it a mission to serve as a Co-Chair on the Global Health and Poverty Caucus and fought for the opportunity that girls can and should be educated. And I could not have done this without the extremely important and valuable partnership of Ms. Cohen. From day one, Ms. Cohen has never said no in helping me fight for human rights around the world, and in fact, she has taught and encouraged me to take on other global issues that we must stand for today. Ms. Cohen has been such a wonderful force in the global community, and not just in the Seattle area, but around the country, as she has been diligently working to form an alliance in the Atlanta region too. With more alliances for global health, we can someday have a world where polio no longer exists and every woman can give a healthy birth to a child in a fully-functioning hospital. I will truly miss working with Ms. Lisa Cohen of the Washington Global Health Alliance, but am delighted to know that we shall remain friends. I thank Ms. Cohen for everything that she has done to make this world a better place for every single person.

Mr. Speaker, due to an illness I was unable to vote on the following: Roll call No. 60 Roll call No. 61

Had I been present, I would have voted yes.

Mr. Speaker, today is National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day.

Behind me are the faces of 135 men and women. They are the faces of those who paid the ultimate price serving and protecting us this past year so that our families and our children can live safe and enjoy our freedom. As you can see, freedom isn't free.

You may not know or recognize these faces, but you know the faces of others who have served or that are serving today. They are the faces of our brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, and friends. Some were ambushed and executed. Some lost their lives responding to a call to save a life, someone who called for help.

Tacoma police officer Jake Gutierrez, from my home State of Washington, is one of the faces behind me. He lost his life in the line of duty just last month while trying to protect a woman from domestic violence.

Jake was supposed to have exchanged wedding vows with his fiancee in just a few weeks. Instead, she and his three daughters and granddaughter attended his funeral and tried to picture a life without Jake.

Tragically, again last month, a time meant for celebration was filled with another Washington family's sorrow. Veteran officer Mike McClaughry from the Mount Vernon Police Department was shot in the head while responding to a call for help. Today his children, wife, friends, and family sit by his hospital bed and his life now hangs in the balance in the hands of God and his doctors.

This feeling of loss is one that I am also familiar with. In 1982, my partner and best friend, Sergeant Sam Hicks, was shot to death attempting to arrest a murder suspect. He left behind his wife and five sons. That was over 30 years ago, but the loss of a loved one is a pain that cannot be forgotten, cannot be erased.

This national day of appreciation is not only a day to reflect and appreciate the service of those who have served, but those that are serving today. They are driving, walking, patrolling your neighborhoods, keeping us safe. They are ready to put their lives on the line, yes, but every day they do so much more for us that goes unnoticed:

The officer that took the stolen bike report on Christmas Day and the next day delivered a new bicycle to that little boy's home;

How about the officer who anonymously buys groceries for a needy family;

The officer who counseled a little girl who was being bullied because of the clothes she wore and then bought her a new set of clothes;

How about the officer who went to a call where he had to cradle a 2- month-old baby in his arms, giving CPR to his little, fragile blue face, hoping for the best news, fearing the worst--and getting the worst--and then headed off to his next call;

The officer that held the hand of a dying man after a motorcycle accident and then sharing his last words with his family;

The officer who was spit on, ridiculed, and insulted by a man threatening to kill the officer and his wife and then minutes later saving that same man from taking his own life with a butcher knife.

These men and women are coaches, volunteers, and mentors, helping people find jobs, feeding the homeless, helping them find homes, and sometimes even taking them into their own homes. These are real people. They are your neighbors, they are your friends, and they are us. This is not a job for them. It is a calling. They serve because they want to help. They want to make a difference. They serve with the heart of a servant.

On this day, let us take a moment to appreciate all members of the law enforcement community across this Nation and their families by putting a blue light in your window or on your front porch. This is not just a sign of appreciation for law enforcement across this country, but a sign, a small symbol of unity for us all. We need that now in our Nation more than anything. Help us remember that we are one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Most people don't know, but I am a big James Brown fan and I really like the way he puts it in a not so well-known song from the sixties about America. He says:

America is the greatest country in the world. America is

the greatest country in the world . . . Now Black and White

they may fight, but when the enemy comes, we get together and

we run `em out of sight.

This is a Black man in the sixties with these positive words about our country.

Mr. Speaker, I say this: That we take James Brown's words, we take his advice, and we get together. The enemy is here. That enemy is hate. We get together and we run them out of sight.

Now, Mr. Speaker, I would like to observe a moment of silence, please, for two officers who were killed in Florida just today on National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day. These are two more officers killed today, just hours ago.

Mr. Speaker, today, I wish to honor an extraordinary woman who testified before the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Human Resources while I was chairman. Sandra Collins, from my home state of Washington, has seen a lot in her life. She dealt with domestic violence, addiction, homelessness, separation from her children, and depression. She didn't let any of this stop her.

With the help of the WorkFirst Community Jobs Program and Goodwill, she turned her life around. Now, not only is Sandra clean, employed, and reunited with her children, she is succeeding beyond her own expectations. On February 19th, a new Goodwill Outlet Store will open in Olympia, WA. Sandra will be its manager. The new store brings jobs and hundreds of thousands of dollars to the local economy--and when local economies are thriving, so is our national economy.

I could not be more proud of Sandra and what she has achieved. I am honored to have met her and am so pleased that her testimony will help shape future legislation. I congratulate her today, on her success and her hard work. She is an example for all.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of the late Lt. Col. Ed Saylor. Lt. Col. Saylor was part of the infamous Doolittle Raiders who risked their lives during World War II. These men were responsible for raising the morale of an entire nation after the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor.

Lt. Col. Saylor passed away Wednesday, but he is not gone from our hearts. His heroic actions will tell his story long after we are gone. Without him, the USS Hornet's plane number 15, also known as ``TNT'' and a critical part of the Doolittle Raid, would never have flown in 1941. Sgt. Saylor, as he was then, was able to remove and repair the engine of ``TNT''--the first time this had ever been done at sea. He was also responsible for writing the words ``Democracy's Ace in the Hole'' on the side of the plane just before take-off. This message and symbolism would resonate for the duration of the war, helping to remind our troops that our side was fighting the right battle.

Mr. Speaker, Lt. Col. Saylor went above and beyond the call of duty. He served our country in the military for 28 years; he helped America rise to greatness from the brink of despair,

propelling us to victory. We will never forget him and I am proud to have called him my friend. I will always cherish his gift of a stained glass B52 Bomber he had hand-made himself.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns today, it adjourn to meet at 9 a.m. tomorrow.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to take some time on the floor of the United States Congress--the House of Representatives, to be specific--to honor and recognize the service of our law enforcement agencies across this great country.

You know, we have been dealing with the reactions from the tragic death of Michael Brown last August. Almost continually, every week, we hear of some tragic death, a shooting incident across this country. And we all understand and realize that all loss of life is a tragedy, but there has been an outbreak of violence across this great country that is equally disturbing, resulting in the brutal assassination of two law enforcement officers just before Christmas.

Mr. Speaker, I was a law enforcement officer for 33 years in King County, which is a county in Seattle, Washington. I started when I was 21 years old in 1972. I worked in a police car, and I was a detective. I worked the street undercover for a short time. I never knew when I left home if I would see my family, when would be the next time that I would see my wife, my children. When I told them good-bye for a day at the office, I didn't know if I was coming back home and neither did they. But every law enforcement officer across this great country lives with that knowledge, and every family member lives with that fear.

I have missed holidays, birthdays, anniversaries. I would be called out in the middle of the day or the middle of the night or on the weekend. I remember one day missing my daughter's birthday. On Christmas Eve, I remember driving around in the middle of the

night patrolling, while others had their relatives parked in their driveways; and they were in, sharing Christmas dinner and presents with their family and friends.

But once a cop, always a cop, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I have been in Congress for 10 years, but I was a cop for 33 years.

A lot of people think ``cop'' is a derogatory remark, but it is actually a badge of honor. I was the sheriff for the last 8 years of my career. One thing I said when I left, if the members of the King County Sheriff's Office, which are nearly 1,100--it is the 12th largest sheriff's office in the country--said that Dave Reichert was a great cop, that is what meant the world to me.

If they said I was a good sheriff, that was icing on the cake, but I just wanted to be known as a good cop working my district and my beat and doing the job that I was trained to do and serving the public.

Police officers do what they do because they care. They go to work every day because they want to save lives, not to take lives. They put up with ridicule and harassment, assaults, and even the ultimate sacrifice--death--always facing dangerous situations, putting their lives between their communities--the public--and danger.

Sometimes, as I said, the ultimate sacrifice is made. During my career, I lost a partner and a good friend who was shot and killed in 1982. In 1984, I lost another partner and a good friend who was stabbed to death with a sword.

These men died serving and protecting their community, but they left behind family. They left behind sons, daughters, spouses, orphaned children, and widowed. The men and women who keep us safe find themselves in life-and-death situations far too often. In many instances, Mr. Speaker, taking down a bad guy means losing a good guy too.

Life-and-death situations are never easy. I remember one instance that I was working plainclothes and went in with a group of my team of officers on a drug search warrant. I was the sergeant leading that team.

My assignment was to go in the front door, turn to the right, and make sure that the bathroom in that small apartment was secure. We went in the front door. I kicked in the bathroom door, and I found a person sitting on the toilet.

As he stood, he revealed that he had a rubber band around his bicep and a heroin needle stuck in his arm. I could see that his eyes were glazed over. I told him to raise his hands; instead of doing that, he grabbed a gun.

Now, Mr. Speaker, I could have shot that man. In a split second, he grabbed a gun, and my life was in danger, but I had a feeling I could talk him out of that gun. I just had a feeling I could reason with this man, even though he was high on heroin.

I didn't shoot, and I was able to talk him out of his gun. In fact, he dropped it in the toilet. What would you do, Mr. Speaker, if you were standing there with that decision? In an instant, you had to make a decision: shoot or don't shoot.

Our men and women who wear uniforms every day have to make that split-second decision. Now, they don't always make the right decision, but more often than not, they do. The men and women in uniform across this country are human beings, and they make mistakes, as we all do; we need to understand that.

When the mistakes are made, police officers expect to have scrutiny applied. They expect oversight, they expect to have the action they took reviewed, reviewed, and reviewed, and they respect the rule of law, the process of the review, the investigation, and the judicial process that needs to take place.

As all Americans across this country, we need to recognize that process too. Reacting to bad situations by disregarding the rule of law only makes things worse in this Nation. It creates harm in our communities, rather than harmony. Everyone must come together.

Communities and law enforcement should be partners, protecting our families. Communities and law enforcement should be partners. Just as I was a partner with my partners that I spoke about earlier, communities should be our partner, law enforcement's partner.

What do good partners do? They trust each other. Communities must trust their police department. The police department and the sheriff's office must trust the community, work with one another, and depend on one another.

I think, Mr. Speaker, if we do that, if we can stop for a moment, listen to the facts, and respect the law that exists here in the United States of America--the greatest country in the world--yeah, we are not perfect, but we have the best system.

If we all come together and recognize we have the best system--and where it needs to be changed, let's change it--but as the process goes through, let's respect it. If we do that together, Mr. Speaker, we can continue to live in the greatest country in this world.

I want to conclude my opening statements just by saying that I really think it is important for us across this Nation to pause and remember to thank our law enforcement officers.

Every time we see a cop, let's say thank you. It is just one of ways that we can support them and show that support, but I think, even more importantly, let's pray for them and pray for their families, but let's also pray for the communities that they serve, that the communities see the tough job they have to do and the sacrifices they make.

Pray for peace, understanding, cooperation, trust, and let's pray, Mr. Speaker, that we have a partner in each other, a partner that we can trust that will back us up. Law enforcement backing up the community and the community backing up the police officers, that is where I would like to see this go, Mr. Speaker.

We have some other Members here tonight who want to share their comments about their community and their relationship with law enforcement.

I yield to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Byrne).

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his kind comments and for being here tonight to share his support of our law enforcement officers across this great Nation.

Mr. Speaker, at this time, I yield to Mr. Goodlatte.

I thank you, Mr. Goodlatte, for your comments and for your hard work as the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and I thank you for coming tonight and sharing your comments.

Next, Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Washington (Mrs. McMorris Rodgers). I am sure she wants to talk about her great sheriff in Spokane.

Cathy, it is good to see you.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Cathy McMorris Rodgers for her comments and her support of law enforcement officers and sheriffs that she works with.

Ten years ago--well, a little longer ago than that--I was the president of the Washington State Sheriffs Association, and so I had the opportunity to work with all of the sheriffs and police chiefs in Washington State.

Mr. Speaker, I now yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Dent).

I appreciate your comments, Mr. Dent. For so many of the words that you shared, I could make a lot of follow-up statements, but our time is limited. But I do want to focus on one of the points that you made, just briefly.

One of the hardest things that I ever did in my career was in 1982 when my partner, as I mentioned earlier, was shot and killed. It was a 3-day manhunt for the person responsible in the Cascade foothills. Finally, he was captured, and I was the only homicide detective at the scene, and they put me in the backseat with the killer of my good friend and partner. He was handcuffed.

When I got into the backseat, I read him his rights. He had three things to say to me. Number one, of course, he wasn't sorry; number two, I'm thirsty; and number three, I'm hungry. I think he wanted his handcuffs loosened, too; they were too tight. So I loosened his handcuffs. We stopped at a Burger King and bought him food and got him something to drink, and then, of course, he went to jail.

But to sit in that backseat with the man who just took my partner's life--my good friend, my best friend--3 days before was tough. And those are the kinds of things that cops deal with every day. And thank you for recognizing the emotional difficulty, not only for the officers, but for the community. It was a heavy day, a heavy week, a heavy month for the entire community. And, of course, the family still lives on with the loss of their father and husband.

I now yield to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Meadows).

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his comments and also appreciate in the meetings and the hearings that we have been in your commitment to end--not just sort of have an impact on human trafficking, but ending, eliminating human trafficking in this country and across the globe. Thank you for your hard work.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Jolly).

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his comments and his staunch support of law enforcement and his support of 1033. We will work together on that, and I am sure other Members of Congress have an interest in working to make sure that that legislation gets passed.

Mr. Speaker, I now yield to Mr. LaMalfa from California.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his comments in support.

There are a couple of things that he mentioned. One, some of those acts that police officers do each and every day to help families-- people don't hear about those officers that buy groceries for families that are less fortunate.

I know when I worked on the Green River task force and working with families that had missing daughters or had lost their daughter to--I am not even going to mention his name--the monster serial killer from Seattle, delivering Christmas presents to those families, money out of their own pocket or time out of their own time in building a new bicycle for some young brother of one of the victims.

Those are things that the community in a neighborhood might hear about, but you never see on the news, you never see publicized, and you never really hear about it, so I appreciate that.

The second thing the gentleman mentioned was training, and I really believe that that is one of the things that we can do to help law enforcement officers across this country.

The National Blue Alert Act is another piece of legislation that we, I think, can work together to pass. It should be a bipartisan effort. The COPS Improvement and Reauthorization Act is another tool that we can provide and another bill to try to expedite the claims process for public safety officer benefits program.

In some cases, the Department of Justice has taken 3 to 4 years to decide whether or not a family should receive that benefit, that death benefit, when their spouse has been killed in the line of duty.

Mr. Speaker, let me thank the gentleman for his comments.

Now, Mr. Speaker, it is with great honor that I introduce the next Member of Congress and yield time to him, my good friend and partner who is also a career law enforcement officer for a couple of different departments, his last tour of duty was as a sheriff in Florida.

There are two career law enforcement officers in Congress, as far as the two of us know, and we are standing right here.

I look at Mr. Nugent, Rich Nugent, as my backup here in Congress, and I know he considers me his backup and partners here in supporting our law enforcement officers across this great country, and I thank Mr. Nugent for his service in law enforcement and to his communities.

I know he has faced some dangerous situations throughout his career. Sometimes, we sit on the floor and share those stories with each other. The only really two that can understand some of these stories are really cops.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Florida, Mr. Nugent.

I thank the sheriff. There might be some people back in Washington State that might disagree with you.

Absolutely.

But I think that what you and I, and everyone who has spoken here tonight, have tried to do is to bring the personality, the humanness in the human heart, of a police officer to America tonight. And I think with two sheriffs here, it is a powerful way from the floor of the House of Representatives to share with people across this Nation through this media our thanks and gratitude to each and every man and woman who wears the uniform, who puts their life on the line, who knows that some day when they leave they know there is a possibility that they may not come home, and the families live with that too.

One quick story. I was stabbed in 1973 or '74. I had my throat slit with a butcher knife at a domestic violence call that we talked about a little earlier. My wife actually found out that I had my throat slit. She was sitting home watching the news, and they showed me being wheeled into the hospital out of the ambulance. She finally got a phone call, but she didn't know if I was going to live or die.

That happens every day in this country, ladies and gentlemen. Mr. Speaker, that happens every day here. An officer is injured, hurt, or killed somewhere across this Nation. And we need to be there, Mr. Speaker, to support them, we need to be there to pray for them and their families, and we need to be there to pray for our communities that they come together and be true partners in protecting our children and our families.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to condemn the horrific tragedy of human trafficking. Globally, there are 20.9 million people who have been trafficked. Not one U.S. State has been spared--sadly men, women and children in every state have been victimized. This is not just a global problem, it is an American problem and it is right here in our own backyards.

I witnessed this problem first hand while working in Washington State for the King County Sheriffs Office. All too often, I spoke to young girls on the street one day, urging them to get off the streets, and the next they had disappeared. This was allowed to happen for far too long, because for many of us, these girls and even many boys are invisible. We do not want to see the problem and so we too often choose to look the other way and pretend it isn't real--not in our communities.

We have to make the problem--and the solutions--visible. Last year, I introduced and passed legislation which became law that helped--will help--prevent the sex trafficking of youth in foster care. The children in federal and state care are often the most vulnerable to becoming trafficking victims. According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited children, as many as 6 in 10 of the young women forced into selling their bodies on the streets are current or former foster children. I was honored to have been able to lead the efforts to change that reality last Congress. I stand today to join my colleagues in continuing to raise awareness and pledge my commitment to keeping up the fight on behalf of our children and working to enact additional legislation to end human trafficking.

This week, we will vote on legislation sponsored by Congresswomen Wagner, Ellmers and Noem, Congressman Paulsen, Johnson and Poe and many others which will go a long ways towards preventing the trafficking of countless men, women, boys and girls. This is a fight we must all be in together. We must all join with our colleagues, with law enforcement, and with those who are dedicated to ending human trafficking across the globe to say ``no more''.

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.

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. Speaker, today, I would like to thank my distinguished colleague Mr. Doc Hastings for his tireless efforts and inexhaustible service on behalf of Washington State. I had the privilege of working closely with him while he was chairman of the Natural Resources Committee on many projects including my Alpine Lakes legislation which we passed just last week. In all things, Doc stands up for his beliefs and the best interests of his constituents and I think there can be no higher praise for a member of Congress. He will be missed in the Washington Delegation as he has shared with all of us the wisdom he has gathered during his 20 years in office. I wish him all the best in his future endeavors and I know he leaves behind a wonderful legacy for Washington State and for America to remember him by.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Camp for yielding and for all of his hard work on this legislation and for bringing it forward today.

I thank the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Crenshaw), too, for his hard work.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 647, as amended, also known as the ABLE Act. And we have heard what ABLE stands for, but let me just repeat it very slowly so people can understand really what this is about: achieving better life experience for people who have special needs and who are disabled.

We all strive to have better lives, but some people in this world need a little help, and that is what we are doing today. Some people might disagree with some of the ways we are going about this. The bottom line is we are helping people that need a little special help, a little extra help from us, and we are going to step up and do that.

This is a bipartisan piece of legislation. It is designed to help those individuals with disabilities overcome the hurdles that they often face holding a job and trying to live independently.

Here is the problem: if someone with a disability works and achieves even a modest level of savings, they lose their assets to certain safety net programs, such as Medicaid and SSI. This can discourage individuals from pursuing work opportunities and gaining the independence that comes through work.

Here is the solution: this legislation today. This is the solution, Mr. Speaker. It helps individuals, regardless of disability, to achieve the best possible quality of life by ensuring continued access to essential safety net programs as well as tax-free savings accounts, allowing them to pursue independence and community involvement.

These ABLE accounts would be used to cover a wide variety of expenses related to addressing and overcoming the disabilities, and they would grow tax-free. These costs quickly add up, as needs can range from uncovered health care needs, education costs, housing needs, transportation costs, assistive technology, speech-generating devices and other technology, and personal support services.

This bill is critical because it allows individuals with ABLE accounts to maintain their eligibility for benefits while working and saving more for their future needs. ABLE account balances and withdrawals are completely excluded for purposes of Medicaid; and under the SSI program, the first $100,000 in account balances would be excluded from being counted as resources, meaning disabled individuals could save far more than today, while remaining eligible for benefits along the way.

This bill is about real people--we have heard some of the stories already this afternoon--real people who have real hopes and real dreams, dreams of being able to support themselves and plan for the future, dreams for a better life, and people like my godson, Kyle.

Now, Kyle today is 20 years old, but Kyle weighs 60 pounds and is in a wheelchair. Kyle was diagnosed at 18 months old with cancer. He can't speak. Up to this point, Kyle has only been able to save $2,000. And once you reach that $2,000 level, that is it. If you go over that, you don't get the benefits. Imagine if you were the parents of Kyle, trying to save for his future, to maybe get a speech device so Mom and Dad can hear Kyle say ``I love you,'' because he hasn't been able to say that. Imagine not being able to hear your child say, ``I love you, Mom. I love you, Dad.''

This savings account allows people to save that money for their children, to buy that technology, to get that wheelchair that costs $20,000. Some of us who are able-bodied and don't understand the disability that people live with every day, you see a wheelchair and there is no cost attached. We see people in wheelchairs, $20,000 and more for people who can only use maybe their index finger and a thumb to operate the toggle switch on a wheelchair so they can go from point A to point B.

I am proud to be Kyle's godfather. When you wheel Kyle into a room, he lights up the room, and we want to give him a better life. That is what this bill does.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself an additional 30 seconds.

I would like to thank the cosponsors of this bill, the 379 Members. But more than anyone, I would really like to especially thank the families that have been working on this for years. It has been an honor to visit with them, to

get to know them, and to get to know their families.

I urge a ``yes'' vote on this legislation.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Roskam), a distinguished member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Holding), who is a cosponsor of the bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, we have heard a lot of stories today about people in need, about people with disabilities and special needs, and we have had some names attached to those stories, which really touches the hearts of those people that know those individuals, and I hope touches the hearts of the Members here in this Chamber when they hear the stories of people in need who need that special attention.

One key challenge for disabled individuals is that their access to certain safety net programs can be lost if they work. I want to just repeat that. It can be lost if they work and achieve even a modest level of savings. To overcome that challenge, the ABLE Act would help more individuals with disabilities save and live independently without losing access to critical programs like Medicaid and SSI.

Now, starting in 2015, States could create an ABLE program under which individuals with disabilities could start an ABLE account modeled after current section 529 savings accounts. Anyone--parents, grandparents, and other family members, and friends--could contribute to that account, which would grow tax free. Then when they need to withdraw from that account, those withdrawals would be tax free if spent on a wide variety of expenses related to helping them address and overcome their disability. That includes expenses like uncovered health care, education costs, housing needs, transportation costs, assistive technology, and others that I have mentioned earlier.

able account details-

One key challenge for disabled individuals is that their access to certain safety-net programs can be lost if they work and achieve even a modest level of savings.

To overcome that challenge, the ABLE Act would help more individuals with disabilities save and live independently without losing access to critical programs like Medicaid and SSI.

Starting in 2015, States could create an ABLE program, under which individuals with disabilities could start an ABLE account, modeled after current Section 529 savings accounts.

Anyone--parents, grandparents, and other family and friends--could contribute to their ABLE account, which would grow tax-free.

Then when they need to withdraw from the account, those withdrawals would be tax free if spent on a wide variety of expenses related to helping them address and overcome their disability.

That includes expenses like uncovered health care, education costs, housing needs, transportation costs, assistive technology, and personal support services.

Critically, individuals with ABLE accounts could maintain their eligibility for means-tested benefits while working and saving more for their future needs.

ABLE account balances and withdrawals are completely excluded for purposes of Medicaid.

And under the SSI program, the first $100,000 in account balances would be excluded from being counted as resources, meaning disabled individuals could save far more than today while remaining eligible for benefits along the way.

This change will go a long way to easing the minds of disabled individuals and those around them.

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

I am waiting for one other speaker. If the gentleman has another speaker, it would be helpful.

I guess we are ready to close then, Mr. Speaker.

Yes, we are prepared to close.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the remaining time.

I thank the gentleman for his comments and words of support and, again, thank all 379 cosponsors of this bipartisan bill. I thank the Senate, which has worked with the Members of the House on this bill, making it a bicameral bill, and I think it is also important, Mr. Speaker, to point out the outside support that this bill has garnered.

Let me just name a few of those: the American Association of People With Disabilities, Autism Society of America, Autism Speaks, the Brain Injury Association of America, Easter Seals, National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities, National Disability Institute, National Down Syndrome Society, National Federation of the Blind, and the Arc, and that is just to name a few of the outside organizations and groups that support this legislation.

Again, this is important legislation designed to help individuals with disabilities overcome the hurdles that they often face in holding a job and living independently, and I appreciate again the comments of the ranking member, Mr. Levin, and urge my colleagues to support this bill.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, on September 3, 1964, President Johnson signed the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) into law, establishing a dedicated and permanent means for the protection of America's irreplaceable recreational, natural, historic, cultural and outdoor resources.

The 50th anniversary is an occasion for celebration, but also a reminder that LWCF's authorizing legislation expires in within a year. As we commemorate LWCF's half-century track record of success, it is imperative to secure reauthorization of the program before that date.

LWCF is fully paid for without relying on the support of American taxpayer dollars. Every year, $900 million of the many billions of dollars the U.S. Treasury collects from offshore oil and gas drilling is deposited into the LWCF trust fund. These revenues are a promise made to the many communities across America that rely on these resource lands, and on the conservation and recreation economies they support.

This arrangement has served our nation well, helping to realize a long list of conservation successes over the past 50 years without costing taxpayers a dime. This includes creating outdoor recreation opportunities in every state and 98 percent of counties across the country--opening up key areas for hunting, fishing, and other recreational access; supporting working forests and ranches; and acquiring inholdings and protecting critical lands in national parks, national wildlife refuges, national forests, Civil War battlefields and other federal areas. From the Pacific Crest Trail to the North Cascades, the Mountains to Sound Greenway to Lake Chelan, the high quality of life and outdoor opportunities in Washington have been protected by LWCF.

Outdoor recreation activities in Washington directly support 227,000 jobs and consumers spend $22.5 billion on outdoor recreation equipment, apparel, lodging, and other services, generating $1.6 billion in state and local tax revenue. Further investments are needed to replace funds that have been redirected and to ensure that we can continue to protect our national treasures, such as the Yakima River Basin in my home state. This is an area not only used and beloved by hikers, campers, hunters, and fisherman but it also critical in providing drinking water and irrigation.

LWCF does more than simply add acreage to our public lands--it provides an entire suite of conservation tools to address national, state, local and regionally driven priorities across the country. These include working land easements that keep working forests in production and jobs in rural economies--rather than forcing family forest owners to subdivide and sell off portions of their land to developers. Additionally, these often include purchase of inholdings within the boundaries of existing public lands which make management more efficient by reducing the cost of fencing, boundary surveying, firefighting and other costs and ensuring access for land management.

As we celebrate the 50th anniversary, the best way to honor the Land and Water Conservation Fund is to make sure Congress provides the necessary funding levels so it can continue its history of success for our great nation.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4137) to prohibit assistance provided under the program of block grants to States for temporary assistance for needy families from being accessed through the use of an electronic benefit transfer card at any store that offers marijuana for sale.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on the subject of the bill under consideration.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge support of H.R. 4137, the Preserving Welfare for Needs Not Weed Act.

Federal welfare benefits are an important means for many individuals and families to get critical assistance for basic necessities until they get back on their feet.

Shockingly, as a result of recent State laws legalizing recreational marijuana in Colorado and also in my home State of Washington, we are seeing new abuses of these benefits. In these States, a person can walk into one of the newly opened pot shops and use their welfare benefit card to pay for pot.

These are Federal tax dollars meant for basic necessities and, instead, they are being used to purchase something that is illegal under Federal law. It is exactly this misuse of tax dollars that this bill is designed to stop.

This bill, which I introduced earlier this year as chairman of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Human Resources--the subcommittee with jurisdiction over the program that we are talking about tonight and that is being abused--will block access to welfare cash in stores selling marijuana.

Mr. Speaker, I know firsthand the struggles that families can go through during my hard times from my own childhood growing up, and from what I witnessed as a law enforcement professional for 33 years. From the time I was a cop on the street in King County Washington through my days as the sheriff there, I witnessed how too often a lack of a job, living in a crime-ridden neighborhood, and using drugs tore families apart.

In some ways, things have even gotten worse today. For instance, we had millions of long-term unemployed struggling to get back to work during the so-called Obama recovery.

To make ends meet, many turned to benefits like TANF, which is the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. The TANF program provides millions of low-income Americans temporary assistance to help adults transition to work and support their children while they are doing that. TANF is a flexible grant to States, but it also includes rules to ensure that our tax dollars are being spent appropriately.

Sadly, a disturbing number of people were spending welfare benefits in liquor stores, casinos, and even strip clubs. In 2012, Congress passed a law that required States to block welfare benefits from being accessed in those places, and President Obama, rightly, signed it into law.

Since then, both Washington State and Colorado have legalized marijuana, opening up a new loophole--the ``pot shop loophole,'' as I call it--which the bill before us would close, along with the other shops that I mentioned before that are already closed to the use of your welfare benefit card, like liquor stores, casinos, and strip clubs. This bill just adds ``pot shops'' to that list.

This isn't an idle concern. A report examining welfare transactions in Colorado revealed over $5,000 in welfare benefits were accessed in stores selling marijuana in the first month such stores were open. With other States considering legislation to legalize

marijuana, it is important that we close this ``pot shop loophole'' now before it expands.

This bill simply says that when it comes to spending welfare benefits--money taxpayers provide to low-income parents to help support their children--we are drawing a line. Taxpayer-funded welfare benefits must be spent on children's and families' needs and not on weed.

I encourage all Members to support this simple commonsense fix so that welfare funds are used as they were intended, to support the needs of low-income families and children and not to support drug use.

This legislation builds on good policy this Chamber has already crafted and passed in the last Congress. It has no cost, according to the Congressional Budget Office, and, most importantly, Mr. Speaker, it is the right thing to do.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I would inquire of Mr. Levin as to whether or not he has any speakers on his side.

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

Mr. Speaker, after listening to my colleague's comments, Mr. Doggett's a little earlier, there are a lot of things that Mr. Doggett said that I agree with, and I know he knows that.

We have known each other for a while. He is the ranking member on the Human Resources Subcommittee, and we have been working together on lots of legislation that help address foster care and families and welfare and food stamps and aid to needy families.

Those are things that he knows that I care about passionately. And I know that the Republican party, even though tonight you may not think so, cares about people passionately and wants to solve these issues to help our most needy find employment, find an opportunity and hope in this country to provide for their family. That is what both sides I think really want.

As my colleague knows, we spent hours earlier today debating the continuing resolution for 2015. That debate will continue tomorrow.

The reason we are not debating TANF reauthorization right now is because the CR includes a provision that will extend the TANF program at the Congressional Budget Office baseline level through December 11 of this year. So that bill, not the one before us, provides for the extension of the program that the gentleman had earlier talked about.

I would also like to point out a letter that is dated July 31, 2014, date stamped, to Senator Sessions from Secretary Burwell. And it says, in just the first paragraph, Mr. Speaker:

Thank you for your letter to former Secretary Kathleen

Sebelius expressing concern that Temporary Assistance for

Needy Families cash assistance is being used to create an

increase in drug dependency. I am aware of the media reports

related to individuals withdrawing cash at Automated Teller

Machines (ATMs) located in establishments selling marijuana

in Colorado, which has legalized the use of marijuana. I

agree that any inappropriate expenditure of public funds is a

cause for concern and should be addressed immediately.

This is a commonsense fix so welfare funds are used as intended to help needy families temporarily, to help them find jobs, get back on their feet, provide for their families.

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