Political Quotes

“Mr. President, as many of my colleagues know, I have been proud to associate myself with the work of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. I have been doing this for the many years I have been here in the Senate, and I have been privileged over the years to read the names of Alaska's fallen law enforcement officers. They have a candlelight vigil that occurs at that memorial every May. It is an extraordinarily powerful and moving vigil. From my seat, I am able to look out and see thousands of individuals, and directly in front of the stage they have the wives, husbands, parents, and children of those officers who paid the ultimate sacrifice. As I think of the families, individuals, and those who have served and paid the ultimate sacrifice, it is very difficult to find words that express the depth of my gratitude for their service or the depth of my sorrow. It is a great honor to be asked and a duty to demonstrate my solidarity with the thin blue line. I go each year hoping that I will not be invited back the next year because that would mean Alaska did not lose a law enforcement officer in the previous year. Unfortunately, I will be invited back to the 2017 ceremony because the year 2016, this year, I am sad to say has been a most difficult one for the law enforcement community in Alaska. This past autumn has been particularly difficult.…”