On the recordSeptember 22, 2022
I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. Madam Speaker, I have to tell you, I have spent 40 years in law enforcement, 12 as a sheriff, as you know, and I have to tell you, never in my life have I seen law enforcement more under attack in America than I have for the last 2\1/2\ years--never. I know the dangers that they face out there every day. I have been there. I have done that. I have to tell you, the attempts by those across the aisle to delegitimize, to demoralize, and to defund our State and local law enforcement is atrocious and unforgivable. I hope that, come November, the American public will hold accountable some of these folks that you just heard read out. I can tell you, I don't think they are popular at all with the American public. Yet, now, leading into the midterms, we are going to come together, and we are going to throw four bills onto the floor to address law enforcement and show that we are supportive of law enforcement. I can tell you three of these bills are off that point. First of all, the Mental Health Justice Act, the VICTIM Act, and the Break the Cycle of Violence Act, these three bills, let's take them one at a time. The Mental Health Justice Act will actually make it more dangerous for law enforcement, make it more dangerous for our citizens. We are going to literally send mental health workers to respond to volatile situations where police officers, who are armed, go in and are killed oftentimes.…
