Val Demings

As I stand here tonight before you, in my hometown of Orlando, thousands of people are gathered at Lake Eola Park like they were 1 year ago to mourn, honor, and pay tribute to the 49 lives we lost on January 12, 2016. We were with them…

I thank Representative Soto for his remarks. I would like to continue to share letters from the survivors of Pulse. The next letter that I will share comes from Brandon Wolf. ``It is hard to believe it has been a year. That Saturday night…

I want to thank my colleague from Florida (Mr. Soto) for that very beautiful and inspiring poem that really captures not only the tragedy that occurred in Orlando at the Pulse Nightclub that night, but the heroic acts, how our community…

Do we have a role as Congress to protect American families? In my home State of Florida, it is hard to go anywhere without meeting a family who was affected by the foreclosure crisis. Many not only lost their homes, but their life savings…

Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman and Mr. Secretary it is good to see you again.

I have to say it again, especially being from Orlando, regarding the UASI funding.

It would be a shame if we allowed ourselves to go back.

My vote did not register when I used my voting card. I have reported the malfunctioning card to the Clerk's office. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay'' on rollcall No. 268. personal explanation

If the FBI Director is abiding by the oath he took, then he should not be removed.

I have taken three oaths in my lifetime. The first oath I took was in 1984, as a police officer, when I was sworn in at the Orlando Police Department. The second oath I took when I was sworn in as the chief of police. And the third when I…

One of my greatest honors was serving as a police officer in Orlando for 27 years. My husband is a sheriff in Orange County, and he has been serving for 35 years in law enforcement. But today I am here to talk about how we can better take…

During National Police Week, it is important we continue to remember the brave men and women who were killed while protecting us. Last year, 145 law enforcement officers were killed in the line of duty. One of these officers, Lesley…

This year marks the 54th anniversary of Peace Officers Memorial Day, so I rise tonight to pay tribute to the law enforcement officers from Florida who were killed in the line of duty last year. Today we remember them and honor them for…

The President made big promises on the campaign trail to drain the swamp. He promised that his Washington would look different. Well, it does look different, but not in the way he promised. Instead of ethics reform, his administration…

the overwhelming majority of the people we arrested in those cases were not undocumented immigrants.

Right now, I believe the single biggest threat to State and local funding is President Trump's proposed budget.

The president of the National League of Cities said President Trump's proposed budget, and I quote, 'threatens the safety and prosperity of cities around the country.'

When these cuts to vital programs are proposed, they are packaged as cost-saving efforts. This isn't true.

We do answer to the American people, even when it is uncomfortable to do so.

Please stop me if you have heard this one before and know how it ends. My colleagues on the other side are once again trying to sell the American people a broken alternative to something that is working pretty much as it was intended to…

I spent 27 years in law enforcement, and I realized early in my career that we cannot arrest our way out of the challenges that we face, that we have to address some of the social ills that cause decay in communities in the first place if…

I also rise tonight to talk about America First, the proposed budget of the 45th President of the United States, President Donald Trump. It has been said that a budget of a local, State, Federal Government, corporation, nonprofit…

The State Department, USAID, Millennial Challenge Corporation, Peace Corps, and other developmental agencies are critical to preventing conflict and reducing the need to put our men and women in uniform in harm's way.

I thank the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Ms. Plaskett), Mr. Richmond, and all of the distinguished members of the Congressional Black Caucus for leading this very important and critical conversation and discussion this evening…

My father, James LeRoy Butler, worked as a janitor. He had a fifth grade education, and now his youngest child is a Member of the 115th Congress. My father worked hard, and his word was his bond. On January 15, 2017, President Trump…