Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding, and I rise to support H.R. 3731, the Secret Service Recruitment and Retention Act of 2017, which Congressman Katko and I cosponsored. The bill would authorize an increase in the annual salary and the overtime limit for the men and women of the Secret Service so they can be paid for the significant overtime they have already worked in 2017 and will be working in 2018. Last year, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform unanimously passed the Overtime Pay for Protective Services Act of 2016. The bill authorized overtime pay for more than 1,400 Secret Service agents and the thousands of hours they worked in the 2016 Presidential campaign year. Although non-campaign years are usually significantly less demanding, the size of President Trump's family, their frequent travel, and the need to secure their multiple residences have caused more than 1,000 Secret Service agents to reach the annual pay cap in 2017. These demands on the Secret Service will remain extremely high and require substantial resources. In December 2015, the Oversight Committee unanimously adopted a report concluding that the Secret Service``. . . is experiencing a staffing crisis that threatens to jeopardize its critical mission.'' Our report found that this was due in large part to ``. . .…”