Political Quotes

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. I rise in opposition to H.R. 7120. The brutal murder of George Floyd and the protests and demonstrations since then highlight the racial issues which still afflict our Nation and which deserve thoughtful discussion and debate. I want to use my time today to reject the premise of systemic police racism, which is the genesis of today's legislation. I say the opposite: No one has done more to protect all lives than the police. Take New York City, where thousands of protesters have regularly taken to the streets to demonstrate against the NYPD even though, in the past 25 years, the policies and actions of the NYPD have literally saved tens of thousands of lives of people of color. The city has gone from more than 2,000 murders a year, with a great majority of them being African American, to less than 300. Last year, NYPD officers fired their weapon 35 times. That is 35 times in a police force of 36,000 in a city of more than 8 million, and millions more commuters and tourists. Five African Americans were killed by the NYPD in the entire year, four of whom had a gun or knife. You won't hear this on the House floor from the other side today, but nationally, more Whites are killed by police than African Americans each year, both in total numbers and in proportion to their encounters with police.…”