Rob Portman: “this is National Police Week. It is a time every year when we stop to pay tribute to our law enforcement officers around…”

“this is National Police Week. It is a time every year when we stop to pay tribute to our law enforcement officers around the country, the men and women in blue who serve us every day in my State of Ohio and every State represented in this Chamber. We also remember the brave law enforcement officers who tragically died in the line of duty. We can never forget this is a dangerous profession. The National Law Enforcement Memorial and Museum reported that 2020 was the deadliest year for law enforcement in decades. In Ohio alone, we sadly lost six brave law enforcement officers over the past year. Here in the Capitol, of course, we lost three officers over the past year, including on January 6. In the course of our Nation's history, more than 24,000 officers have died in the line of duty. I was proud to join colleagues in March in sponsoring legislation called the Protect and Serve Act, which would create Federal penalties on those who would attempt to harm or kill a police officer. I believe Protect and Serve would send a strong message to help deter these crimes. Ultimately, I think it would make our men and women in blue safer and help save lives. This week, I urge my colleagues to join me in standing with the families of our fallen police officers and thanking them and thanking law enforcement for what they do every day to protect us. One way to express our gratitude is passing laws that will assist them in their critical work to keep us safe.…”