Political Quotes

“First responders are our hometown heroes. Their sacrifice and service inspire us all. When the Federal Government raises the threat level to code orange, like we have seen in the last couple of weeks, and once before that when it was raised, these are the men and women that are immediately called upon to assume the extra duties and responsibilities to help defend our hometowns from unknown threats. Congress has the responsibility to back up our local first responders with the funds that they need to make the extra security details work. Last year I held a series of meetings with first responders across my district in North Carolina to assess what their needs were. More than 100 police officers, sheriffs, firefighters, emergency personnel, and others came to those briefings. During these meetings and in the months since then, I have heard troubling reports from our frontline forces. Despite improvements in security here in Washington at our Nation's historic sites and many urban areas, North Carolina's first responders still lack an interoperative communications infrastructure, appropriate training equipment, and the things they need to respond appropriately.”