Political Quotes

“Tragically, as we saw in San Bernardino and most recently in Orlando, we are living in a time with increasing threats in our local communities. This leaves our law enforcement officers and first responders with the responsibility of fighting from the front lines against the war on terror. Not only is more being asked of our first responders, but as local budgets get cut, they are asked to undertake these tasks with fewer and fewer resources. This is why the Defense Logistics Agency transfer of excess military equipment to civilian law enforcement agencies, otherwise known as the 1033 Program, has been critical for first responders throughout the country and a necessity to keep our cities and neighborhoods safe. The name 1033, by the way, comes from a section of the 1997 National Defense Authorization Act that made that program permanent. However, the law enforcement officers who might be listening to this presentation tonight know that 1033 in the 10 code means ``officer needs help.'' As a former law enforcement officer for 33 years, I have had many occasions to use a 1033 call for officer needs help. Mr. Chairman, we are in, today, a world where our first responders are saying: 1033, we need help; we need support; we need you to stand by us and support us, provide us with the tools that we need to protect this country.…”