Never Again

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. FITZPATRICK. Mr. Speaker, over 4 weeks have passed since our Nation suffered an unspeakable tragedy in Parkland, Florida, where we lost 17 souls that we cannot get back.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the names of these young, brave souls who will move this country to act to protect other young students across this Nation.

Alyssa Alhadeff, Scott Beigel, Martin Duque Anguiano, Nicholas Dworet, Aaron Feis, Jaime Guttenberg, Chris Hixon, Luke Hoyer, Cara Loughran, Gina Montalto, Joaquin Oliver, Alaina Petty, Meadow Pollack, Helena Ramsay, Alex Schachter, Carmen Schentrup, Peter Wang.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. FITZPATRICK. Mr. Speaker, I have met with the brave students of Parkland. I have also met with the parent of one of those lost souls.

I have met with students and parents and teachers alike in my own district in Pennsylvania. I have seen the fear and the anxiety in their demeanor. I have seen the tears in their eyes. They are asking for this Congress to do what past Congresses have failed to do.

Mr. Speaker, there were countless missed signals and missed opportunities that could have prevented this tragedy from happening. However, this is not the time for finger-pointing; this is a time for healing, and, more importantly, this is a time for action.

We were elected to Congress not to hide from tough decisions, not to be afraid to tackle tough problems. Mr. Speaker, we were elected to lead, and lead we must.

As a 14-year FBI agent, I carried a weapon on my ankle every day in order to save lives and keep people safe. And as a Federal gun crimes prosecutor, I prosecuted and imprisoned those who committed violent gun crimes in order to protect people, in my role as a prosecutor, and keep our communities safe.

Keeping our communities safe and protecting the Second Amendment are not mutually exclusive concepts. We can advance both and preserve both simultaneously. All we need to do, Mr. Speaker, is be willing to do what every American wants us to do, which is put away ideology and come together in a bipartisan fashion.

Of all the responsibilities we have, of all of the responsibilities we have, we have no higher responsibility as elected officials, and as citizens, than to protect our kids.

After the terror attacks of September 11, we said: Never again. Never again will we allow terrorists to seize control of a cockpit and turn a commercial airliner into a guided missile.

What did we do? We created the Department of Homeland Security; we deployed a Federal Air Marshal Service, the likes of which this country has never seen; we fortified our cockpits; we deployed state-of-the-art screening equipment across our Nation's 450-plus airports across the country. We said: Never again.

I am calling on my colleagues to have the same response to school shootings: Never again.

Mr. Speaker, the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, of which I am a proud member, has developed a well-thought-out list of 10 legislative proposals that help us achieve this goal, to protect our kids, to say never again to this needless violence.

I urge my colleagues in this House, Democrat and Republican alike, to show leadership in tackling these tough issues. Call for a floor vote and support these bipartisan proposals. Let's do it for our kids. They need us now more than ever.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source