-9999

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. SCHMITT. Mr. President, I rise today for National Police Week to honor the courageous men and women of law enforcement in Missouri and across our great country.

Over the past decade, our police officers have weathered a flood of propaganda and lies, repeated and pushed by many of the most powerful voices in America. They have been villainized and smeared by the press, undermined and attacked by politicians, and targeted by a great wave of violent anarchy that has terrorized towns and cities across the country. They carry this burden with the same quiet courage and resolve as the generations of American police officers that came before them. They put on their uniforms every morning and run toward the danger.

It has been my honor to back the blue every step of the way. I did it as attorney general of Missouri. I backed tougher sentencing rules, fought anti-police policies pushed by city officials, led the charge to secure more boots on the ground for our police in St. Louis, and launched the Safer Streets Initiative, partnering with Federal prosecutors to go after violent criminals in Missouri's most dangerous neighborhoods.

When I ran for the Senate, I was proud to be endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police, and I have worked every day to make good on the trust our law enforcement officers have placed in me.

Last month, I introduced the Public Safety Free Speech Act to defend the First Amendment rights of our police and our firefighters and our first responders who had been disciplined, suspended, or even fired for their political speech.

In many parts of our country, first responders have little to no legal protections for constitutionally protected speech, even when they are off duty, leaving them at the mercy of activist supervisors and city officials. Police and other first responders have been fired or suspended for criticizing Black Lives Matter, voicing support for President Trump, or even donating $25 to Kyle Rittenhouse's defense fund. That is wrong, and our bill would make it right.

If you want to know the kind of danger our first responders face every day, look at what happened just a few weeks ago. On April 27, a Kansas City first responder was brutally murdered by a known criminal who had been released from custody shortly before the attack. His name is Graham Hoffman. He was just 29 years old. He was stabbed to death while trying to save someone's life.

In the wake of that tragedy, I announced that I will be working with our brave firefighters here in Washington, DC, and around the country and other first responder groups to introduce a bill to increase Federal penalties for killing or assaulting first responders. Those who would assault or kill police officers and first responders should know that they will face swift and devastating justice.

It is no coincidence that the radicals who seek to dismantle our civilization have our law enforcement officers in their crosshairs. They know that our policemen are the guardians of law and order, the thin blue line between peace and chaos, order and lawlessness, society and anarchy. Without them, there is no rule of law, and without the rule of law, there is no civilization.

This is the sacred responsibility of the men and women who risk their lives so that others may live in peace. I will never apologize for standing with those who wear the badge. I always have, and I always will.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source