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Congressional Daily Record
This section captures a floor statement or debate entry. It mentions members such as John Thune.
Issued
May 14, 2026
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Download official Senate Record PDFReturn to issue contextMr. THUNE. Mr. President, last month, a Sioux Falls, SD, police officer responded to a report of a weapons violation. While pursuing one of the suspects, the officer in question was ambushed by the other suspect and shot.
House Correspondents' Dinner responded when an individual darted through a security checkpoint with the intent of assassinating the President and members of his administration. One officer was shot, fortunately in the vest.
The job of a law enforcement officer is an unpredictable one. Of course, all of life has uncertainty, but when most of us depart our houses every day, we can be pretty certain that we will return that evening the same way we left that morning—in safety.
assurance. The job of a police officer is unpredictable. Some days might be very quiet—helping a stranded motorist, writing a speeding ticket, chatting with kids about police work at a school function—but other days—other days—a police officer might respond to a call and be confronted with a gunman.
Law enforcement officers never know what kind of day it will be. The Secret Service agent leaving her house in the morning doesn't know whether she will have to throw herself between her principal and danger before nightfall. The sheriff's deputy serving a warrant doesn't know whether it will be a peaceful event or whether he will confront a volley of bullets. Yet, every day, men and women across this country embrace their jobs in law enforcement. They are born protectors who willingly shoulder the risks and dangers to keep them away from the rest of us.
This week, we honor them. This week, we observe National Police Week to honor the service and sacrifice of our Nation's law enforcement officers. Tomorrow, we observe National Peace Officers Memorial Day—a day to remember the men and women of law enforcement who have given their lives in the line of duty.
officers were killed in the line of duty—200 men and women who left their homes in the morning and failed to return to it at the end of the day.
For these men and women, we were all their friends.
officers, we also need to honor their families because their families also serve. They say goodbye in the morning to a husband or wife, a mom or a dad, son or a daughter, with the knowledge always at the back of their minds that their loved one may not come home at the end of the day. And every year, for some law enforcement families, that fear comes true, and this week and every week, we should remember them.
law enforcement officers—police officers, sheriff's deputies, State troopers, Tribal police, and the Federal officers who serve our State.
I am grateful for all you do to keep South Dakotans safe.
We are able to work in safety because of your efforts.
Mr. President, we live in a fallen world, and there will always be men and women out there with evil intent. We are blessed to have so many heroic men and women willing to put their lives on the line to protect us.
May God bless and protect you as you go about your work.
I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant executive clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be rescinded.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered.