Chairman Becerra: A Moment Of Silence is Not Action -- Congress Must Act to Keep Americans Safe From Terror

Statement

"We had a conversation at Caucus [meeting] today that dealt with two very important issues: first, we talked about making sure our government is providing security, keeping the trains running, and doing everything that we expect it to do. Unless our Republican colleagues can move forward with a proposal that is bipartisan, it looks like we are heading towards another Republican shutdown of government. No one would like to see that; we are too close to the holidays now to disrupt all of the activities, not just of government, but of the lives of Americans throughout this country.

"Two months ago, we reached an agreement on the parameters for a budget and now our colleagues on the Republican side have to stop trying to inject things that have nothing to do with the budget, but rather have a lot to do with their social agenda. Those are not matters that belong in a fiscal measure that is meant to keep the government operating.

"We spent a great deal of time as well on a second very immediate subject: how to keep Americans safe. The security of the American people is paramount and that is the principal responsibility of any government. Mr. Thompson and Ms. Kelly will be hosting a forum today on this issue. Many of our colleagues, including the Vice Chairman and I, will be attending to talk about this.

"We want Americans to know that we are thinking of those families that are suffering right now from the tragedies of losing their loved ones as a result of some of these shootings. Whether it was San Bernardino, Colorado Springs...we are almost on the anniversary of the shooting in Newtown that killed 20 children and six adults.

"A moment of silence is not action. If the only thing Congress is going to do is hold moments of silence every time someone is tragically gunned down -- whether it is by someone who means us harm because we are simply Americans, or whether it is because that perpetrator didn't like the color of our skin, or didn't like the content of our character -- that is terror. There are families who have been terrorized and now there are families who have lost their loved ones as a result of this terror.

"We must act, and there are some very straightforward things that we can do. Mr. Thompson and Ms. Kelly will speak specifically on those things, but certainly where there is a sweet spot of what we can do together, not as Democrats or Republicans, but as Americans here in Congress, we should do so. I am here to say that it is not enough to hold moments of silence. It is time to act.

"We need to sound the alarm for people like Shannon Johnson, who died in the San Bernardino shooting and was a constituent of mine. We need to sound the alarm for Garrett Swasey who was a police officer and one of the three people who were killed in Colorado Springs by someone who was out to do harm to people at the Planned Parenthood clinic. We want to make sure that everyone has an opportunity to be free and to be safe. For that to be the case, Congress must act; it can't do just moments of silence."

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