couple of hours, great conversations. so thank you so much. >> thanks so much. i'm going to ask the boss -- i guess tiffany's going to stay there, i think. a very good day to all of you from msnbc world headquarters here in new york. we're approaching high noon in the east, 9:00 a.m. out west. welcome to "alex witt reports." we are bringing you a live look at the capitol building where any minute now president biden will speak at a memorial service honoring fallen police officers who have died in the line of duty. we're certainly monitoring for you. a new development in president biden's multitrillion dollars spending package that could make or break this bill. the white house is likely to drop a clean electricity program, the most powerful component of biden's plan to battle climate change after facing opposition from that man right there, senator joe manchin. congresswoman prison medical

-- >> we are continuing to push for the for the strongest possible climate protections that will allow us to bring down carbon emissions, and we're open to that negotiation. >> i'm going to ask congressman john yarmouth about that. manchin and another leading senator bernie sanders, urging him to support the reconciliation bill. the west virginia senator firing back tweeting this isn't the first time an out of stater has tried to tell west virginians what is best for them despite having no relationship to our state. on the other side of pennsylvania avenue, president biden turning up the heat on his own justice department telling reporters friday the doj should prosecute anyone who defies a subpoena from the house select committee investigating the january 6th insurrection. we're going to have more on that

in a moment. in california, former president bill clinton remains hospitalized today after receiving treatment for an infection earlier this week. a spokesperson for the former president says all health indicators are trending in the right direction and he continues to be in excellent spirits. joining me right now, nbc's josh lederman with the latest from the white house, and nbc's scott cohn from long beach, california, he's got the new developments on the nation's shipping log jam, which is going to affect every single one of us. let's start with you here. president biden sending a pretty strong message to anyone who plans on defying the january 6th committee subpoenas. what are we hearing from him? >> reporter: look, nobody ever accused joe biden of failing to speak his mind, but this has been a real tough one for the white house. on the one hand, they obviously feel that there should be accountability for these individuals, that all of this information and testimony should make it to congress, just look no further than the fact that the white house is refusing to exert executive privilege to

protect president trump and his aides when it comes to this information about january 6th. but on the other hand, the white house has made a pretty big deal about trying to restore the independence of the justice department and the ability for career prosecutors to make decisions about who to prosecute or not. independent of any influence from the white house. president biden appeared to say the quiet part out loud when he was asked about this yesterday. take look. >> what's your message to -- defy congressional subpoenas on the january 6th committee? >> i hope that the committee goes after them and holds them accountable. >> should they be prosecuted by the justice department? >> i do, yes. >> reporter: that's when the cleanup started with administration officials working to make sure that nobody believed that president biden was suggesting that prosecutors should do what he was telling them to do. the justice department putting out a statement saying that the doj will make its own independent decisions in all prosecutions based solely on the facts and the law, period, full

stop. but even white house spokeswoman jen psaki getting in to make sure she walked back the president's remarks as well noting that the president supports the work of the committee and the independent role of the department of justice to make any decisions about prosecutions, alex. >> let me just ask you something. the reason we're talking about this is because we all have been left pretty much scarred of what happened between the trump administration, specifically the president, and the doj in the past, at least that which we know and has been reported multiple places. president biden has neither made phone call to the doj directly nor has he brought people in for an angry confrontation back and forth telling them what to do in the oval office. do we know whether either of those two things happened which we know happened during the trump administration? >> we've learned more and more in recent weeks about indications that that did happen in the trump administration, including in and around january 6th, alex, and you're right, there has been no indication that the white house behind the scenes is doing anything like

what the trump white house tried to do to influence justice department decisions. however, traditionally presidents have tried to avoid even making public comments about what the justice department in their opinion should or shouldn't do to avoid any perception of interference, and that's where president biden got in a little bit of hot water with these comments. >> got you, okay, josh, thank you for all of that. let's go now to scott cohn. you're there in long beach where the port moved to 24/7 operations a couple of weeks ago. the port of los angeles announced it's going to do the same now. are we seeing any measurable effect clearing the bottleneck out there? >> reporter: in a word, alex, no. you can see the containers still stacked up behind me. there's still roughly 60 vessels waiting offshore to get in. normally there are none, so this backlog continues, even though the president said that he was pushing the ports to move to 24/7 operations. you don't just flip a switch and have that happen here in the

nation's largest ports, los angeles and long beach. they account for something like 25% of all imports into the u.s., roughly half the containerized traffic. so you have to get trucks in here, truck drivers in here, you'd have to get the warehouses on board. you have to get the companies that use these ports on board. so going 24/7 officials say is easier said than done. >> i wish i could say it would be an immediate short-term solution and i could tell you 90 days we'd get this thing going. that's my hope. but again, a lot of things have to happen, and that's what we're trying to do address. the important thing to learn from all of this or at least those of us who have had these conversations, the national discussion on this now certainly prompts people to say or to let them know things have to change.

>> reporter: but it is a process. best case officials say we could be seeing some of these log jams clear by the end of this year. more likely we're talking about sometime next year as the demand continues, the economy continues to be strong for now, and the ports try and keep up. alex. >> yikes. there's that little thing called a holiday season, and all the shopping therein that is going to come before the expected clearance of all this. all rights scott, thank you so much. joining me right now, kentucky congressman john yarmouth, chair of the house budget committee and our good friend. nice so to see you a couple of things i want to get to first off with the white house, with the chief of staff ron klain who's been facing criticism for re-tweeting a post that says, most of the economic problems we're facing, inflation, supply chains, et cetera, are high class problems we wouldn't have had them if the unemployment rate was still 10%. we would instead have had a much

worse problem. so what do you make of the tweet and the reaction that it's getting? >> well, you know, i know what ron was trying to say there, and i understand the reaction as well. you certainly -- but he's certainly right that if we had a higher unemployment rate, that's a different kind of problem and one that we wouldn't want to experience. the things that we're experiencing now are distortions of a lot of things that were created by the pandemic. i think the report we saw is right. all of this is going to balance out at some point. when you have shipping costs, for instance, the one container that has gone from like 4 or $5,000 to $20,000, you see what some of the problems are, not just with the delays but also with inflation. so i suspect that these things will balance out. we know that we've seen some of

them already balancing out. for instance, the price of used cars, well, it had spiked up 40% or so, it's now down -- they're now down a little bit, same with lumber. so -- but still this is a problem that we have to be very, very attentive to. >> right. >> one of the things that i think we should remember when we're talking, and we will talk about the president's agenda, the build back better act, 15 nobel prize winning economists have said this is really good for long-term control of inflation. this agenda that we're pursuing. >> staying with inflation for a second, cnbc is also pointing out that consumers are paying a little more for just about everything than they did even a month ago and significantly more than they did for the very same goods back in 2020. let's look at how much prices have increased in key categories. you mentioned used cars. well, rental cars, gas, both have increased more than 40%. i mean, your constituents, how

are they feeling the pinch of inflation? >> well, i mean, certainly when you have gas prices spiking the way they have. that's an impact on everybody, but unfortunately disproportionately lower and middle income citizens. but what we've seen is last year during the pandemic, there was very little demand for gasoline, so the prices were relatively low. as normal activity has resumed, we've seen a greater demand for gasoline. so a lot of these numbers are based off of last year's prices, which were very, very abnormally low. so they're a little bit -- it's a little bit unfair to compare them to 2020. you should compare them to 2019, and there the comparison is not nearly as severe. >> what about the "washington post" editorial board which says inflation is rising. democrats must avoid making it worse. they also say the new inflation numbers send a clear signal to

democrats, you must pay for your big social spending bill. what's your response to that one, and do you think passing the infrastructure and reconciliation bills will tamp down or further escalate inflation? >> well, first of all, you know, the president's repeated time and time again and so has our leadership that the build back better agenda is fully offset. >> yep, paid for. >> net cost is zero or roughly zero. and on the infrastructure bill that's already passed the senate on a bipartisan basis, it's really not a lot of new money, and a lot of these expenditures and these investments are going to occur five, six, seven, eight, nine years down the road. i think the immediate impact of either the infrastructure bill or the build back better act are going to be very inconsequential because, again, most of that money is not going to be spent for several years. >> let's get to some breaking

news regarding the reconciliation package that multiple sources telling nbc news, the clean energy performance program, a linchpin of the president's plan is likely to be dropped from the spending bill because of the opposition from senator joe manchin. the white house has said it's time to wrap this up, get negotiations done and get it done. does this move that brings manchin on board get this to the finish line and should this climate program be dropped? >> this is one of the problems that we have now not just with senator manchin but also senator sinema because we don't know where she is on any of this. and we need every democratic vote. we're not going to get one republican vote, and so, you know, does it make it more likely, yes, it probably does. does it make it a lead pipe cinch, not by any stretch. one of the things that the president kept emphasizing yesterday in his speech in

connecticut, which i think is really important, is these are mostly initiatives that are designed to orient us to the future, whether it's investment in early childhood education, community college, or the climate policy investments. and we really need to think of that in this way. we have to start investing in our future or we're going to be at a -- not just we, i mean our individual citizens are going to suffer a generation or two down the road, and the economy will as well. so it's a shame that we would have to strike -- declare policy initiatives out of this package, but we have to get 50 votes. >> so here's something else that is a bit of a shame, i'm just saying on a personal note. you have made a big announcement this week that you are not going to seek re-election in 2022. i've got to remind our viewers you're the only democrat from kentucky in either congressional

chamber. first of all, do you think another democrat will replace you in the house, and why are you breaking my heart? >> i'm sorry, alex. i have 15 months left, though, i hope to see you many times during that, but you know, i'm very confident that a democrat will replace me. we have a very strong democratic district. i don't think redistricting is going to change that to any significant extent. if it happens, i will be crushed and i will consider it my fault. my decision was really based only on one thing, and that is that i want to have more control over whatever time i have left on earth. i'll be 75 when my term ends, and while i feel kind of foolish in a way talking about that when jim clyburn and nancy pelosi and steny hoyer, our three leaders are all over 80, i have to do what i have to do, and i'm not going to retire. i'm going to be very, very

engaged. and one thing i'm going to be most engage ed in is making sure a democrat precedes me. >> you go do you and we'll support whatever your decision is. i'll look forward to seeing you nut next 15 months. john yarmuth, thank you. if you've not heard about what happened at a gop rally in virginia and how a flag that was carried at the capitol during the 16 riot was part of that rally, you're going to want to stay with us. there's some new fallout. we've got the details heard. fat we've got the details heard. fight back fast with tums chewy bites. fast heartburn relief in every bite. crunchy outside, chewy inside. ♪ tums, tums, tums, tums ♪ tums chewy bites fine, no one leaves the table until your finished. fine, we'll sleep here. ♪♪ it's the easiest because it's the cheesiest.

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first lady have arrived at the capitol for the annual national peace officers memorial service. members of the national fraternal order of police and national auxiliary, they're all in attendance there. they're honoring 491 law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty over the last

two years. we are monitoring that ceremony for you and the president as well when he takes to the podium. let's go to capitol hill behind where that's going on. that is where the select committee investigating the january 6th riots is considering criminal contempt proceedings against donald trump associate steve bannon. julie tsirkin is joining me on all of this. what's the latest on the showdown between bannon and house investigators? >> reporter: well, alex, it's a game of chicken. because steve bannon isn't complying with his house subpoena, the house select committee will vote on tuesday night whether to refer him for criminal contempt of congress. it's a lengthy process. on tuesday night the house select committee will meet. they will take that vote on a report essentially they put together with their recommendations of why bannon should be referred for criminal contempt, for why he didn't appear before his deposition last week and why he didn't turn over documents as requested the week prior. after that vote happens, which is expected to advance in the

committee, it will move to the full house for consideration. if that passes, speaker pelosi will refer it to biden's department of justice where they will take that on. if bannon is prosecuted and convicted, he could face some jail time, up to one year, or some fines. but this is a long road, and it's not expected to get the committee answers in the end. here's stacey plaskett, she was on msnbc last night. she's a member of the house. here's what she had to say. >> they're going to be bound by the facts and by the law, and if that means deposing the president, they will do so. we can't rely on the republican party to do what's right. democrats have taken on that yolk. we've taken on the responsibility of protecting our democracy, whether it's through legislation, whether it's through the select committee. we are not hesitating to do what's necessary. in terms of voting for individuals for criminal contempt, which holds very severe consequences, and it is

having the effect of making other individuals engage with the committee. >> reporter: so that's congresswoman stacey plaskett there to our allie velshi this morning. she was an impeachment manager in the second trial of president trump where they charged him with inciting an insurrection. she's very familiar with the investigation and is very close to the fallout of january 6th. it remains to be seen whether the committee will in fact hold others under criminal contempt. you heard stacey plaskett at the beginning make reference to the former president. that's because the committee said nothing is off the table, and they're considering the former president as well. guys. alex. >> you're all good, thank you so much julie there on capitol hill. some republicans are making a desperate plea to save the party from what they are calling pro-trump extremists. it's laid out in this op-ed in the "new york times." one of the co-authors is joining me right now, miles taylor, former chief of staff at the department of homeland security

in the trump administration. miles wrote a 2018 guest essay for the "new york times" criticizing trump's leadership. miles is cofounder and executive director of the renew america movement. welcome, miles. glad to have you here to talk about this. before i get specifically to the op-ed. president biden said those who defy congressional subpoenas should be prosecuted. so what should happen to steve bannon if he continues to disregard this subpoena as well as any other person connected to the president in 1/6, the former president. >> i agree with the president. i'm not sure it was the best idea for the president to say that. i think that's the attorney general's job, but i think they've since back-pedaled on that. the point here is that we all agree that people should be complying with this bipartisan commission to look into january 6th, and if steve bannon doesn't comply, yes, he should be prosecuted by the u.s. department of justice. i think they need to show that they're going to hold these people accountable. i know the folks that are both

on the front stage and behind the scenes at the committee. these are serious investigates. they're taking it seriously. liz cheney and adam kinzinger on the republican side. they're going to do what they need to do, but look, the broader message here is that folks need to engage with the committee to get to answers. i mean, in my own case i have information that i think is of interest that i may share with the committee. people should be coming forward and offering this committee what they know about what happened in the lead up to those events on january 6th. >> okay. i'm sure you're not going to tell me what the information is that you have that you'd like to share with the 1/6 committee, but can you give me sort of a broad look at what you think you have that they should know. >> look, i've got concerns about what donald trump did as it relates to domestic terrorism during my tenure in the administration or better yet, what he didn't do but also his views when it comes to executive power and insurrection. so there's some concerns there, some conversations that i'm

having and i think that there's other folks who probably have information to share with the committee as well. >> so what you've got would be kind of like deep background. you would show a pattern, you would show that which you were privy to, not necessarily relative to 1/6 specifically? >> yeah, alex, i think what you're going to find here and i think what the committee is going to find is that the story in the lead up to january 6th is not a multiweek story from november 3rd after the election onward. it's a multiyear story, and there is a fact pattern here leading to the very beginning of the trump presidency that i think is deeply, deeply disturbing and feeds into the violence and the insurrection that we saw on that day. i do hope the committee takes that seriously, and i do hope they take a wide scope review of what led to that day's events. >> i'm guessing you should expect a call pretty soon. anyway, thank you for that. let's take a look at this video, miles. it is from a political rally. it was wednesday night in virginia when republicans were asked to pledge allegiance to a

flag allegedly flown during the deadly january 6th riots. bannon led that rally, and trump made an appearance by phone. what went through your mind when you saw this? what are your fellow republicans saying about it? >> yeah, this is truly sickening to see, and it also, i think, shows us that the events of january 6th have now become a political flash point rather than something we can unify and reject. and, frankly, that's very alarming. i hear in circles here in washington, d.c., from folks on the right and left there is a genuine fear about the concept of civil war in this country. millions of americans are now reporting in polls that they support political violence to reinstall donald trump into the white house. it's deeply alarming. and look, i think what's also notable about this event is that terry mcauliffe's opponent, glen

yonkin he came out and repudiated the pledge of allegiance. it highlights the weird position trump republicans are in, they've got to twist themselves into knots to accept trump's endorsement but reject the violent behavior of his supporters. >> something that he embraced before donald trump had come out and endorsed him, and it's almost like if donald trump feels he wins that's a reflection on me going forward. i want to ask what you wrote about in the op-ed. trump is telling republicans don't vote in 2022 or 2024, a head scratching statement there, but it would also be a vote for incumbent democrats. that's what he's saying. obviously your sentiments are different. does this put you and trump at all on the same page? is that where you want to be? >> well, alex, it's pretty bizarre. in a way, this is the first time in a very long time that donald trump and i have been on the

same page because he's essentially proposing a strategy that would result in the re-election of democrats. and what we're saying, which is not an easy thing to say as a lifelong conservative but that our party, the republican party is so unreformed, is so slavishly devoted to donald trump that it cannot be trusted, special circumstance to run the u.s. house of representatives in the lead up to another presidential election. and i think trump proves our point. he doesn't want republicans to vote because his efforts to hijack elections have not been successful. he's giving us all the more reason to say we cannot put pro-trump republicans in power in the house of representatives and in congress. what we're urging rational republicans around the country to do is to support unifying pragmatic democrats in key races in order to protect our democracy. and we're also asking patriotic democrats to support republicans that are good republicans like liz cheney, adam kinzinger and those who have stood up for

truth. hopefully that's a strategy that can protect our country in the short-term against extremists. there's still a long-term question about whether the gop will ever reform. >> miles taylor, we'll very much look forward to seeing you soon. thank you so much. dramatic new developments playing out in that chicago standoff over vaccine mandates overriding the entire stalemates, there's growing fear that many police might get the blue flu. i'm way ahead of schee with my trusty team ♪ ♪ there's heather on the hedges ♪ ♪ and kenny on the koi ♪ ♪ and your truck's been demolished by the peterson boy ♪ ♪ yes -- ♪ wait, what was that? timber... [ sighs heavily ] when owning a small business gets real, progressive helps protect what you've built with affordable coverage. subway® has so much new it didn't fit in our last ad. like the new artisan italian and hearty multigrain bread. it's the eat fresh refresh™ at subway®. it's so much new there's no time for serena!

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to share out of houston. that's where a gunman ambushed three harris county deputies killing one of them, wounding the others. investigators say it happened overnight when those deputies were trying to apprehend a robbery suspect outside a nightclub, and that's when it believed another man with a rifle approached them from behind and opened fire. houston police took one person into custody. it's unclear if that person is a suspect or merely a witness. i want to let you know we're keeping an eye on capitol hill as well, that's where the president and first lady are in attendance at the national peace

officer's memorial service honoring the nearly 500 officers who died in the line of duty over the last two years. there you see the president and first lady. we're going to be monitoring this event and the president who will take to the podium shortly. there's a new turn in the fight against vaccine mandates in chicago. a judge has had to order a police union head to stop urging its members to defy a city requirement to report their vaccination status. this despite the fact coronavirus was the most common cause of duty-related deaths for police in the last two years. joining us now with more on that, nbc's wendy woolfolk, wendy, this mandate requirement officers report your vaccination status, they had to do it by yesterday. do we know how many officers didn't do it? >> reporter: i think that's the burning question, isn't it, alex? the city right now is collecting all of that data to see exactly how many people made that deadline yesterday to report their vaccination status. in the meantime, as you

mentioned, that temporary restraining order is now limiting the union president from discouraging members to speak out publicly and online. either way, though, whether you have put your information into that city portal or not, if you show up to work this weekend, you will be paid. but that's only temporary. residents and business owners, however, are bracing for the real possibility of losing about 50% of the police force that patrols the streets here in chicago if mayor lori lightfoot follows through with what she calls, quote, consequences, forcing officers who did not comply to be placed on unpaid leave. that as violent crime in the city has spiked with expressway shootings and carjackings, adding to an already dismal murder rate. but chicago police not the only department struggling with the issue of vaccine mandates across the country. seattle making emergency plans and just last week the l.a.

county sheriff said he won't enforce an officer mandate with the backdrop of defunding police and the difficulty of finding people who will wear the badge. >> i don't want to be in a position to lose 5, 10% of my work force overnight on a vaccine mandate, while at the same time bare bones with the funding effort. this is like the worst of two worlds right here. we have to pick and choose. >> please look yourself in the mirror and ask are you doing the right thing by removing people who are willing to continue to serve this community. >> reporter: this showdown over police officer vaccine mandates highlights the delicate balance between public health and safety and personal freedoms. alex, the city administration and the police union it's not

over yet, that showdown continuing. many people saying they blinked yesterday, they'll be back in court october 25th. >> we'll put it on the calendar. that you think so much for that. it just might be a sign of what's to come in the midterm elections, and if donald trump gets involved, the republicans just might be in big trouble. te ♪ there are beautiful ideas that remain in the dark. but with our new multi-cloud experience, you have the flexibility you need to unveil them to the world. ♪ to unveil them to the world. ♪ ♪ ♪ hey google. ♪ ♪ ♪

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>> a guy i've known for a long, long time, jimmy pasco, executive director, thank you for this invitation to be with you today. the secretary of homeland security, mayorkas, thank you for being here and for the great job you're doing for us. thank you very, very much. and it's a tough job. most importantly, to the families here today, this is all about you, about you. you know, i've been coming to this memorial for 40 years, missed a couple, but -- and i've spoken at many, too many police memorials all around the country, and it always amazes me how the public doesn't fully understand what we expect of our

law enforcement officers. we expect you to be people ready to stand in the way and take a bullet for us. we expect you to be able to track down the bad guys. we expect you to be the psychologist who talks to the couple that are having a violent confrontation together to step back. we expect you to be everything. we expect everything of you, and it's beyond the capacity of anyone to meet the total expectations. being a cop today is one hell of a lot harder than it's ever been. and to the families of the fallen, you've suffered an enormous loss, but understand your loss is also america's loss. america's loss, and your pain is

america's pain. we're waking up to the notion that unless we change the environment in which the job can be done, we're going to have trouble having enough women and men come forward who want to do the job. i hope all the families, sons, daughters, husbands, wives, moms, dads, hope you're able to take a measure of comfort and strength from the extended family you have here and all around you. in remembrance and respect of this memorial this day, i ordered our flags to be flown at half-staff. we've met here in front of this united states capitol many times before to memorialize our fallen heroes. it's particularly appropriate today. it was here nine months ago your

brothers and sisters thwarted an unconstitutional and fundamentally un-american attack on our nation's values and our votes. because of you democracy survived, but only because of the women and men, the u.s. capitol police force, the washington d.c., metropolitan police department, and other organizations who once again literally put their bodies on the line to protect our democracy. that's why i have no hesitation, had none at all in signing the law awarding a congressional gold medal to congress, the highest expression of our nation's appreciation to the u.s. capitol police and washington, d.c., metropolitan police and other responding law enforcement agencies. because of these men and women

we avoided a catastrophe, but their heroism came at a cost to you and your families. 150 officers injured, five lost in the attack's aftermath. the toll on this profession these past years has been heavy, too heavy. 2020 was the deadliest year for law enforcement on record, and today we're here to remember nearly 500 of your brothers and sisters, husband and wives, sons and daughters. 2019 and 2020 we lost so much. i attended this memorial service many times as i said to pay my respects. sometimes i've been the speaker, other times i've sat in the stage and just thought about all of you sitting on the lawn.

although this year i don't know any personally who have fallen, any individuals. i've gotten through all the names. i feel i know that without having of met them. you see, i grew up in a neighborhood in scranton, pennsylvania, and delaware and bellefonte. i grew up with the guys and women that we're honoring today. one of my best friends in grade school, eddie hill became the superintendent of state police. a great friend and competitor in the other major high school, we played ball against one another. charlie doherty became the head of the chief of the wilmington police force and so many more. so although i didn't know them

personally, i know you. i know you. i always joke that i grew up in places where you either became a cop, a firefighter or a priest. i wasn't qualified for any of them, so i had to settle for this. but all kidding aside, over the years, as chairman of the judiciary committee, i've gotten to know you. even as kids we can see in the women and men around us who the ones who had the heart. they're the ones who ran in to help you when everyone else was running away, they ran toward, even when they were in grade school knowing they'd be able to help a little bit, even if they were out numbered.

and i'm not making this up. think about it. think about your son, your daughter, your husband, your wife, who they were, what was inside them. it was about service to protect, defend, this isn't just what law enforcement does. it's who you are. it's what makes you who you are. and when you put on that shield in the morning and walk out the door each day, every family member dreads the possibility of receiving that phone call. i was talking to steny about this just as our son beau was in coastal for six months and iraq for a year. he was the chief law enforcement officer for the state of delaware, the attorney general. i'd watch every morning because

he left for school before i got on the train, jill standing there mouthing a prayer while she drank her cup of coffee over the sink praying, praying for beau. well, you do it every day. you did it every day. you know, there's a line from an english poet, john milton, he said they also serve who only stand and wait. how long have you had to stand and wait and wonder when you heard something on the news or saw it on television. thousands and thousands of american families stand and wait so their husbands, their wives, their father, their mothers, sons and daughters can serve the rest of us. we not only owe them, we owe you. it's not hyperbole. i mean this from the bottom of my heart.

we owe you. we'll need to support them. and too many of you sitting out there have received that terrible call that your loved one won't be coming home at the end of his or her shift. for the mothers and fathers here today, my heartaches for you. believe it or not, jill and i understand, we got one of those calls in a different circumstance. no parent should have to bury a child. i lost a baby daughter in an accident. i lost a brave son to cancer after coming home from a year in iraq. but you know what? what you've gone through is hard. the fact that he was a chief law

enforcement officer in delaware, he wasn't out there literally. he'd go on patrols, but he wasn't out there walking up those stairs to make that arrest or trying to stop that fight. it was always about family. it's like losing a piece of your soul. some of you still have that feeling like you've been sucked into a black hole in your chest, wondering my god, will it ever change. sergeant mcclain from detroit, decorated for exemplary service during his 16-year career. he turned down promotions so he could continue to work as a mentor to other officers in his district. every two weeks he'd send his wife flowers at work like clock work to brighten her day and her

office. he was killed responding to a domestic violence call. officer tiffany victoria enrique, from honolulu. she was one of two officers killed responding to a call. was the first female officer to die in the line of duty in the honolulu police department. her boyfriend also an officer called her, quote, the most hardworking, amazing, fiercest officer i've ever known. my heart is shattered, and she was my love, my rock, my strength. so many. officer charles brazildo passed away in 2016, but he was recognized in his line of duty

this year. he was part of an elite unit, the port authority of new york and new jersey. trained to perform technical rescue operations. after the terrorist attack on september 11th, he was assigned to search and recovery, recovery efforts in the world trade tower. he like so many others contracted cancer. he died of cancer following that assignment. he made friends wherever he went. he loved the outdoors. he was his neighborhood go-to guy, organizing almost anything including hunting expeditions. we're acutely aware that behind each name are families. we know from personal experience that every time there's a ceremony and memorial honoring your lost husband or wife, son or daughter, it can summon that pride but also that terrible

feeling as if you're just hearing the news for the first time. so i want you to know. i know although you looked forward to honoring your family member, it's hard. it's hard. i mean this sincerely. jill and i admire your courage for just being here. and we hope you take some comfort in the knowledge that the men and women here assembled today, they'll always be with you, not a joke. they'll always be with you. wherever you are and if you don't know them, a city, a town, a place you've never been before. as much as we hope not, there are going to be more names added to this roll call sorrow. there already have been. as i was preparing these remarks early this morning in houston,

the deputy killed -- one deputy killed and two wounded, chief -- i don't know where the chief is, but he's here today i'm told. known him, seven police officers in his department was killed in the line of duty since 2019. chief, i'm here for you, pal, so is everybody else. we mourn the fallen. we pray for the recovery of the wounded. as i said, i've spoken too many times, too many funerals for police officers, too many funerals for brave servants who kept us safe. so under the mournful sound of the bagpipes, we must also hear something else, a call to do better, to do more to keep you safe, to keep our communities safer, for us to step up and

build trust and respect and hail the breach we now see in so many communities. to recognize that the promise of equal and impartial justice remains a promise but not always a reality for you or others, particularly in low income communities. too many communities, black and brown, two many families are grieving unnecessary losses of their sons, daughters, fathers, brothers. i want to acknowledge the fob as was mentioned earlier for sincerely trying to reach an agreement on meaningful reforms, congressional reforms, and the negotiations over the george floyd in policing act. here's the part, a lot of the help has to come to police departments. they need help to do better. i want to thank you for being a constructive player in this process. we haven't gotten there, but we must get there.

look, there's too much pain. there's too much loss. there's too much at stake for the safety and for the safety of those who serve. it's a hard time to be a police officer in america. just want to make sure you have the tools to be the partners and the protectors your communities need. that when you look at what your communities need and what you're being asked to do, there isn't going to be more resources, not fewer resources to help you do your job. that's why i propose we invest again in community policing. we know it works. one thing that protects cops is another cop. and the training you and the community have requested, the community-based programs and interventions that can stop violence before it starts, provide specific guidance explaining that communities can and should use funds from the american rescue plan, $350 billion in aid to cities, states, counties, tribes, to hire and retain officers. many cities from albuquerque to

st. paul are doing just that. and i propose an additional $300 million in my budget to support community policing across the country. it's hard when you don't know the community, and the most important way to get to know them has more police. we're also investing in community violence intervention programs, which are proven -- have a proven track record at reducing violence for up to 60% in cities across the nation. at the same time, we have to stop asking law enforcement officers to do every single job under the sun. i'm committed to investing in mental health services, mental health professionals that can respond to mental health crises alongside you. you shouldn't be the one having to talk someone off the edge of the roof. you should have professional help with you. support our law enforcement officers requires that we invest in systems that provide adequate health care, counseling, drug treatment prevention, housing,

education, and other social services in the community so there is not the discord. we need to work together to confront the epidemic of gun violence. your brothers and sisters have told me over the years sometimes you feel like you're out gunned. right now the justice department or the leadership of attorney general garland is working with state and local law enforcement across the country to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous individuals. they now have zero tolerance for gun dealers who willfully violate the laws, putting firearms in the hands of people who are a danger to the community. and you. i also to want to make it easier for states to adopt red flag laws. laws that allow family members or law enforcement to petition a court order to temporarily move firearms from people in crisis, representing a danger to themselves and others. by the way, more people die of

gunshot wounds in america as a consequence of suicide than any other reason. i've called on congress to reauthorize the violence against women act and close the domestic violence loophole to keep guns out of the hands of abusers. 40% of all calls that result in an officer's death were domestic violence related. 40%. these steps will protect you, protect the people you serve, and finally and tragically, in the past two years, covid-19 has caused more deaths in the line of duty than all the other causes combined. many of those lost their lives keeping our society safe, serving on the front lines in those dark early days of the pandemic, but now let us prevent the preventable tragedies. the last time i stood here was

to take the oath of office as your president. i said that day we have much to repair, much to restore, much to heal, much to build, much to gain. it remains true. i believe with all my heart there's nothing you're unable to do if we equip you that we can unite this nation and fight our common foes, anger, resentment, hatred, extremism, racism, lawlessness, violence, disease, joblessness, hopelessness. we have never ever failed in america when we've acted together. let's act together to support you in the service of the nation we love. in closing, let me say that i know there are no words, no memorials that can fill that void, that black hole in your chest so many of you feel.

but i promise you the day will come when the memory of your loved one will bring a smile to your lips before it brings a tear to your eye. that's when you know you're going to make it. that's when you know. that will happen, but my prayer for you is that that day will come sooner than later. there was a headstone in a cemetery in ireland that reads, death leaves a heartache no one can heal. love leaves a memory that no one can steal. they're with you. they're in your heart. they're part of you. may the souls of