Congressman Gabe Evans urges passage of homeland safety appropriations and addresses deployed service members

Congressman Gabe Evans, who represents Colorado's 8th Congressional District, spoke to attendees about his military and law-enforcement background and urged colleagues to pass what he called a "homeland safety appropriations" package so personnel can be paid.

Evans opened by thanking the audience and introducing himself, saying, "I'm congressman Gabe Evans, Colorado's 8th Congressional District." He said he spent "10 years" as a police officer and "12 years" in the military and described a deployment to the Persian/Arabian Gulf where he served "as a Blackhawk helicopter pilot and my battalion's intelligence officer." He recounted leaving home with a five-month-old son who "had just finished a month long stay in the hospital" and said he "missed every step" — "first steps, first words, first Christmas, first birthday."

Addressing deployed service members directly, Evans said, "We have your back," and emphasized that service members "trained for this" and "are the guardian of freedom and the American way of life." He framed the military as "the outer perimeter" that protects the country and described state, federal and local law enforcement as "the inner perimeter," calling them "the thin blue line."

Evans said the nation understood "the imminent threat that Iran posed" and referenced his own deployment after the Benghazi attacks, saying, "I hit, boots on the ground a week after Benghazi, and I will not repeat that same mistake." He used that experience to press colleagues "across the aisle who are denying our homeland security personnel their checks" to approve the homeland safety appropriations package so the Department of Homeland Security and other homeland-security personnel can be paid.

He closed by introducing "my good friend and colleague and a fellow veteran, Marionette Miller Meeks," bringing her forward to speak or participate. No votes, motions or formal legislative actions were recorded in the remarks provided.