I am a third-generation firefighter and want our country to give back to you, whether paid or volunteer.
We’ve seen some of the worst scenes imaginable. The ones where when you close your eyes, you still replay what you could’ve done differently, hoping to find a different outcome to make you forget what you’ve seen. I’ve worn the same bunker gear as you.
Not many politicians or congress-members can say they have served their local community during someone’s worst day. But, I can. As your congressman, I want to push congress to pass a bill to provide a federal tax incentive to those who are volunteer or paid first-responders. This federal tax-incentive would be applied to your tax return to provide an additional credit.
For our brothers in blue, I want you to know that I support you fully. You don’t back down when there are threats to your safety or others. I want to urge congress to coincide with our states to make any assault on first-responders or LEO’s to be tried federally. If a person was to assault a first-responder in North Carolina, they would likely do it again elsewhere. We need stricter prosecution for those who try to hurt the ones protecting us.
I would like to push for equal accountability within our police agencies. EMT’s and paramedics are held accountable, nurses are held accountable. It’s a proper form of our government called checks and balances. I would like for peer reviews of alleged misconduct to be enacted. This will make it fair for both parties, the accuser and the law enforcement officer. If my coworker or friend said to me, “you messed up”, I would take it that I actually did and I need to learn from that. At the end of the day, we’re all human.