Behind every emergency response are dedicated professionals. In 2025, there were more than a million first responders. Thank you to the police officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians (EMTs), paramedics, and other first responders who serve our communities every day.
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On National First Responders Day, thank you to the police officers, firefighters, EMTs, and 911 dispatchers across Ohio’s 8th District who answer the call at a moment’s notice and work to keep our communities safe and healthy.
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Today marks 25 years since a group of Islamic Jihadists launched terror attacks that took 2,977 innocent lives. We gathered in Clay County this morning to honor the victims of 9/11 and the heroes who risked their lives to save others.
At Ground Zero, firefighters, police officers, and EMTs rushed into the smoke clouds and rubble, braving unthinkable danger to rescue as many people as they could. Hundreds of first responders—and passengers on United Flight 93—made the ultimate sacrifice so that others could live. We will always remember their heroism and owe them a profound debt of gratitude.
The 9/11 terror attacks were motivated by a foreign belief system that is still a major aspect of not just the Middle East, but increasingly Europe and even the United States. We should be clear-eyed about the threat posed by Islamic Jihad and do all we can to ensure Never Forget means Never Forget.
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America, this one is for the people who keep your country running.
Find your job.
In Japan, we bow to say thank you. I can't bow to all of you through a phone screen. So this is the next best thing.
Truck drivers: There's a saying, "If you bought it, a truck brought it." I'd add: and somebody missed dinner to do it.
Nurses: You hold a stranger's hand on the worst day of their life, then go buy groceries in your scrubs like it was nothing.
Teachers: You've spent your own paycheck on pencils, granola bars, and winter coats, and you've never once mentioned it.
Farmers: You bet everything on the weather every single year, and you call it "a living."
Welders: Half of America is held together by your seams, and almost nobody ever sees them.
Waitresses: You remember a regular's order, his grandkids' names, and that his wife passed. His coffee is refilled before he looks up.
Mechanics: You can hear what's wrong with a car before it finishes pulling in.
Firefighters: Everyone runs out. You run in.
Small-town deputies: You know which kids need a ride home and which ones need a talking-to. Sometimes it's the same kid.
Soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and Guardsmen: You signed your name to a promise most people will never be asked to make.
Military spouses: You've moved eleven times, and you still find the good grocery store within a week.
Garbage collectors: You show up before dawn, in the heat and the cold, and the only time anyone notices is when you don't.
Electricians: You work on the thing that can kill you, so the rest of us can flip a switch and never think about it.
Plumbers: Nobody has ever called you on a good day.
Roofers: July. Black shingles. Forty feet up.
Cashiers: You've been yelled at about prices you didn't set, and you still said, "Have a nice day."
Overnight stockers: The shelves were full at 7 a.m. because you were there at 2.
School bus drivers: Forty kids every morning. You know every one of them by name, and somehow you still have your hearing.
Volunteer coaches: Every Saturday, for kids who aren't yours, for zero dollars.
Pastors: You get the 3 a.m. phone call. Every time.
EMTs and paramedics: Somebody's worst day is your Tuesday, and you treat them like they're your own mother.
Road crews: Every highway I've ever been on, somebody stood in the heat holding a sign so nobody would get hurt.
Loggers and commercial fishermen: Your jobs are on every "most dangerous" list in the country, and you go back on Monday.
Ranchers: Calving season means sleeping in your boots.
Snowplow drivers: When everyone's told to stay home, you're the reason they can leave tomorrow.
Home health aides and CNAs: You bathe, feed, and laugh with people whose own families stopped visiting.
Hospice workers: You hold the hand at the very end, so the last thing a stranger feels is kindness.
Small business owners: You put your house on the line to open your doors, and you still sponsor the Little League team.
Large-animal vets: You'll drive to a barn at 2 a.m. for a cow that isn't yours.
Librarians: In a lot of towns, you're the last place that's warm, quiet, and free, and you guard it like a fortress.
Stay-at-home moms and dads: No breaks, no pay, no days off, and you'd do it for free. You are doing it for free.
Grandparents raising grandkids: You were supposed to be retired. You said, "Bring them here."
The news will never put most of you in a headline.
So I'm putting you in one.
Every job on this list is the reason your country works.
From Japan: thank you.
Now please, go get some sleep.
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