U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady Reflects On Aftermath Of DC Shooting

WASHINGTON, D.C.— This week I expected to be reporting taxpayer victories last week in the U.S. House of Representatives.

One is the Verify First Act which targets fraud and abuse by requiring proof of legal status before the government pays Obamacare subsidies.

The other is the VETERAN Act introduced by former Vietnam War POW Rep. Sam Johnson of Texas which guarantees in law that veterans can receive financial help for health care costs under ObamaCare or the new Republican plan.

But all that changed when gunfire erupted just moments after I left baseball practice early Wednesday morning at a local field in Virginia.

Among the five wounded was my good friend and roommate Steve Scalise, who lay motionless on the field with a devastating rifle wound that nearly took his life.

It was a tough day.

I spent most of it at the D.C. hospital with Steve’s family, friends and professional staff. Also there were Crystal Griner and David Bailey, the calm and courageous Capitol Police agents detailed to Whip Scalise who saved the lives of so many.

Like other lawmakers at practice that day I felt blessed to be unhurt, having declined an invitation by Coach Roger Williams to take grounders at second base with Steve and instead grabbing my gear and leaving the field just moments before the gunfire erupted.

As tragic as it was, it was also a day of miracles. It could have been – and should have been – far more deadly. God Bless the Capitol Police.
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My friends and family know I love playing baseball - Little League through college.

And every year in the annual Congressional Baseball Game for charity played at Nationals Stadium.

Having anchored second base for many years I’m now the designated hitter for the Republican team, batting third in the lineup and wearing the uniform of a local high school, college team or the Houston Astros. This year I honored Hall of Fame inductee Jeff Bagwell.

The game is a Capitol Hill tradition started in 1909. This year, in an inspiring show of unity, nearly 25,000 attended the seven-inning baseball game – raising over $1.5 million for charities like Boys and Girls Clubs, literacy and the Capitol Police.

Tough times bring out the best in America. Steve Scalise would have loved every moment of it.

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But look at what’s happening around us.

Hollywood comedian Kathy Griffin recently laughed her way through a gruesome video featuring the decapitated head of President Donald Trump.

A celebrated Central Park production depicts America’s commander-in-chief being stabbed to death a la Julius Caesar.

“One down, 216 to go” read the email to New York Congresswoman Claudia Tenney, moments after the anti-Trump hater wounded five, two critically, at the Republican congressional baseball practice.

Yet throughout these violent and hate-filled acts the editorial boards of America’s mainstream media have remained notably silent, including the Houston Chronicle.

To many of my constituents it signals tacit approval.

They ask me: What will it take until America’s media finally ends their double standard where hate speech against President Obama and Democrats is rightly condemned, but the same acts are ignored or excused when targeted at President Trump and Republicans? It’s a fair question. It deserves an honest answer.