ALERRT Receives Congressional Achievement Award

Rep. John R. Carter (R-TX-31) presented a prestigious Congressional Achievement Award to ALERRT at Texas State University on November 2, 2016. The plaque reads: “Congressional Achievement Award in Recognition of ALERRTs Training Model as the National Standard in Preparing, Protecting and Saving the Lives of Our Nation’s Citizens and First Responders,”  and is signed by Rep.Carter.

The senior congressman also hosted a tour and briefings at the ALERRT facility  in San Marcos. Invitees included City and County officials, Police and Fire Department Chiefs, and EMS representatives from Bell and Williamson Counties. During the event, leaders witnessed a number of different drills and exercises used by first responders during an active shooter incident.
 
He said, “The ALERRT program at Texas State is the nation’s premiere active shooter response training program. I am proud to have been involved in assisting this elite program for the past 10 years. I look forward to many more successes from ALERRT in the coming years,” said Carter Rep Carter.  “The threat of active shooters is increasingly real as we have seen in Dallas, Orlando, and San Bernardino. Sadly, many first responders believe it is not if, but when, extremists will again terrorize our nation. The POLICE Act that I authored and was signed into law this past year will help ensure our first responders are prepared for this situation through existing Department of Justice grants . I am pleased that the U.S. Congress and the President have come together to help keep our communities safe by supporting this important expansion of opportunities through the DOJ grants.”

Earlier this year, Rep. Carter introduced legislation to add active shooter training to the criteria used to apply for Community Oriented Policing Service (COPS) grants. His bill, the POLICE Act, was passed by Congress this summer, sponsored on the Senate side by Senator John Cornyn, and was signed into law by the President. The POLICE Act will expand active shooter training to law enforcement, fire departments, and other emergency responders who may otherwise not have had the budgets to send our protectors to this important training.