The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee hammered Southerland for statements he made during a visit to a retirement community in his Tallahassee-area district, in which he suggested his congressional salary was not worth the safety risks in the wake of the shooting that gravely injured Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in January.

The DCCC response noted that Southerland’s salary is four times a local police officer’s take.

“It’s unbelievable how far out of touch Rep. Steve Southerland is with Florida families if he thinks his $174,000 salary is not so much,” DCCC spokesman Adam Hodge said in a statement. “While he’s complaining about only making $174,000, his constituents are struggling to put food on the table, keep a roof over their head or find a job.”

“And by the way, did I mention? They’re shooting at us. There is law-enforcement security in this room right now, and why is that?” Southerland said Wednesday, according to The Tallahassee Democrat. Southerland reportedly painted his salary as small compensation considering he had to cut ties with his family business and that, he said, there’s no free health insurance.

“If you think this job pays too much, with those kinds of risks and cutting me off from my family business, I’ll just tell you: This job don’t mean that much to me. I had a good life in Panama City,” Southerland said, according to the newspaper.

In a statement to POLITICO, Southerland said his remarks had been misinterpreted and that “other than the successes of my marriage and my family, serving the people of North and Northwest Florida has been one of the greatest honors of my life.”

“The folks who were in the room with me in Tallahassee on Wednesday understand the full context of the statements I made,” he said. “In the course of yesterday’s conversation, I explained in a transparent fashion how members of Congress are compensated, along with some of the unexpected events that can occur in the course of our work.”

Southerland won the Tallahasse-centered district by unseating Democrat Allen Boyd last year. It’s currently a GOP-leaning district, but may get slightly more competitive under Florida’s yet-to-be-drawn redistricting plan. Florida’s redistricting won’t be completed until next year.

Former Republican state Sen. Nancy Argenziano had announced that she would run for the seat as a Democrat, but a state elections board said she cannot because she was registered with a different party for a year before the period when candidates qualify for the ballot.

Florida state Democratic Party Chairman Rod Smith told POLITICO there’s an easy fix if Southerland misses his life before he was elected to Congress.

“There’s one thing we agree on: He should return to his good life in Panama City,” Smith said.