1
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I call their name. Ladies first.

2
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Congressman Debbie Wasserman Schultz,
who was a fighter and a champion

3
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
for the people.
Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart,

4
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
who is always advocating for the issues
that impact our community.

5
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Congressman Carlos Curbelo,

6
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
who is new to the Congress but
is blazing his own great trail.

7
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And they all helped move this bill.
I always want to take a moment again


8
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to recognize the family of
Special Agent Grogan who are here with us,

9
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and the family of Special Agent Dove,
wherever they might be.

10
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We have the honor of having FBI Director
James Comey with us.

11
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
He has the enormous task of
keeping all Americans safe.

12
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and I'd seen him so many times,
but he looks taller today.

13
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We're also happy to have GSA Administrator
Denise Roth here today.

14
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We're fortunate to have a great 
local leader as the head of

15
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the Miami field office,
Special Agent-in-Charge George Piro.

16
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And I also want to acknowledge our mayor.

17
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Consider this scenario:

18
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The brand new federal building
housing the FBI has been built.

19
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And the FBI approaches my office.

20
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Congresswoman Wilson:

21
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The ribbon cutting has been scheduled
in four short weeks.

22
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The dedication is
on the government's calendar,

23
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and cannot be changed.

24
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
One problem.

25
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The FBI wants to name
this gorgeous edifice

26
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
at the same time it opened.

27
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Everyone said: “That's impossible.

28
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It takes at least eight months to a year
to complete the process,

29
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
[through] the House, the Senate
and to the president's office.”

30
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I said: ‘I'm a school principal.

31
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And I said’ — excuse my French —

32
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
‘Oh, hell no.
We're going to get this done.’

33
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Immediately, I went into attack mode.

34
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I went to the speaker, Speaker Boehner.

35
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I said, ‘Mr. Speaker, I need your help,

36
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the FBI needs your help.

37
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And your country needs your help.

38
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And we have no time to waste.’

39
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
He went into attack mode,

40
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and in two days pulled it out
of committee.

41
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Brought it to the floor for a vote.

42
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Rep. Curbelo and I presented it.

43
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We all voted for it.

44
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And I dashed it over to the Senate.

45
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And put our senators on notice:
Put it on your radar.

46
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Senator Nelson and Senator Rubio,

47
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
who I believe have representatives
here today,

48
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
they hotlined it to the Senate floor
in just two days.

49
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And guess what?

50
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The president signed the bill into law
this past Tuesday, April 7, 2015.

51
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
With a bang, bang, bang!

52
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
You know what?

53
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I will be presenting the bill, a copy of the bill,
that was signed into the law, to the FBI

54
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and also the pen the president used
to sign that document.

55
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It is a miracle, to say the least.

56
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But it speaks to the respect our Congress has
for the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

57
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The men and women who put their lives
on the line every single day.

58
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And today we're providing a boost to our nation

59
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
by naming this fantastic building in honor of
Special Agent Benajmin Grogan and Jerry Dove,

60
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
who died valiantly on Friday, April 11,

61
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
in what is still considered the bloodiest gun battle
in the storied history of the FBI.

62
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Most men and women in law enforcement
leave their homes for work

63
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
knowing that there is a possibility
that they may not return.

64
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I may [inaudible] for all men and women
and first responders to stand up.

65
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Stand up now, so that we can
applaud you and what you do.

66
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Stand up! We are proud of you.

67
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We are proud of your courage.

68
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Thank you.

69
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I don't know if that was on the minds
of agents Grogan and Dove

70
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
as they left their homes on April 11, 1986.

71
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But I do know it was an unusually breezy
spring morning in South Florida.

72
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So eerily similar today,
and the actual anniversary is tomorrow.

73
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I do [know] that Miami in the 1980s was plagued
by crime and graphic violence.

74
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We all know that.

75
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
This period has been chronicled
in media reports,

76
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and portrayed on TV shows like Miami Vice
and movies like Scarface.

77
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I know that Agent Grogan was a company man,
and one year from retirement.

78
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
His wife also was an employee of the FBI.

79
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I know that Agent Dove joined the bureau
after completing law school,

80
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and was living his boyhood dream,
according to his family.

81
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I know their bravery was the motivation
for joining a team on that morning.

82
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
A team that was tailing a vehicle
with two suspects

83
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
who were connected to a string of murders
and violence and bank robberies.

84
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The agents attempted to get
the drivers to pull over.

85
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
They were cornered.

86
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
A gun battle immediately ensued.

87
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
There was a barrage of bullets.

88
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I can only imagine the frustration
of those agents.

89
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Yet they battled on.

90
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
In a desperate attempt to flee, the suspects
tried to commandeer Grogan and Dove’s vehicle.

91
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It is reported the suspects shot both agents
with a high-powered rifle at close range.

92
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Shortly after, the suspects were themselves
fatally shot by Agent Morales.

93
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Agent Morales made a memorable statement
about his role in that historic event.

94
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
He said, 'I just knew I was going to die.

95
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But I was going to do my very best to make sure
that those suspects did not get away."

96
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
When the smoke cleared, two agents lay dead.

97
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And five were seriously injured.

98
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So today it is our patriotic duty to lift up

99
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Special Agent Benjamin Grogan
and Special Agent Jerry Dove

100
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
from the streets of South Florida,
and place their names and pictures high.

101
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Where the world will know that
we are proud of their sacrifice.

102
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Sacrifice for our nation.

103
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It is only fitting that their names should be placed
on the same mantle with the letters FBI.

104
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Because Special Agent Grogan and Dove embody

105
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the sacred motto for which
the agency has become known.

106
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
- Please repeat it after me, fidelity.
- Fidelity.

107
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
- Bravery. 
- Bravery.

108
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
- And integrity.
- And integrity.

109
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
God bless you, God bless the FBI,
and God bless America.