I call their name. Ladies first.
Congressman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who was a fighter and a champion
for the people. Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart,
who is always advocating for the issues that impact our community.
Congressman Carlos Curbelo,
who is new to the Congress but is blazing his own great trail.
And they all helped move this bill. I always want to take a moment again
to recognize the family of Special Agent Grogan who are here with us,
and the family of Special Agent Dove, wherever they might be.
We have the honor of having FBI Director James Comey with us.
He has the enormous task of keeping all Americans safe.
and I'd seen him so many times, but he looks taller today.
We're also happy to have GSA Administrator Denise Roth here today.
We're fortunate to have a great local leader as the head of
the Miami field office, Special Agent-in-Charge George Piro.
And I also want to acknowledge our mayor.
Consider this scenario:
The brand new federal building housing the FBI has been built.
And the FBI approaches my office.
Congresswoman Wilson:
The ribbon cutting has been scheduled in four short weeks.
The dedication is on the government's calendar,
and cannot be changed.
One problem.
The FBI wants to name this gorgeous edifice
at the same time it opened.
Everyone said: “That's impossible.
It takes at least eight months to a year to complete the process,
[through] the House, the Senate and to the president's office.”
I said: ‘I'm a school principal.
And I said’ — excuse my French —
‘Oh, hell no. We're going to get this done.’
Immediately, I went into attack mode.
I went to the speaker, Speaker Boehner.
I said, ‘Mr. Speaker, I need your help,
the FBI needs your help.
And your country needs your help.
And we have no time to waste.’
He went into attack mode,
and in two days pulled it out of committee.
Brought it to the floor for a vote.
Rep. Curbelo and I presented it.
We all voted for it.
And I dashed it over to the Senate.
And put our senators on notice: Put it on your radar.
Senator Nelson and Senator Rubio,
who I believe have representatives here today,
they hotlined it to the Senate floor in just two days.
And guess what?
The president signed the bill into law this past Tuesday, April 7, 2015.
With a bang, bang, bang!
You know what?
I will be presenting the bill, a copy of the bill, that was signed into the law, to the FBI
and also the pen the president used to sign that document.
It is a miracle, to say the least.
But it speaks to the respect our Congress has for the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The men and women who put their lives on the line every single day.
And today we're providing a boost to our nation
by naming this fantastic building in honor of Special Agent Benajmin Grogan and Jerry Dove,
who died valiantly on Friday, April 11,
in what is still considered the bloodiest gun battle in the storied history of the FBI.
Most men and women in law enforcement leave their homes for work
knowing that there is a possibility that they may not return.
I may [inaudible] for all men and women and first responders to stand up.
Stand up now, so that we can applaud you and what you do.
Stand up! We are proud of you.
We are proud of your courage.
Thank you.
I don't know if that was on the minds of agents Grogan and Dove
as they left their homes on April 11, 1986.
But I do know it was an unusually breezy spring morning in South Florida.
So eerily similar today, and the actual anniversary is tomorrow.
I do [know] that Miami in the 1980s was plagued by crime and graphic violence.
We all know that.
This period has been chronicled in media reports,
and portrayed on TV shows like Miami Vice and movies like Scarface.
I know that Agent Grogan was a company man, and one year from retirement.
His wife also was an employee of the FBI.
I know that Agent Dove joined the bureau after completing law school,
and was living his boyhood dream, according to his family.
I know their bravery was the motivation for joining a team on that morning.
A team that was tailing a vehicle with two suspects
who were connected to a string of murders and violence and bank robberies.
The agents attempted to get the drivers to pull over.
They were cornered.
A gun battle immediately ensued.
There was a barrage of bullets.
I can only imagine the frustration of those agents.
Yet they battled on.
In a desperate attempt to flee, the suspects tried to commandeer Grogan and Dove’s vehicle.
It is reported the suspects shot both agents with a high-powered rifle at close range.
Shortly after, the suspects were themselves fatally shot by Agent Morales.
Agent Morales made a memorable statement about his role in that historic event.
He said, 'I just knew I was going to die.
But I was going to do my very best to make sure that those suspects did not get away."
When the smoke cleared, two agents lay dead.
And five were seriously injured.
So today it is our patriotic duty to lift up
Special Agent Benjamin Grogan and Special Agent Jerry Dove
from the streets of South Florida, and place their names and pictures high.
Where the world will know that we are proud of their sacrifice.
Sacrifice for our nation.
It is only fitting that their names should be placed on the same mantle with the letters FBI.
Because Special Agent Grogan and Dove embody
the sacred motto for which the agency has become known.
- Please repeat it after me, fidelity. - Fidelity.
- Bravery. - Bravery.
- And integrity. - And integrity.
God bless you, God bless the FBI, and God bless America.