[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 6 (Wednesday, January 18, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E44-E45]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                HONORING SACRIFICES BY FEDERAL EMPLOYEES

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. FRANK R. WOLF

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 18, 2012

  Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, every federal employee has repeated the 
following oath: ``I, [name], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will 
support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all 
enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and 
allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any 
mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and 
faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to 
enter. So help me God.''
  Within the past month, northern Virginia residents have attended 
services for two federal law enforcement officers who have died in the 
line of duty: U.S. Park Police Sergeant Michael Andrew Boehm of Burke, 
Virginia, and National Park Service Ranger Margaret Anderson, who 
previously lived in Lovettsville, Virginia, before her post in 
Washington State.
  I urge all members to read Washington Post columnist Joe Davidson's 
piece entitled ``Park ranger's death highlight the risks in federal law 
enforcement,'' which I am submitting for the Record. This piece 
highlights the sacrifices made in 2011 by 13 federal law enforcement 
officers who died in the line of duty, including: Senior Special Agent 
John Capano, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; 
Special Agent Daniel ``Danny'' Lee Knapp, Federal Bureau of 
Investigations; Officer Bart Child, Fort Huachuca Police Department; 
Special Agent Timothy S. Briggs, Federal Bureau of Investigations; 
Border Patrol Agent Eduardo Rojas, Jr., Customs and Border Protection; 
Border Patrol Agent Hector R. Clark, Customs and Border Protection; 
Senior Officer Specialist Christopher Cooper, Bureau of Prisons; Deputy 
Marshal John Perry, U.S. Marshals Service; Park Ranger Julie Weir, 
National Park Service; Deputy Marshal Derek Hotsinpiller, U.S. Marshals 
Service; Special Agent Jamie Zapata, Immigration and Customs 
Enforcement; and Park Ranger Chris Nickel, National Park Service.
  Their sacrifices remind us that many federal employees are repeatedly 
put in dangerous situations. According to the Office of Personnel 
Management, since 1992, nearly 3,000 federal employees have paid the 
ultimate price while serving their country. The first American killed 
in Afghanistan, Mike Spann, was a CIA agent and a constituent from my 
congressional district. CIA, FBI, DEA agents, and State Department 
employees are serving side-by-side with our military in the fight 
against the Taliban. Customs and Border Patrol and Immigration and 
Customs Enforcement agents are working to stop the flow of illegal 
immigrants and drugs across our borders. Federal firefighters work to 
protect federal lands and mitigate the spread of deadly fires.
  Federal employees who are not in harm's way on a daily basis are also 
dedicated civil servants. The medical researchers at the National 
Institutes of Health working to develop cures for cancer, diabetes, 
Alzheimer's and autism are all dedicated federal employees. Dr. Francis 
Collins, the physician who mapped the human genome and serves as 
director of the NIH, is a federal employee.
  The National Weather Service meteorologist who tracks hurricanes, and 
the FDA inspector working to stop a salmonella outbreak, are federal 
employees. The ATF agents who were in Blacksburg, Virginia, immediately 
following last month's shooting are federal employees. These are but a 
few examples of the vital jobs performed by federal employees.
  I thank all federal employees for their service to our nation, and 
know that all my colleagues are grateful to the families of those who 
have died while working to ensure that our country is a safer and 
better place.

                [From the Washington Post, Jan. 4, 2012]

  Park Ranger's Death Highlights the Risks in Federal Law Enforcement

                           (By Joe Davidson)

       In a stark reminder of how dangerous working for Uncle Sam 
     can be, 13 federal law enforcement officers died in 2011. 
     Then the new year began with the murder of an officer in an 
     otherwise peaceful park.
       Margaret Anderson, a ranger with the National Park Service, 
     was gunned down in Washington state's Mount Rainier National 
     Park on New Year's Day.
       The day before, John Capano, an agent with the Bureau of 
     Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent, was killed 
     in Seaford, N.Y., as he tried to stop a pharmacy thief. 
     Capano, 51, who was off-duty at the time, apparently was 
     mistakenly shot by another law enforcement officer, according 
     to the Associated Press and New York media reports.
       Last Thursday, Daniel Knapp, a 43-year-old FBI agent, 
     drowned in Puerto Rico while trying to assist a distressed 
     swimmer.
       A day earlier, U.S. Park Police Sgt. Mike Boehm was buried. 
     Boehm suffered a heart attack while on duty Dec. 16, trying 
     to assist a man who plummeted from the Key Bridge in 
     Georgetown.
       Kevin Bacher, a ranger who served with Anderson at Mount 
     Rainier, said she ``always had a smile and always had a kind 
     word and would bend over backward if you needed something.''
       Anderson, a 34-year-old mother of two girls who was married 
     to another ranger, probably would have been more than willing 
     to assist even the likes of Benjamin Colton Barnes. But the 
     24-year-old Iraq war veteran allegedly shot her before she 
     could even get out of her car. He then fled into the woods, 
     where he developed hypothermia and drowned in a creek.
       Before transferring to Mount Rainier in 2008, Anderson was 
     assigned to the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical 
     Park in Hagerstown.
       ``When I think of Margaret's tenure here, I think of her 
     big smile. But she also was a no-nonsense law enforcement 
     officer,'' said Kevin Brandt, the park's superintendent. 
     Unlike many officers, she became an emergency medical 
     technician ``to provide that important service to visitors,'' 
     he added. ``She had a real love of nature. . . . She was a 
     consummate ranger. She was everything that you'd want a 
     ranger to be.''
       Anderson's death points to the perils that rangers face. 
     ``This tragedy serves as a reminder of the risks undertaken 
     by the men and women of the National Park Service and law 
     enforcement officers across the Department every day,'' said 
     Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.
       Rangers are far more than park tour guides in peculiar 
     hats. Particularly in remote parks, they carry out a variety 
     of critical duties, including fighting fires, saving lives 
     and being the cops many of them are authorized to be. There 
     are two types of rangers, those with law enforcement powers 
     such as Anderson, and interpretive rangers who have some of 
     the same responsibilities but don't carry guns, wear body 
     armor or confront killers.
       Generally, guns and bulletproof vests are not necessary, 
     because national parks are safe places. ``Margaret Anderson's 
     case was incredibly tragic for us, but it was very rare at 
     the same time,'' said National Park Service Director Jon 
     Jarvis.
       Like Anderson, many park service employees have a strong 
     sense of mission and devote their careers to protecting 
     America's natural resources. ``The Park Service . . . is a 
     big family,'' said Jarvis, himself a 35-year Park Service 
     veteran. ``To lose one of the family is devastating to us.''
       While its people are devastated, he said, the Park Service 
     ``also will evaluate the situation in extraordinary detail to 
     see if there is anything we can do to prevent this from 
     happening in the future.''
       The 13 officers who died in the line of duty, including 
     deaths from job-related illness and accidents, compares with 
     just four in 2000 and 17 in 2007, according to the Officer 
     Down Memorial Page, a nonprofit organization. ``These 
     officers selflessly put themselves in harm's way to protect 
     their fellow Americans,'' said Office of Personnel Management 
     Director John Berry. ``All Americans are saddened by their 
     loss, and grateful for the courage every Federal law 
     enforcement officer shows daily as they keep our nation 
     safe.''
       For all of the sadness the deaths bring, the killings of 
     officers also generate understandable anger. When Jaime J. 
     Zapata, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

[[Page E45]]

     agent, was killed in Mexico in February, Homeland Security 
     Secretary Janet Napolitano did not mince words:
       ``Let me be clear: Any act of violence against our ICE 
     personnel--or any DHS personnel--is an attack against all 
     those who serve our nation and put their lives at risk for 
     our safety.''


              Officers lost in the line of duty last year

       Thirteen federal law enforcement officers died in the line 
     of duty in 2011, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page, 
     a nonprofit organization. In addition to officers who were 
     killed by gunfire, as National Park Service Ranger Margaret 
     Anderson was on Sunday, the list includes officers who died 
     because of job-related illnesses, such as heart attacks, or 
     in vehicle and other accidents.
       Senior Special Agent John Capano, Bureau of Alcohol, 
     Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Dec. 31, New York.
       Special Agent Daniel ``Danny'' Lee Knapp, FBI, Dec. 29, 
     Puerto Rico.
       Sgt. Michael Andrew Boehm, U.S. Park Police, Dec. 16, 
     District of Columbia.
       Officer Bart Child, Fort Huachuca Police Department, Aug. 
     18, Arizona.
       Special Agent Timothy S. Briggs, FBI, May 31, Kentucky.
       Border Patrol Agent Eduardo Rojas, Jr., Customs and Border 
     Protection, May 12, Arizona.
       Border Patrol Agent Hector R. Clark, Customs and Border 
     Protection, May 12, Arizona.
       Senior Officer Specialist Christopher Cooper, Bureau of 
     Prisons, April 7, Kansas.
       Deputy Marshal John Perry, U.S. Marshals Service, March 8, 
     Missouri.
       Park Ranger Julie Weir, National Park Service, Feb. 24, 
     Nebraska.
       Deputy Marshal Derek Hotsinpiller, U.S. Marshals Service, 
     Feb. 16, West Virginia.
       Special Agent Jaime J. Zapata, Immigration and Customs 
     Enforcement, Feb. 15, Mexico.
       Park Ranger Chris Nickel, National Park Service, Jan. 29, 
     Utah.

                          ____________________