[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 49 (Tuesday, March 24, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H1895-H1897]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 BENJAMIN P. GROGAN AND JERRY L. DOVE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION 
                           MIAMI FIELD OFFICE

  Mr. CURBELO of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 1092) to designate the Federal building located at 
2030 Southwest 145th Avenue in Miramar, Florida, as the ``Benjamin P. 
Grogan and Jerry L. Dove Federal Bureau of Investigation Miami Field 
Office'', as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1092

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. DESIGNATION.

       The Federal building located at 2030 Southwest 145th Avenue 
     in Miramar, Florida, shall be known and designated as the 
     ``Benjamin P. Grogan and Jerry L. Dove Federal Building''.

     SEC. 2. REFERENCES.

       Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper, 
     or other record of the United States to the Federal building 
     referred to in section 1 shall be deemed to be a reference to 
     the ``Benjamin P. Grogan and Jerry L. Dove Federal 
     Building''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Curbelo) and the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Carson) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida.


                             General Leave

  Mr. CURBELO of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 1092, as amended.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Florida?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. CURBELO of Florida. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1092, as amended, would designate the Federal 
building located at 2030 Southwest 145th Avenue in Miramar, Florida, as 
the Benjamin P. Grogan and Jerry L. Dove Federal Building.
  FBI Special Agents Jerry Dove and Benjamin P. Grogan were killed in 
1986 during a gun battle with robbery suspects. Special Agents Dove and 
Grogan had been a part of a surveillance effort in connection with a 
series of violent bank robberies in Miami, Florida.
  Special Agent Dove was born in January 1956 in Charleston, West 
Virginia. He earned degrees from Marshall University and West Virginia 
University and had been in law enforcement for 4 years prior to his 
death.
  Special Agent Grogan was born in Atlanta, Georgia, in February 1933. 
He became an FBI special agent in 1961 and had been with the FBI for 19 
years prior to his death.
  This legislation recognizes the ultimate sacrifice of these two FBI 
agents who were killed in the line of duty. I am pleased to be a 
cosponsor of this legislation, and I want to thank the gentlewoman from 
Florida (Ms. Wilson) for her leadership on this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, earlier this afternoon, I spoke with George Piro, 
special agent in charge of the FBI's Miami field office, and on behalf 
of the families of the fallen officers and of all of his colleagues, he 
conveyed his sincere appreciation to this House for considering this 
important legislation today.
  I urge my colleagues to support passage of this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CARSON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1092, as amended, which 
designates the Federal building located in Miramar, Florida, as the 
Benjamin P. Grogan and Jerry L. Dove Federal Bureau of Investigation 
Miami Field Office.
  I would also like to thank my dear friend and pioneer and legend, the 
gentlelady from Florida, Madam Frederica Wilson, who really is a 
Floridian icon, but I want to recognize her for her dedicated work with 
law enforcement officers, including the two who died in the line of 
duty.
  On April 11, 1989, Mr. Speaker, FBI Agents Jerry Dove and Benjamin 
Grogan were killed in southwest Miami, Florida. While these two FBI 
agents were investigating a spate of violent armed robberies, they 
observed a vehicle suspected to be connected to the robberies. When the 
agents attempted to stop the vehicle and the suspects refused, a high-
speed chase ensued. A gun battle followed, and Special Agents Dove and 
Grogan were killed. Five other agents were injured in the attack.
  Now, since this incident, Mr. Speaker, every April 11, the Miami FBI 
field office has held a special ceremony to honor Special Agents Dove 
and Grogan and other law enforcement officers who have been killed in 
the line of duty.
  As a former police officer, I have a deep appreciation of this honor 
being bestowed today. Naming this new facility after FBI Special Agents 
Jerry Dove and Benjamin P. Grogan is a fitting tribute to these two law 
enforcement officers who gave their lives in service and protection of 
the citizens of Miami, Florida.
  I urge my colleagues to join us in supporting H.R. 1092, as amended.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CURBELO of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to my 
distinguished colleague from Florida, Ms. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I thank our brand-new Florida 
colleague, the gentleman from Miami, Mr.

[[Page H1896]]

Curbelo, for his leadership in bringing this important bill to the 
floor before us tonight. I especially commend my good friend, the 
gentlelady from Miami, Dr. Wilson, for spearheading this effort to 
commemorate and thank our law enforcement officers, and especially to 
highlight the sacrifice that these two special agents made.
  As was pointed out by the previous speakers, Mr. Speaker, in 1986, 
Special Agents Benjamin P. Grogan and Jerry L. Dove were killed while 
serving bravely in the line of duty after they and other agents gave 
chase to two robbery suspects.

                              {time}  1800

  A 5-minute gun battle--the bloodiest in FBI history--erupted when the 
suspects' vehicle was stopped in my sleepy neighborhood of Pinecrest, 
Florida, and both suspects began firing on law enforcement.
  In addition to the tragic loss of Special Agents Grogan and Dove, 
five other agents, including the agent who shot and killed the 
suspects, were injured, as approximately 145 shots were fired during 
this exchange.
  Even though scenes as tragic as this one are very rare in south 
Florida today, our community understands the dangers that all law 
enforcement officers face in the course of their daily work to protect 
civilians. The sacrifice of both special agents and their families is a 
testament to the ethos of service in our south Florida community.
  Although nothing will bring back these brave agents, I am proud to 
support Ms. Wilson's important bill to name the FBI's new south Florida 
field office for them. It is just one way, Mr. Speaker, in which we can 
honor their service and their sacrifice.
  Special Agents Dove and Grogan are role models for our new generation 
of law enforcement officers. Their bravery, their courage, their 
selfless dedication is seen every day in law enforcement officers in 
south Florida.
  Mr. CARSON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I yield 10 minutes to the 
gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wilson), the author of the bill.
  Ms. WILSON of Florida. Mr. Speaker, a special thank you to Speaker 
Boehner for realizing the urgency of this bill. We just got this 
information, and I went to the Speaker and he redlined the bill and 
brought it to the floor.
  I am proud to have my Florida colleagues here with me: a legend in 
her own time, Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, and Mr. Curbelo, who 
is new. He has really jumped into Congress and has been so helpful in 
all that we do.
  It is a pleasure for the time to be managed by Andre Carson, who 
himself is a police officer and who understands who we consider a role 
model in that field. I thank you so much for being here today for this 
important bill.
  I rise today to urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1092, which 
proposes to designate the Federal building located at 2030 Southwest 
145th Avenue in Miramar, Florida, in the heart of my district, as the 
Benjamin P. Grogan and Jerry L. Dove Federal Building.
  This new 475,000-square-foot facility is a state-of-the-art office 
building and is developed in accordance with the 2030 Zero 
Environmental Footprint project goal, according to the architects.
  This facility is a part of the GSA's Design Excellence Program, and 
in the words of the architect, it ``expresses the dignity, enterprise, 
and stability of the United States Government, while the landscape 
restores the native environment by reintroducing wetlands and 
vegetation typical of the Everglades.''
  The facility is LEED certified and is designed to reduce the 
consumption of potable water by 95 percent. There are also solar panels 
on the roof of the annex and garage that will provide renewable 
electricity. The building will be high tech and be able to support over 
1,000 employees.
  There are a few major points that I want to mention about the 
building. First, the building is aesthetically gorgeous and far from 
what you would consider your typical government building. It sheds the 
model that government buildings always place function over form. The 
building stands out from the neighboring buildings so much that most 
people don't know that it is the FBI's new field office.
  Also, the construction cost was approximately $8 million below the 
budgeted amount, and this was achieved through the operational 
efficiency of the contractor Hensel Phelps, the FBI, and GSA.
  The project provided a boost to the local economy by creating 
hundreds of jobs for the residents of my community. The employees will 
be able to give back to the economy--which is so great--by spending 
money in the city of Miramar.
  Now, Mr. Speaker, we have an opportunity to create an even stronger 
personal connection with the local community.
  We are naming the building in honor of Special Agents Benjamin P. 
Grogan and Jerry L. Dove, members of the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation who died valiantly on Friday, April 11, 1986, 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, but I 
don't know if that was on the minds of Agents Grogan and Dove as they 
left their homes on April 11, 1986.
  I do know that it was an unusually cool and breezy spring morning in 
south Florida. I do know that Miami in the 1980s was plagued by crime 
and graphic violence. This period has been chronicled in media reports 
and dramatically portrayed on the TV show ``Miami Vice'' and in movies 
like ``Scarface.''
  I know that Agents Grogan and Dove knew about this violence when they 
said good-bye to their families, picked up their badges and guns, and 
left home on the morning of April 11, 1986. Yet they still answered the 
charge to protect their community in the face of this danger.
  I know that Agent Grogan was a company man. I know that he had 25 
years of dedicated service to the Bureau and was 1 year from 
retirement. His wife was also an employee of the Bureau.
  I know that Agent Dove had only 4 years of service in the Bureau 
after completing law school, but he was living his boyhood dream, 
according to his family.
  I have their photos displayed here so that you can see the men we are 
proposing to honor. I wanted to have their pictures so that you can see 
the bravery in their eyes.
  I know that their bravery was the motivation for their joining a team 
of fellow agents on the morning of April 11, 1986, to tail a vehicle 
with two suspects on board whom they thought were connected to a string 
of violent bank robberies.

  The agents attempted to hail the driver of the vehicle to pull over, 
and when that failed, the agents strategically cornered the vehicle, 
which came to a crashing halt by hitting a tree. A gun battle 
immediately ensued. There was a barrage of bullets.
  I can only imagine how the crackle from the guns cut through the 
normally peaceful morning of that south Dade neighborhood. Yet our 
brave men of the Federal Bureau of Investigation returned fire. Their 
fire hit the suspects several times but, unfortunately, those weapons 
were not powerful enough to stop them.
  On the other hand, the weapons that were used by the suspects were so 
powerful that the agents were injured by misses that tore pieces of 
metal from their vehicles. However, those agents continued to battle 
on. Those agents knew that this could be that day which they prayed to 
avoid as they said goodbye to their loved ones and left their home, but 
they still battled on.
  I can only imagine the frustration of Special Agents Richard 
Manauzzi, Gordon McNeill, Edmundo Mireles, Gilbert Orrantia, John 
Hanlon, Ronald Risner, and Grogan and Dove as they shot dozens of 
bullets into the suspects' direction and the high-powered rifle 
continued to return fire, but they still battled on.
  In a desperate attempt to flee, the suspects tried to commandeer 
Grogan and Dove's vehicle. When they came around to the side of the 
vehicle, Grogan and Dove were on the ground in a defensive position 
they had taken to battle the suspects. It is reported that the suspects 
shot both agents with a high-powered rifle at close range. Shortly 
after, the suspects were themselves fatally shot by Agent Edmundo 
Mireles.

[[Page H1897]]

  Agent Mireles made a very impressive statement about his role in that 
tragic event. He said:

       I knew that I was going to die, but I was going to do my 
     best to make sure that the suspects didn't get away.

  When the dust cleared, two agents lay dead on that spring morning, 
and five were seriously injured.
  I know one other thing: that if for no other reason, we are here in 
Congress to honor, commend, and decorate those Americans who live up to 
the ideals upon which this great country was founded.
  Mr. Speaker, I implore you and my colleagues in Congress to join me, 
the Transportation Committee, and my Florida colleagues, and lift up 
Special Agent Benjamin Grogan and Special Agent Dove from that street 
in south Miami and place their names high, where the world can know 
that we are proud of their sacrifice for their Nation.
  It is only fitting that these names should be placed on the same 
mantle with the letters FBI because Special Agents Grogan and Dove 
embody the motto for which the agency has become known: fidelity, 
bravery, and integrity.
  God bless the FBI, and God bless America.
  Mr. CARSON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. CURBELO of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  I want to thank my two colleagues from Florida for their moving and 
eloquent remarks. I especially want to thank Ms. Wilson for raising 
awareness and taking this very special initiative to honor these men 
who gave the ultimate sacrifice for the safety and the security of our 
community.
  Mr. Speaker, it is often in this House that we take time to remember 
those who are defending our freedoms around the globe, our men and 
women in uniform, as we should, because many of them also pay the 
ultimate sacrifice. Less frequently do we take time to honor our heroes 
in law enforcement, those who live with us in our neighborhoods and who 
keep our neighborhoods and our homes safe.
  By doing this today, this House is honoring not just these men, not 
just their families, but all of our law enforcement officers throughout 
this country who every day fight to keep us safe and to guarantee the 
security of our neighborhoods and of our families.
  Once again, I thank my colleagues for this wonderful bipartisan 
effort to honor those who truly deserve to be honored by this House.
  With that, Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Curbelo) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 1092.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  The title of the bill was amended so as to read: ``A bill to 
designate the Federal building located at 2030 Southwest 145th Avenue 
in Miramar, Florida, as the `Benjamin P. Grogan and Jerry L. Dove 
Federal Building'.''.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________