[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 58 (Friday, April 15, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E496]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            INTRODUCTION OF THE ARIEL RIOS FEDERAL BUILDING

                                  _____
                                 

                           HON. ANDRE CARSON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, April 15, 2016

  Mr. CARSON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing the 
``Ariel Rios Federal Building Act'' which will name the Bureau of 
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) headquarters in honor 
of its first special agent killed by hostile action. This bill will 
designate the federal building at 99 New York Avenue, NE Washington 
D.C. as the Ariel Rios Federal Building. Ariel Rios was a young ATF 
special agent murdered by drug traffickers in 1982 while assigned to 
then Vice President George Bush's South Florida Drug Task Force.
  In 1985, Congress designated the ATF headquarters building at 1200 
Pennsylvania Avenue as the Ariel Rios Memorial Federal Building. The 
designation honored both the personal sacrifice of Ariel Rios and 
served as an enduring reminder of the dangers that front line law 
enforcement officers willingly confront to keep the rest of us safe. 
For nearly 30 years, the original ATF headquarters building bore the 
name of Ariel Rios.
  In the wake of the Oklahoma City bombing, it was determined that a 
new, more secure ATF headquarters would be built and shortly 
thereafter, Congress approved the construction of a new ATF 
headquarters at 99 New York Avenue NE. After the ATF vacated 1200 
Pennsylvania Avenue NW, the building was repurposed as the headquarters 
for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Congress renamed the EPA 
headquarters building as the William Jefferson Clinton Building, but 
the designation in honor of Ariel Rios was not transferred to the new 
ATF Headquarters building.
  This legislation seeks to rectify that omission and is supported by 
six of the former Directors of ATF who served between 1982 and 2015. 
This legislation is also supported by former President George H.W. 
Bush, the surviving family of Special Agent Ariel Rios and the ATF 
Association which is comprised of current and former ATF colleagues who 
work in support of the ATF mission.
  Naming the ATF headquarters after Ariel Rios is an important symbolic 
reminder of risks faced by ATF's front line agents and their ongoing 
service to our country. As a former law enforcement officer, I believe 
this important recognition of Ariel Rios will serve as a tribute to 
every frontline law enforcement officer past, present, and future. I 
urge all my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill.

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