[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 21 (Thursday, February 4, 2021)]
[House]
[Page H330]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1030
 HONORING THE LIVES AND SERVICE OF FBI SPECIAL AGENTS DANIEL ALFIN AND 
                         LAURA SCHWARTZENBERGER

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, it is with a heavy heart that I 
rise to honor the lives of two fallen FBI agents, Daniel Alfin and 
Laura Schwartzenberger.
  On Tuesday morning, while executing a Federal warrant in a child 
exploitation investigation, Special Agent Daniel Alfin and Special 
Agent Laura Schwartzenberger were shot and killed in the line of duty 
in Sunrise, Florida. They died protecting our most vulnerable citizens 
and the community they loved.
  This was, sadly, the FBI's deadliest day since the tragic events on 
9/11. It has also been more than 30 years since two agents were gunned 
down together in the line of duty.
  A 16-year veteran of the FBI, Special Agent Laura Schwartzenberger's 
specialty was pursuing crimes against children. Her work with the FBI 
Miami field office's Innocent Images national initiative led to the 
arrest of those involved in the exploitation of children and 
``sextortion.'' She leaves behind a husband and two children.
  Special Agent Daniel Alfin was a 12-year veteran of the FBI. He was a 
veteran agent who led the investigation into a dark website called 
Playpen, one of the country's largest child pornography operations. He 
also leaves behind a wife and one child.
  While I did not have the good fortune of knowing these two special 
agents, I know this: These were two heroes taken from us, and we lost 
them way too soon. These were incredible parents torn from their 
families. They were extraordinary public servants trying to make our 
community a safer place to raise our families.
  To their loved ones and colleagues, I struggle to find words that can 
offer solace and comfort in their time of distress. The great poet 
William Wordsworth once said: ``Not without hope we suffer and we 
mourn.''
  Perhaps he meant that we find hope in the belief that our thoughts 
and prayers will, in time, heal their families and their colleagues, 
and in the hope and the belief that the children of these fallen heroes 
will grow up knowing that their parents made the sacrifice to make 
their world and our world a better place.
  Agents Alfin and Schwartzenberger put their lives on the line every 
day to help us be safer. We lost them to a senseless act of violence by 
someone with a total disregard for the lives of others. We lost them to 
evil.
  We grieve their loss, not only to the community they served, but to 
the families and loved ones that they leave behind. They made the 
ultimate sacrifice and, for that, Americans will be forever in their 
debt and forever grateful.
  May their memories be a blessing.

                          ____________________