[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 16535]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 HONORING THE 100TH BIRTHDAY OF THE FBI

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. HENRY CUELLAR

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 24, 2008

  Mr. CUELLAR. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the 100th 
anniversary of the Federal Bureau of Investigation agency, and the 
brave men and women that work at the FBI Laredo Resident Agency, LRA. 
The FBI LRA was established in 1943, during the height of World War II, 
with four Special Agents assigned to the U.S.-Mexico border.
  The FBI LRA was staffed throughout the end of World War II and during 
the Cold War with a particular focus on counter-espionage and sabotage. 
The focus changed during the 1960s and 1970s to a spate of new crimes 
involving fugitives and vehicle theft. The mission of the FBI LRA was 
expanded to public corruption, interstate theft, fraud, and general 
property crimes during the 1980s and 1990s. Currently, the FBI LRA 
investigates terrorism, public corruption, white collar crime, 
kidnappings, gangs, drug cases, and cyber crime.
  Also, the FBI LRA has established a Joint Terrorism Task Force, JTTF, 
and a Public Corruption Task Force in the past few years to respond to 
potential terrorist threats and drug-trafficking violence in the U.S.-
Mexico border region. Throughout the decades, the FBI LRA has evolved 
to meet the crime prevention needs of each decade in its five-county 
area of Webb, McMullen, La Salle, Zapata, and Jim Hogg, with over 30 
Special Agents and support staff. The FBI LRA also works with Laredo 
Police Department, Office of the Inspector General--Department of 
Homeland Security, Department of Public Safety, Immigration and Customs 
Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, and the United States 
Border Patrol.
  Madam Speaker, I am honored to have had this time to recognize the 
commitment of our brave men and women at the FBI Laredo Resident Agency 
and I applaud their efforts to safeguard the lives of my constituents 
along the U.S.-Mexico border, and to serve their Nation honorably. I 
thank you for this time.

                          ____________________