[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 17054]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      REMEMBERING AN AMERICAN HERO

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 5, 2011, the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Gosar) is recognized 
for 19 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
  Mr. GOSAR. Today, I'm here to remember the sacrifice of an American 
hero and the bravery of those who served with him.
  Two years ago this Saturday, our Nation lost one of our own who was 
serving to protect our country by securing the Arizona-Mexico border. 
On December 14, Border Agents Brian Terry, William Castano, Gabriel 
Fragoza, and Timothy Keller began patrolling an area west of the town 
of Rio Rico, Arizona, tasked with interdicting violent criminals 
sneaking into the United States.
  At 11 p.m. on the following day, December 15, the team was alerted to 
five suspects in their interdiction zone. After identifying themselves, 
they were fired upon and Agent Terry was struck and killed. The men who 
fought beside him that night were heroic in their efforts to provide 
aid and to protect Agent Brian Terry.
  After the dust settled, that horrific night's details were brought to 
light about our government's role in supplying weapons found at the 
scene of the crime. Through Operation Fast and Furious--a fundamentally 
flawed gunrunning operation ran by the U.S. Department of Justice--
weapons like those found at the scene nearly 2 years ago were allowed 
to be purchased by middlemen and passed along to some of the most 
dangerous cartels in Mexico without proper law enforcement interdiction 
and justice.
  Subsequently, numerous hearings have been held to demand answers as 
to how this program came to be, who authorized it, and who knew about 
it. My goals are simple: justice and accountability, not just for Brian 
Terry, who lost his life, and the brave men serving him that night, but 
also justice for the hundreds of Mexicans who also lost their lives 
from the weapons from the Fast and Furious scheme.
  As I close, please join me in a moment of silence for those lives who 
have been lost and the loved ones that they leave behind.
  For my part, I will continue to demand answers from the Department of 
Justice. I will continue to stress the need for bipartisan support for 
getting those answers. I look to leadership not to relent. I also look 
to the Hispanic Caucus to break their silence and to take up this issue 
affecting everyone in Mexico.
  Finally, I will not rest until we are certain that justice is served 
and that this atrocity can never happen again.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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