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“REMEMBERING AN AMERICAN HERO” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H6794 on Dec. 13, 2012.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
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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