Honoring the lives, and mourning the loss, of Sergeant Mark Dunakin, Sergeant Ervin Romans, Sergeant Daniel Sakai, and Officer John Hege, members of the Oakland Police Department in California who were brutally slain in the line of duty.

First, Chairman Conyers, let me thank you for your leadership and for helping to expedite the consideration of this resolution before us today. And let me commend the work of our staff-- Danielle Brown, Karas Patterson of the Judiciary Committee, and Christos Tsentas and Gregory Berry of my office--for their excellent work on this resolution.

Also, I want to express my gratitude to Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Hoyer and all of those who were able to make sure that we were able to honor our fallen police officers today.

I must say, the lives of four police officers who we lost were honored and were mourned at a memorial last week, and this memorial was so big--20,000 people--that we had to have the memorial service in the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California.

It's really with a very heavy heart that I introduce this resolution honoring their lives and mourning the losses of Sergeant Mark Dunakin, Sergeant Ervin Romans, Sergeant Daniel Sakai, and Officer John Hege. All were officers of the Oakland police force. They were brutally slain in the line of duty 10 days ago.

Madam Speaker, the death of any law enforcement officer or first responder in the line of duty is a loss felt by so many people in so many communities. The tragic deaths of the heroes we honor in this resolution is no different. These wonderful men may have served and protected the people of Oakland, California, in my congressional district, but off duty they devoted their lives to improving the neighboring East Bay communities where they lived: Castro Valley, Danville, Tracy, and Concord, California. This resolution is cosponsored by the entire California Congressional Delegation, including Speaker Pelosi.

So I just want to thank them all for their support, especially Congresswoman Tauscher and Congressman McNerney, each of whom represented one of the officers we honor today and with whom I worked very closely on this resolution.

As I said earlier, the number of persons seeking to pay their respects to the fallen officers was so great, more than 20,000, that the memorial service was held at Oracle Arena. Among those in attendance were Governor Schwarzenegger, Senator Feinstein, and Senator Boxer, Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums and California Attorney General Jerry Brown. They were joined by thousands of fellow police officers and elected officials from around the country. President Obama also sent his condolences.

This is a small but fitting tribute, Madam Speaker, to four good men who routinely performed great deeds and who gave their lives in service to the people of Oakland, California. Their sacrifice increases by four the number of law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty since May 17, 1792, when Deputy Sheriff Isaac Smith of the New York City Sheriff's Office was killed.

According to the National Law Enforcement Officer's Memorial Fund--an invaluable source, I might say, of historical and statistical information--that roll of honor now lists more than 18,270 names, each of which is engraved on the National Law Enforcement Officer's Memorial located in Washington, D.C.

In May, 2010, the names of Sergeant Mark Dunakin, Ervin Romans, Daniel Sakai and Officer John Hege will be added to those of their fallen brothers and sisters.

The senseless slayings of these officers represents the first multiple-fatality shooting incident in more than 1 year and the first time in more than 15 years that four law enforcement officers were killed by gunfire in the line of duty in a single incident.

Madam Speaker, this tragedy also represents the deadliest incident involving California public safety officers since the infamous Newhall Incident, which occurred nearly 40 years ago in Los Angeles County on April 6, 1970, when four California Highway Patrolmen were killed in a gun battle with two heavily armed suspects. The Newhall Incident so traumatized and shocked the Nation that it galvanized the movement that led to the reform of police training procedures, firearms use, and arrest techniques.

The slayings of these four officers remind us that the risks assumed by police officers daily in serving and protecting their communities continue to be enormous, ever-present, and, often times, lethal.

Their deaths also challenge us to redouble our efforts to ensure that law enforcement personnel have the training, the resources, and assistance and support needed to make our community safer, not only for the people who live there, but also for the people who serve those communities.

So, Madam Speaker, let me just say that the bravery, the devotion to duty, and the love of community of these fallen heroes has forever earned them a place in the hearts and memories of the citizens they willingly risked their lives to protect.

But that honor comes at an enormous cost to the people who knew them best, who loved them most, and remember them simply as husbands, fathers, brothers, sons, and friends.

Sergeant Dunakin of Tracy, California, was an 18-year veteran of the Oakland Police Department, a graduate of Chabot College in Hayward, an experienced homicide investigator. According to his captain, he was a ``cop's cop,'' one who was ``absolutely committed to anything that he leads'' and absolutely devoted to his wife, Angela, and their three children.

Sergeant Ervin Romans of Danville, California, a decorated former Marine Corps drill sergeant, was a 13-year veteran of the Oakland Police Department. He was also one of the ablest members of the Oakland Police SWAT Team, and was highly respected for his work in the narcotics division, where he was responsible for solving several major drug cases.

In 1999, he was awarded the Oakland Police Department's highest honor, the Medal of Valor, for helping to save residents in a West Oakland fire. Sergeant Romans is survived by his widow and his three children.

Sergeant Sakai of Castro Valley, California, was considered by his peers and supervisors as a rising star on the Oakland Police SWAT Team, where he served as leader of the entry team. He was beloved for his dedication to serving others, as evidenced by his previous work as a community service officer at the University of California, Berkeley, escorting students around campus at night, and by his tenure as an English teacher in Japan. He leaves to cherish his memory a wife and a young daughter.

And then there is Officer John Hege of Concord, California. John was a 10-year veteran of the Oakland Police Department and a graduate of St. Mary's College in California. Before joining the department, he taught at Tennyson High School in Hayward. And how he loved both his dog and umpiring high school baseball teams was remarkable. Those who knew him well knew how happy he was to realize his dream of becoming a motorcycle cop.

Officer Hege could always be counted on by his colleagues to be one of the first to respond to requests for assistance or to cheerfully volunteer to help on departmental projects. He will be greatly missed.

Madam Speaker, in the face of this horrible loss and for the people of Oakland, California, we stand together in our resolve to make our city safer and peaceful, and we resolve that Sergeants Dunakin, Romans, Sakai, and Officer Hege, who sacrificed their lives, will be remembered and honored as those who really loved the community and did protect and defend it. Only by achieving our goals of peace, nonviolence, and resolutions of conflicts by peaceful means will we be able to achieve a truly peaceful community, and then repay the debt that we owe to these four remarkable human beings who made the supreme sacrifice to keep us safe.

Let me close with a passage from President Obama's statement on the tragic loss of our police officers.

He said, ``Our Nation is grateful for the men and women of law enforcement who work tirelessly to ensure the safety of our citizens and our neighborhoods. They risk their lives each day on our behalf and ask little in return. And although the danger of their work is well- known, words still fail to explain the senseless violence that claims so many of them.

``As we honor their memories, I hope each of you will take comfort in knowing that their commitment to their fellow man will never be forgotten. We will always carry them in our hearts, and their legacy of service will inspire us as we work together toward a better Oakland, a better world.''

Thank you, Chairman Conyers, for your assistance with this resolution.

The White House,

Washington, DC, March 27, 2009.

I was deeply saddened to learn of the tragic loss of Sgt.

Mark Dunakin, Officer John

Hege, Sgt. Ervin Romans, and Sgt. Daniel Sakai. Michelle and

I hold their families and your community in our thoughts and

prayers.

Our Nation is grateful for the men and women of law

enforcement who work tirelessly to ensure the safety of our

citizens and our neighborhoods. They risk their lives each

day on our behalf and ask little in return. And although the

danger of their work is well known, words still fail to

explain the senseless violence that claims so many of them.

Sgt. Dunakin, Officer Hege, Sgt. Romans and Sgt. Sakai were

taken from us far too soon, and their loss reminds us that

the work to which they dedicated their lives remains undone.

As we honor their memories, I hope each of you will take

comfort in knowing that their commitment to their fellow man

will never be forgotten. We will always carry them in our

hearts, and their legacy of service will inspire us as we

work together toward a better Oakland, a better world.

Michelle and I offer our heartfelt sympathy. May their

sacrifices be rewarded with eternal peace.

Barack Obama.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of this resolution, H. Res. 290. This resolution honors the lives of Oakland Police Department's Sergeant Mark Dunakin, Sergeant Ervin Romans, Sergeant Daniel Sakai, and Officer John Hege.

Madam Speaker, just a little over 2 weeks ago on March 21, these peace officers were brutally slain while in the line of duty protecting the people of the State of California. These officers were valuable members of their police department, they were community leaders, and they were family men. They risked their lives every day to protect their fellow Californians, and at the end of the day, they were all killed for doing so.

Sergeant Mark Dunakin was an 18-year veteran of the Oakland Police Department and resided in Tracy, California. According to his captain, the experienced homicide investigator was absolutely committed to every investigation he led. He leaves behind his wife Angela and their three small children.

Sergeant Ervin Romans, ``Erv'' to his friends, was from Danville, California. He gave 13 years of service to the Oakland Police Department. He was a member of the police SWAT team and highly regarded for his work with the narcotics division in solving several complex drug cases in California.

Sergeant Daniel Sakai of Castro Valley, California, was also a member of the police SWAT team. While he's remembered for his outstanding work on the SWAT team, he's also remembered and respected for his love of serving other people, most notably during his time as a community officer at the University of California in Berkeley. And he also taught English in Japan.

He was a devoted husband and father to his wife Jennifer and their young daughter.

Officer John Hege of Concord, California, was a 10-year veteran of the Oakland Police Department and was known by his colleagues for his willingness to help out with any department projects. Before joining the force, Officer Hege was a high school teacher and spent his free time umpiring high school baseball games.

Madam Speaker, almost 40 years ago, four California Highway Patrolmen lost their lives in the line of duty in a single incident. Since that time, our Nation's law enforcement officers have made a considerable effort to reform police safety training programs and procedures. And because of that dedicated work over the past 20 years, we've seen a decrease in the number of police officers killed by gunfire.

Although there has been great progress in protecting the safety of these men and women who wear the uniform, the death of these four officers serve as a reminder to the whole country that our Nation's law enforcement officials still face dangerous and potentially deadly situations every day. When a peace officer puts on a uniform in the morning, they represent everything that is good and right about our country.

Today, we honor the lives and the commitment to protecting our community of these four peace officers.

I urge the adoption of this resolution.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I continue to reserve my time.

I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, not a day goes by that law enforcement officers do not face danger in the mission to keep us safe from crime, acts of violence, and even terrorism.

As founder and a co-chairman of the Congressional Victims Rights Caucus, I know unfortunately peace officers are also often victims of criminal conduct. After all, they are the last strand of wire in the fence between the law and the lawless.

Over my years as a prosecutor and a judge, I have known several police officers who gave their lives for the rest of us. Today, we are grateful for the families and to the officers of California who selflessly gave their lives while protecting the rest of us: Sergeant Dunakin, Sergeant Romans, Sergeant Daniel Sakai, and Officer John Hege.

Madam Speaker, on May 15, on the West side of the Capitol grounds, we honor all peace officers that have been killed in the line of duty in the United States. There will be thousands of peace officers from all over the United States, and the families of the slain will be not far from where we are today to honor those. This year we will honor four more from Oakland, California.

I would like to thank my colleague, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee) for introducing this resolution and the chairman for expediting this legislation to the House.

I yield back the remainder of my time and urge the adoption of this resolution.

Madam Speaker, I thank the distinguished chairman for yielding, as I join my colleagues in commemorating and honoring the memory of the Oakland, California, police officers who were senselessly murdered while on duty. I associate myself with the remarks of Congresswoman Barbara Lee, author of this resolution, and join Congresswoman Tauscher and Congressman McNerney in again remembering these brave heroes.

Madam Speaker, our colleague, Congresswoman Lee, spelled it out so very well, the senselessness of these deaths, the heroism of these police officers, and the quality of their lives. As elected officials, our first responsibility is to protect the American people, whether in their homes, their neighborhoods and communities, or to protect our country as a Nation. This is not possible without the heroic courage of our public safety officers in our country.

Every day when they leave for work, they risk not coming home. I hope that their families don't think of that every day, but on a day in March, this fact was driven home very brutally to four families.

Madam Speaker, a giant pall hangs over the Bay Area in California. These deaths have hit people very, very hard, as you would expect, and I think you can feel some of that in this Chamber this afternoon because of these personal losses and individuals who were killed, and also because of the threat that this is to every public safety officer in our country.

I'm so proud to be able to speak about this resolution honoring the lives and mourning the deaths of four Oakland, California, Police Department officers. Their names have been mentioned, but I think they deserve being mentioned over and over again: Sergeant Mark Dunakin, Sergeant Ervin Romans, Sergeant Daniel Sakai, and Officer John Hege.

I hope that it's a comfort to their families and to their friends that so many people throughout our country, starting with the President of the United States, the dignitaries that Congresswoman Lee said were at the service, and spoke, some of them, at the service. But probably more important than all of that are all of the people, the everyday people in the country, in Oakland, and the Bay Area, who feel this loss very, very personally.

In our resolution that has been put forth by the committee, we talk about these four brave officers and that ``the senseless slayings of Sergeants Dunakin, Romans, and Sakai, and Officer Hege represents the first multiple-fatality shooting of law enforcement officers in the United States in more than a year.'' And, ``whereas the killing of'' these gentlemen represents the deadliest incident in California public safety since the Newhall Incident, which was referenced by Congresswoman Lee. That was a long time ago, 40 years ago, and these senseless killings ``serve as a reminder that the risks assumed by police officers daily in serving and protecting their communities continues to be enormous.''

It recognizes the bravery, the devotion to duty, and the love of community of these fallen heroes, and that they have forever earned a place in the hearts and memories of the citizens they willingly risked their lives for.

Congresswoman Lee went into the personal stories of Sergeant Dunakin, Sergeant Romans, Sergeant Sakai and Officer Hege. So I won't repeat that except to take pride in their personal lives, as well as their professional execution of their duties.

And whereas, in this resolution, we say, ``in the face of this horrible loss, the people of Oakland, California, have come together and rededicated themselves to making Oakland'' a better place as the Congresswoman referenced, I also want her to know that our entire State feels their pain, prays for the families of those who were lost, and also extends our sympathy to all of them.

I think I can say that without any fear of contradiction that, as Speaker of the House, I speak for all of us here when I say to those families, thank you, we're sorry, we're praying for you, and your loved ones will always have a place in our hearts and in history as heroes for our people.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 838) to provide for the conveyance of a parcel of land held by the Bureau of Prisons of the Department of Justice in Miami Dade County, Florida, to facilitate the construction of a new educational facility that includes a secure parking area for the Bureau of Prisons, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 838, the Miami Dade College Land Conveyance Act, introduced by Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, will authorize the Department of Justice's Bureau of Prisons to convey a parcel of land to Miami Dade College in Miami, Florida.

Currently, the BOP's Miami Federal Detention Center's satellite parking lot occupies the land. Miami Dade College plans on building an educational facility on this land, which will include covered and secured ground floor parking for BOP employees at no cost to the agency.

The Bureau of Prisons does not have the authority to transfer this parcel of land to the college. However, this bill, which the agency supports, would permit the transfer to take place.

The college will make good use of the 47,500-square-foot area of land while also providing as many as 118 Bureau of Prisons parking spaces. This, obviously, is a good, collegiate way to work with an institution of higher education and our need for detention facilities, and this legislation allows that decision and that action to go forward. I urge all of my colleagues to support this helpful legislation.

H.R. 838, the Miami Dade College Land Conveyance Act, introduced by Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, will authorize the Department of Justice's Bureau of Prisons to convey a parcel of land to Miami Dade College in Miami, Florida.

Currently, the BOP's Miami Federal Detention Center's satellite parking lot occupies the land. Miami Dade College plans on building an educational facility on this land, which will include covered and secured ground floor parking for BOP employees at no cost to the agency.

The Bureau of Prisons does not have the authority to transfer this parcel of land to the college. However, this bill, which the agency supports, would permit the transfer to take place.

The college will make good use of the 47,500 square foot area of land, while also providing as many as 118 BOP parking spaces.

I urge all of my colleagues to support this helpful legislation.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, let me congratulate the gentlewoman for not only providing this facilitation for this institution of higher learning but for helping out the Bureau of Prisons, which is the Judiciary Committee's jurisdiction.

As I close, let me just acknowledge the legislation, H. Res. 290, that Congresswoman Barbara Lee offered today and add my sympathy to the people of California. I thank Congresswoman Lee for bringing forward legislation that honors the lives that were lost--Sergeant Mark Dunakin, Sergeant Ervin Romans, Sergeant Daniel Sakai, and Officer John Hege, who were members of the Oakland Police Department in California.

In the month of May, we will be honoring law enforcement officers who have fallen across America. We have done that every year since I have been in the United States Congress. Tragically and sadly, we will do it again, even honoring those who have come from Texas and Houston. So H. Res. 290 has my sympathy as well. Before I closed, I wanted to acknowledge that.

Let me now close on this legislation, H.R. 838, and indicate my support and ask my colleagues to support this legislation.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding to me.

I rise in support of this resolution and to pay tribute to the four Oakland Police Department officers who were fatally shot in the line of duty on March 21.

Sergeants Mark Dunakin, Ervin Romans, Daniel Sakai, and motorcycle officer John Hege were brutally murdered on a Saturday afternoon during the course of what began as a routine traffic stop and resulted in a massive manhunt.

The shootings were the deadliest incident for U.S. law enforcement since 9/11 and the deadliest in California in 40 years. Although these tragic events occurred more than 2,000 miles from my district, the people of northern Michigan join Oakland, California, and the Nation in paying tribute to these true heroes.

Sergeant Ervin Romans, who died of gunshot wounds in the second of the two shooting incidents on that day, was the son of Chester and Sueko Romans of Ironwood Township in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

Family and friends in Ironwood and across the Upper Peninsula have, in recent days, shared fond memories of Sergeant Romans. Although he was living and working in California as a SWAT team leader for the Oakland Police Department, Sergeant Romans grew up in Ironwood, where he graduated from Luther L. Wright High School in 1983 before leaving to become a decorated Marine.

After his service to our Nation in the Marine Corps and as an Oakland Housing Authority police officer, Romans dreamed of joining the Oakland Police Department. That dream came true in 1996. In 1999, Romans received the department's highest honor, the Medal of Valor, for helping save residents in a West Oakland fire.

He was promoted to sergeant in 2005 and worked narcotics cases and on the crime-reduction team, which was worked to combat street-level narcotics problems and associated violence. Ervin Romans was also a firing range master sergeant.

Sergeant Romans was one of the SWAT steam members who on March 21 stormed the apartment where parolee and suspect Lovelle Mixon was hiding in a closet. Sergeant Romans was shot inside the apartment and died of gunshot wounds later that day.

Ervin, or Erv to his family and friends, was a son, husband and father of three. He lived in Danville, California, with his wife, Laura, and three children, Kristina, Justin and Kayla.

Childhood friends and family remaining in the Ironwood area will pay tribute to Sergeant Romans at a funeral service in Ironwood on April 4.

As a former Escanaba City Police Officer and Michigan State Police Trooper, the loss of a law enforcement officer is especially painful. When I came to Congress, I founded the Law Enforcement Caucus, which exists to advocate for police officers and their families all across our country. This shooting reminds us how men and women in law enforcement face unknown dangers every day to keep us safe and our families safer.

Like so many law enforcement officers across our country, Sergeants Romans, Dunakin, Sakai, and Officer Hege dedicated their lives to our safety. Madam Speaker, I join Congresswoman Lee and all of my colleagues in honoring these men for their service and sacrifice, and in offering the condolences of the U.S. House of Representatives to their families and friends.

I thank the gentleman.