Slain Officer Family Support Act of 2015

Floor Speech

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

Let me first thank Chairman Ryan for his leadership and his support
in bringing this important legislation, the Slain Officer Family
Support Act of 2015, to the floor of the House of Representatives.

Let me also thank my good friend, the lead Republican cosponsor,
Representative Peter King, for his partnership on this bill, which is
of great importance to the people of New York, as well as law
enforcement throughout the entire Nation.

It is an honor and a privilege for me to represent the Eighth
Congressional District in New York City, proud home of the New York
Police Department, one of the finest in the world.

On December 20, 2014, unspeakable tragedy struck the Bedford
Stuyvesant community that I represent. While sitting in their marked
patrol car, Detectives Wen Jian Liu and Rafael Ramos were approached
from behind and, without warning, assassinated at pointblank range
through the passenger side window.

Liu and Ramos, both Brooklyn residents, had been assigned to patrol
the Tompkins public housing development in Bedford Stuyvesant as part
of a ``critical-response detail'' responding to an increase in violence
over the previous year. They volunteered to be there as part of their
willingness to protect and serve the people of New York City. They were
killed simply for wearing that blue uniform.

Detective Liu, age 32, who moved to Brooklyn's Gravesend section
earlier that year, was the only son of Chinese American immigrants and
came to the United States with his family at the age of 12. He is
survived by his parents and his new wife, whom he just married a month
prior to that fateful day.

Committed to his adopted New York City, Mr. Liu was inspired to
become a police officer after witnessing the attacks on September 11.
After studying at both Kingsboro Community College and the College of
Staten Island, he joined the auxiliary police in 2006 and in 2007
graduated from the police academy. Detective Liu served as a New York
Police Department officer for 7 years.

Detective Ramos, a 2-year veteran of the NYPD, had recently
celebrated his 40th birthday. He was a lifelong Brooklyn resident. He
was committed to his community and active in his church in Glendale,
Queens.

Rafael Ramos first served as a school safety agent before realizing
his longtime dream of becoming a police officer in January 2012. He
then decided that he also wanted to become a police chaplain. He spent
10 weeks studying to get his certification. His chaplain class was
scheduled to graduate at 4 p.m. on the day he was killed. Detective
Ramos had intended on going into full-time ministry after retiring from
the New York Police Department.

He is survived by his wife and two sons, Jaden, 13, and Justin, a 19-
year-old college student.

Throughout New York and across this Nation, there was an outpouring
of love and support for these two men and the families that they left
behind.

Under current law, individuals contributing to organizations that
provide financial support to the families of the slain detectives were
required to make their contributions by December 31 of last year in
order to qualify for a tax deduction in connection with a 2015 filing.

Those officers were assassinated on December 20. This bill extends
the date of eligibility. Upon enactment, charitable contributions made
by this year's April 15 tax deadline would be deductible immediately.

The Joint Committee on Taxation has scored the bill as having a
negligible budgetary impact of $500,000 or less over 10 years. It is
similar, as Chairman Ryan pointed out, to legislation this Congress
passed in 2014 and in 2010 in the wake of natural disasters in the
Philippines and Haiti.

The assassinations of Detective Ramos and Detective Liu were a
national tragedy that shocked the conscience of America and shook New
York City to its core. In the aftermath, we cannot forget the families
left behind when these two brave heroes were killed tragically in the
line of duty. As part of that effort, this legislation will take a
significant step in that direction.

Let me again thank Chairman Ryan and Representative King, as well as
the other cosponsors of the bill, for their support in bringing this
legislation to the floor.

For these reasons, I respectfully urge my colleagues in the House to
support H.R. 1527, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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