Chairman Goodlatte Floor Statement on S. 665, the Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu National Blue Alert Act of 2015

Chairman Goodlatte: This week in Washington, D.C., we are celebrating National Police Week.  This annual tradition, which draws tens of thousands of law enforcement officers from around the country, is a time to celebrate the critical role that police play in maintaining a free and safe society.  It is also a time to mourn our nation’s fallen heroes. Last year, 127 men and women gave their lives while protecting Americans’ public safety, including 3 officers in my home state of Virginia.  The average age of these fallen officers is just 40 years old, which is too young to be taken from their loved ones. The Blue Alert system, which is currently in place in 20 states, is a cooperative effort among local, state and federal authorities, law enforcement agencies, and the general public. S. 665, the Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu National Blue Alert Act of 2015, seeks to expand on these existing programs by encouraging an enhanced nationwide system for the distribution of time-sensitive information to help identify and locate a violent suspect when a law enforcement officer is injured or killed in the line of duty, or when there is an imminent and credible threat against an officer. Similar to Amber Alerts for missing children and Silver Alerts for missing seniors, Blue Alerts broadcast information about suspects, including a description of an offender who is still at large and, if available, a description of the offender’s vehicle and license plate information.  Like Amber Alerts, Blue Alerts are intended to hinder the offender’s ability to escape and will facilitate their capture. S. 665 directs the Justice Department to designate an existing employee as the Blue Alert national coordinator who will establish voluntary guidelines for the program and encourage those states that have not already done so to develop Blue Alert plans. The House has passed similar versions of this legislation in the past two Congresses, but those bills were not taken up by the Senate.  The version of the Blue Alert bill that we consider today is different for two important reasons.  First, unlike the Blue Alert bills from prior Congresses that passed this body, only to wither away in the Senate, S. 665 will be sent directly to the President’s desk for signature following House passage.  I urge him to sign this legislation without delay. Second, S. 665 is named after New York City police officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu who, in December 2014, were murdered in cold blood by a malevolent killer who travelled from Baltimore to Brooklyn with the stated intention of shooting police officers. Officer Ramos left behind a wife and a thirteen-year old son.  Officer Liu left behind his wife of just two months.  This bill – a tribute to their service and sacrifice – will hopefully spare other families from the pain of losing a loved one. I thank Senator Cardin, Mr. Reichert of Washington, and the many bipartisan cosponsors of both the House and Senate bills for their work on this important legislation. I also thank the many outside law enforcement organizations that have tirelessly promoted the Blue Alert program over the past several years. This bill reaffirms Congress’s commitment to ensure the safety of the men and women in our nation’s law enforcement communities and the citizens they serve and protect every day.  I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.