Name ATF Headquarters After Ariel Rios
On December 2, 1982, Special Agent Ariel Rios of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) was murdered during an undercover operation in Miami, Florida. He was assigned to the then Vice President's (George H.W. Bush) South Florida Task Force. Special agent Rios was the first ATF agent killed by hostile action in the line of duty since its establishment as a separate agency in 1972.
In 1985, Congress passed and President Reagan signed a law naming the Federal building at 1200 Pennsylvania NW in Washington DC the Ariel Rios Building. At the time, that building served as ATF Headquarters.
For 30 years, the Ariel Rios Building was the only building in the District named for a Federal agent killed in the line of duty and recognized the service and sacrifice of ATF agents and rank and file law enforcement.
In 2008, ATF Headquarters was moved into a new Federal Building built specifically for it 99 New York Avenue NE, Washington D.C.
In 2012, the building at 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW was renamed in honor of President William Jefferson Clinton.
The undersigned join with the ATF Association and others in urging Congress to reinstate the honor given to Special Agent Rios as a fitting tribute to his sacrifice by naming the ATF Headquarters Building at 99 New York Avenue NE after him.
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