New York Congressmen introduced bipartisan legislation Thursday in honor of the families of assassinated detectives Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos, according to a press release.
If passed, the Slain Officer Family Support Act of 2015 would extend the tax deadline to allow tax deductions for individuals making charitable donations to the Liu and Ramos families. The legislation would be applicable from Jan. 1, retroactively.
The act was introduced by Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat who represents parts of Queens and Brooklyn, and Rep. Peter King, a Republican who represents a central part of Long Island.
In a statement, Jeffries called Liu and Ramos “American heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice to keep us safe.”
Jeffries said, “Their families should not have to work about how they will put food on the table in the aftermath of such an unspeakable tragedy.”
Last December, Liu and Ramos were shot and killed in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn by an emotionally disturbed individual, targeted for their uniforms. The killings came after months of tension and protests against police brutality.
By this article’s publication, over 10,000 people had raised $1,004,500 to help the Ramos and Liu families pay for their home mortgages. The charity is run by the Stephen Siller Tunnels to Towers Foundation, which raises funds for first-responders and military fatally injured in the line of duty.
As a result of the charity, both families’ mortgages are now paid off and they even have extra for home improvements, said John Hodge, chief of operations at the Tunnels and Towers Foundation. People kept sending checks to the fund, even after it closed on Jan. 7, and over half of them were donating outside of the New York area.
“It just goes to show how people were watching this story on a national level and how it affected them,” said Hodge.
