John McHugh

Mr. McHUGH

Mr. McHUGH. Mr. Speaker, I would ask the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings) if he has any further requests for time.

Mr. McHUGH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, as with any measure of this magnitude, the point at which a bill comes to the floor of this House, of course, is realized only through the concerted efforts and a great deal of hard work by a number of good people, and that is certainly the case here today. In that regard, I want to begin by expressing my deepest appreciation particularly to the ranking member on the subcommittee, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fattah), his staff, the staff of the full subcommittee, for their efforts, for their support and most importantly their substantive and constructive input. I would say not only is the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fattah) a primary cosponsor of this legislation, he is indeed one of the primary authors; and frankly his input, his participation made what I think is a good piece of legislation even better. I also want to thank the chairman of the full committee, the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton), and, of course, his colleague, the gentleman from California (Mr. Waxman), the ranking member on the full committee, for their cooperation and for their efforts in helping to bring this very worthy piece of legislation before us today. The bill before us, Mr. Speaker, seeks to achieve two very important objectives. The first is to extend the authorization of the highly successful breast cancer research stamp. It was not that long ago in the 105th Congress under the guidance of two of our former colleagues, a fellow State associate of mine, the gentlewoman Susan Molinari from New York, and Vic Fazio, the gentleman from California, who worked so hard in realizing what became the first ever semipostal issuance in the history of the United States. Since that time, since the creation of the breast cancer research stamp, the proceeds from the sales of these issues from voluntary purchases has resulted in some $15 million in additional funds made available for breast cancer research. There is truly, Mr. Speaker, not a person in this country that has not in some way been touched by the cruel hand of this disease, a wife, a mother, a close friend, a loved one or, in my own case, a grandmother. Those dollars, willingly donated by millions upon millions of caring individuals, will hopefully bring us ever closer to the day when this scourge is but a sad and very frightening memory. Without our action here through this bill, Mr. Speaker, the current authorization will end at the conclusion of this month, on July 29, in fact. So many in this House, so many in this Nation have called upon us to act further. In the House, I would say we owe particular thanks to the gentleman from New Hampshire (Mr. Bass), who gathered 117 of our colleagues calling for this extension. In fact, the authorization for such an action contained in this bill is modeled on the gentleman from New Hampshire's bill and would extend the current program for an additional 2 years. As I mentioned, our presence here today also comes through the urging and support of many, many others, far too many to properly credit them all by name. But we certainly want to thank and commend each and every one of those folks. But I do want to pay particular tribute to just a few, if I might. Ms. Betsey Mullen, who was here with us in Washington earlier today, I believe and I hope she still is, and her colleague at the Women's Information Network Against Breast Cancer, Dr. Bodai, for their untiring efforts. I would also like to thank Ms. Mullen's 6\1/2\- year-old nephew and her 8\1/2\-year-old niece who took the time out of what I know are their busy lives and busy summers to actually address handwritten letters to all of us here in Congress urging our continued efforts on behalf of this semipostal. Mr. Speaker, I include the letters in their entirety for the Record. Dear Congress, Girls and boys can get breast cancer and I don't want girls and boys and the President and his wife, cat and dog to get sick. Keep the stamp going. From Brendon Fisher.

Mr. McHUGH. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on H.R. 4437.

Mr. McHUGH. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4437) to grant to the United States Postal Service the authority to issue semipostals, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. McHUGH

Mr. McHUGH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I had the honor of standing on this floor just last week as we proposed four similar naming bills and made the comment that I felt very strongly then, and I continue to believe in that we are indeed fortunate to have the efforts of so many Members of this body from across the country who work so hard and have done such a tremendous job in identifying truly worthy individuals to which and upon whom we can extend this honor of a post office naming. I would like to pay my compliments and thanks to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings), the primary sponsor of this legislation, for keeping us on track in that regard and for helping us to uphold a record in which we all take a great deal of pride. As the Clerk has read, Mr. Speaker, this bill does indeed designate the United States Postal Service building located at 14900 Southwest 30th Street in Miramar, Florida, as the Vicki Coceano Post Office Building. H.R. 3985 was amended by the full committee but only as a result of a necessary technical correction to the address that was originally identified by the Postal Service, and has no other substantive impact upon the bill itself. We are indeed fortunate, as we just heard on the previous piece of legislation, to have the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings) with us, and I know that he is prepared to make a very full statement about Ms. Coceano. I do not want to take away from that opportunity, but let me note that as we attempt to do on all of these bills we have looked over the background and the contributions of this very special lady, a special lady, who I understand is affectionately known in her community as Mayor Vicki, which I think speaks volumes about the affection and the respect of those who know her best and how they view this very, very unique individual. As a resident of South Florida for some 40 years, I understand that is a fairly remarkable achievement in a State that benefits from the migration of many people from my State, for example. So she has been there for 4 decades contributing to her community, as her nickname suggests, serving in public office and serving in a distinguished way, but clearly her contributions extend far beyond that of running for mayor or some other public position. She has been a contributor, a volunteer and a doer in a wide range of activities that have certainly benefited her community. But through such efforts as on the White House Conference on Aging and others, she has not limited her scope and her influence to the wonderful community of Miramar but has attempted to serve this entire nation. So it is with a great deal of pride that I rise today to put forward this bill and to commend, as I said, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings) and the entire Florida delegation who have joined in the cosponsoring of the bill, and I urge all of our colleagues to join us in supporting this initiative. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McHUGH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, let me again thank the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings) for bringing to us the name of an individual, as we heard in some detail, who really does bespeak what is good and right about this country and, more importantly, good and right about its people. We are indebted to him and to all of his colleagues who joined with him in supporting it. Finally, I would urge of all of our Members here today to support us in passing this very worthy bill. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. McHUGH

Mr. McHUGH. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4169) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 2000 Vassar Street in Reno, Nevada, as the ``Barbara F. Vucanovich Post Office Building.''

Mr. McHUGH. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. McHUGH. Mr. Speaker, I am happy to yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Maloney).

Mr. McHUGH. Mr. Speaker, I mentioned the gentleman who did so much good work on this legislation. We are pleased that the gentleman is able to be with us here at this moment, and I happily yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Gibbons).

Mr. McHUGH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, as we just heard in the bill previous to H.R. 4169, we had the opportunity to recognize the contributions of a gentleman who focused his very considerable talents and dedicated his many, many contributions to the great community of Fayetteville. Mr. Speaker, on this piece of legislation, we have an opportunity to single out an individual who served in a somewhat broader arena, who also contributed and sacrificed. I want to thank the gentleman from the great State of Nevada (Mr. Gibbons), my friend and colleague, for his sponsorship of this bill that seeks to honor the former Member of this House, Barbara Vucanovich by naming the facility located at 2000 Vassar Street in Reno, Nevada as the Barbara F. Vucanovich Post Office Building. As with the previous initiative, the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Gibbons) has struck out and had each Member of the State delegation of Nevada become cosponsors of this, and by struck out, of course, I meant to seek out and to successfully achieve that objective. Mrs. Vucanovich's achievements are well-known to many of us in this House. Those of us from New York have some perhaps additional reasons for pride, because, indeed, she grew up, spent many of her formative years in our great State capitol, in Albany, but clearly to many of us, her finest hours were upon this floor and in our committee rooms where she served from 1983 until 1997. Mr. Speaker, her achievements, her dedication, particularly to Nevadans is well-known. She spent a great deal of effort trying to work on issues involving such issues as Federal wilderness, national park policy, public land use and nuclear waste disposal, to name just a few. Her retirement left this House somewhat poorer in that we no longer had her here as an everyday presence to help this great body in its deliberations. But clearly we can this afternoon, and I would hope we would, in fact, honor those contributions that she so selflessly extended through her service on the Committees of Interior and Insular Affairs, the Committee on House Administration and certainly amongst the more important efforts as chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction. It is always a special moment when we can extend this kind of honor to a former colleague. I, again, want to thank the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Gibbons) for his efforts and certainly urge all of our colleagues to support this legislation. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McHUGH

Mr. McHUGH. Mr. Speaker, I would like to say a final thanks to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Hayes) and the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. McIntyre) who we have heard from today and thank them for their cosponsorship. Mr. Speaker, I would urge all of our colleagues to support this legislation. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. McHUGH. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Hayes), with my personal thanks and the thanks of the subcommittee for his efforts on this legislation.

Mr. McHUGH

Mr. McHUGH. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on H.R. 4658.

Mr. McHUGH

Mr. McHUGH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, this final bill, regardless of its sequence in the legislative calendar, is certainly equal to the high standards that have been set not just here today on the floor but I think historically through this Congress with respect to postal namings. I want to thank the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings) for working so hard to bring this very meritorious piece of legislation before us. As the Clerk said, it does seek to designate the United States Post Office facility located at 919 West 34th Street in Baltimore, Maryland, as the Samuel H. Lacy, Sr. Post Office. And as was true with the previous three initiatives, Mr. Speaker, each Member here too of the House delegation from the great State of Maryland has joined the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings) in cosponsoring this bill. All of us who come to this floor find ourselves laboring beneath a podium that is suspended above the House here that is the place put aside to seat the members of the various media. And, indeed, those of us who have the honor of serving this House and in government and politics sometimes find ourselves in an interesting love-hate relationship with many members of the media. But I think it is fair to say for all of us that, at the end of the day, despite our occasional disagreements, those of us in public office have a great deal of respect, a great deal of admiration for those who serve in that capacity of keeping the people of this country informed. Certainly our Constitution, our Founding Fathers and founding mothers, understood the importance of a free press and an active press, and one that was never afraid, never too shy to come forward and to report the facts and the truth as they saw it. My understanding of Mr. Lacy is that he has dedicated his life to that kind of effort. And, in fact, he has accrued some 60 years in journalism, working in radio, television, and the print media. He was a renowned sportswriter and editor for the Baltimore Afro-American Newspaper, starting back in 1944. And, in fact, even to this day he still resides in the great city of Baltimore and still works in journalism, adding each and every hour of each and every day to that fine list of achievements. So we have, I think, a very fitting finale to our four-bill calendar today, seeking to honor this gentleman who has served in the media, fulfilled that solemn commitment that is embodied in our Constitution of a free and unfettered press, in defense of the first amendment and freedom of speech. So I want to again thank the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings) for his initiative, and certainly urge all our Members and colleagues to support this very worthy bill. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McHUGH. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on H.R. 4447.

Mr. McHUGH. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4447) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 919 West 34th Street in Baltimore, Maryland, as the ``Samuel H. Lacy, Sr. Post Office Building.''

Mr. McHUGH

Mr. McHUGH. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on H.R. 3909.

Mr. McHUGH. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3909) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 4601 South Cottage Grove Avenue in Chicago, Illinois, as the ``Henry W. McGee Post Office Building.''

Mr. McHUGH. Reclaiming my time, Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that. We always know, whether the gentleman is on the floor or somewhere else, that he is working on all our behalves, and I mean that with all sincerity. Before I yield back, Mr. Speaker, I want to associate myself with virtually all the speakers on the other side of the aisle. I think they made very poignant, very appropriate comments about the appropriateness of this particular bill. As I tried to indicate in my opening remarks, this is a special bill, amongst a series of special bills. This gentleman, through his efforts in the postal service and this gentleman through his efforts in his community, as the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) so aptly put it, can indeed serve as a source of inspiration, of leadership far beyond any minority community but across the wide horizon. He is the kind of individual and gentleman to which all peoples, young and old alike, can look to for real landmarks in how to guide and live their lives. So this is a particularly fine bill, and I am proud to be here today with the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Rush) and others who have made it possible. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. McHUGH. I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania.

Mr. McHUGH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume to thank the ranking member for his efforts through this continuing labor on behalf of the subcommittee. I understand he has to go off for other business while we complete the final bill, but, as always, he has been a leader and an engine of cooperation.

Mr. McHUGH. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McHUGH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I would admit to some bias in the bill just passed and that, as a Member of this House, it brings a particular sense of pleasure to be able to bestow a naming honor upon a former colleague. However, as a citizen, and perhaps for the purposes of this initiative, more importantly as the chairman of the Subcommittee on Postal Service, I think it is particularly appropriate when we have, as we do on this particular bill, the opportunity to bestow an honor upon an individual who has dedicated, in this case, his life to service of the United States Postal Service itself. The gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Rush) introduced this legislation on March 14. As the Clerk has read, it does designate the Postal Service facility at 4601 South Cottage Grove Avenue in Chicago, Illinois, as the ``Henry W. McGee Post Office Building.'' Mr. McGee began his life in Texas, in Hillsboro, Texas, but moved to Chicago in 1966. He began working for the Postal Service when he was just 20 years old and retired in 1973 after 45 years, 4\1/2\ decades of selfless and dedicated service to that great organization. Mr. McGee was Chicago's very first African-American postmaster in 1966, and he was also the first career postmaster in the great city of Chicago. He thereafter went on to accrue long lists of achievements and accrue long lists of sacrifices on behalf of his community, on behalf of his country. In World War II, he was a member of the Illinois State Militia. He made every effort to better himself through continued education and was a founding board member of the Rochelle Lee Fund for Children's Literacy where he also attempted to help the education and the betterment of so many others. Sadly, Mr. McGee died in March of this year at the wonderful age of 90, but behind him left the kind of life from which all of us can derive a great deal of inspiration and certainly can derive a great deal of lessons as well. I want to commend the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Rush) for his initiative, and I urge all of our Members to join us in supporting this bill. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McHUGH

Mr. McHUGH. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on H.R. 4169.