Mark Meadows

Mr. MEADOWS

Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5794, introduced by Representative Ann Wagner of Missouri, to designate the post office located at 16105 Swingley Ridge Road in Chesterfield, Missouri, as the Sgt. Zachary M. Fisher Post Office. Army Sergeant Zachary Fisher, a native of Ballwin, Missouri, was killed on July 14, 2010, at Forward Operating Base Lagman in Afghanistan. He died of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his vehicle and detonated an improvised explosive device. Sergeant Fisher was only 24 years old. Mr. Speaker, Sergeant Fisher was a brave young man. He decided to join the Army Reserve, and then courageously volunteered to become a member of the Active Duty military. Sergeant Fisher chose to put himself in harm's way in order to protect the freedoms that we, as Americans, enjoy every day. We owe him a great debt of gratitude for making the ultimate sacrifice on our behalf. I ask my colleagues to honor and memorialize Zachary M. Fisher's service by supporting H.R. 5794. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as she may consume to my distinguished colleague from the State of Missouri (Mrs. Wagner).

Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support the passage of H.R. 5794, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MEADOWS

Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5562) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 801 West Ocean Avenue in Lompoc, California, as the ``Federal Correctional Officer Scott J. Williams Memorial Post Office Building.''

Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.

Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in support of H.R. 5562, which is sponsored by Representative Lois Capps of California, to designate the post office located at 801 West Ocean Avenue, in Lompoc, California, as the Federal Correctional Officer Scott J. Williams Memorial Post Office Building. Senior Officer Specialist Scott J. Williams was killed in the line of duty on April 3 of 1997. While performing routine supervision duties at the U.S. penitentiary in Lompoc, California, an inmate senselessly and brutally attacked Officer Williams, tragically taking his life. Officer Williams was a marine veteran, a former Marine of the Year, who served in Operation Desert Storm. He is survived by his wife and two daughters. I ask my colleagues to support H.R. 5562 and ensure that this fallen hero is never forgotten. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MEADOWS

Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.

Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today in support of H.R. 4030, introduced by Frederica Wilson of Florida, to designate the post office located at 18640 NW 2nd Avenue in Miami, Florida, as the Father Richard Marquess-Barry Post Office Building. The Reverend Canon Richard Livingston Marquess-Barry has led a remarkable life--one of courage, service, and strong faith. Father Marquess-Barry has been an ordained priest in the Episcopalian church for 39 years. He currently serves as the pastor of the Historic Saint Agnes Episcopal Church in Miami, Florida. In this capacity, Father Marquess-Barry has contributed to bettering the lives of those in his congregation and community, and he has earned a well-respected reputation for bridging the divide between people of different races and religions and of uplifting the downtrodden and underprivileged. The projects and ministries of his church are numerous--among them, spearheading an affordable housing project for low- and moderate-income families. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the dedication and selflessness that Father Marquess-Barry has shown throughout his life, and I urge the support for this bill. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support H.R. 4030, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4030) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 18640 NW 2nd Avenue in Miami, Florida, as the ``Father Richard Marquess-Barry Post Office Building.''

Mr. MEADOWS

Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5687) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 101 East Market Street in Long Beach, California, as the ``Juanita Millender-McDonald Post Office.''

Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.

Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in support of H.R. 5687, introduced by Representative Janice Hahn of California, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 101 East Market Street in Long Beach, California, as the Juanita Millender-McDonald Post Office. Juanita Millender-McDonald represented California's 37th District in the House of Representatives for over a decade, serving from 1996 until her untimely death. During her time in Congress, she was known for her commitment to protecting international human rights, and she worked to aid victims of genocide and human trafficking. Representative Millender-McDonald was also the first African American woman to chair the House Administration Committee. Sadly, she passed away on April 22, 2007, at age 68, due to colon cancer. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in memorializing Juanita Millender-McDonald's public service by supporting this bill. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MEADOWS. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MEADOWS. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MEADOWS

Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5385) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 55 Grasso Plaza in St. Louis, Missouri, as the ``Sgt. Amanda N. Pinson Post Office''.

Mr. MEADOWS

Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman of the Rules Committee for his leadership and his vision and his passion and his great words. I also want to thank the gentleman from Jacksonville, Florida (Mr. Crenshaw). He is a true leader, and I am proud to be a cosponsor of the ABLE Act. Today, we can talk about taxes, we can talk about legislation, but really, what we are talking about is people, Mr. Speaker. I want to share two personal stories because, for me, I don't have to deal with children with disabilities on a daily basis. I was blessed with two kids that didn't have some of those same challenges. What I have had is I have experienced the love and the compassion that two children with special needs have given to me over and over. The first one of those is a young lady, 21 years of age, with Down syndrome named Chloe. Chloe is not only a dear friend but also is someone who has been able to share with me the struggles in her life, the passion in her life, the vision. She has a part-time job. But the other part of that story is the difficulties that sometimes families with special needs have. What I have seen over and over again is that, even though I was able to experience the love firsthand, that there is a 24-hour, 7-day a week job that parents have to deal with, and some of those challenges are monumental. We need to address that as a body. We need to partner with those moms and dads across America to make sure that, indeed, what they have to face is not really handicapped because of a Tax Code that penalizes them. So the ABLE Act, after 8 long years of work by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Crenshaw), hopefully, will be voted on and passed in this very House to provide the needs and the help that those parents so desperately need. But I also want to share another story about a young lady from my home district who has just turned 1 named Holland Burleson, because, indeed, Down syndrome, whether it is with Chloe or this young lady, has a profound effect; same love, same compassion that I got to experience. But yet, what happened is that those parents went out, funded a 5K run to bring the awareness to a community up in the mountains of western North Carolina, and overwhelmingly, that community came together, raising funds not just for the benefit of the Burleson family but for the benefit of all of those families.

Mr. MEADOWS. I thank the gentleman. What happened is lives were transformed in that small little town. And so I am here today to speak on behalf of not only great work, but great vision and a partnership in which we can partner with families, moms and dads across this country, to do a job that should have been done long ago, to allow the special needs of those special families to be addressed.

Mr. MEADOWS

Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on S. 1934.

Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. S. 1934 would direct the GSA to convey property in Wyoming to Teton County, Wyoming, for fair market value. The land was originally donated to the Federal Government by the county for the purposes of a courthouse. However, since built, the courthouse has rarely been used by the Federal judiciary, and no other Federal use has been identified for this building. The bill would sell the building to the county for fair market value for the purposes of a county courthouse and county courthouse functions. Selling this property for fair market value will ensure that the taxpayers receive the best return on the property, and it will provide for the continued public use of the facility. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 1934) to direct the Administrator of General Services to convey the Clifford P. Hansen Federal Courthouse to Teton County, Wyoming.

Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his support of this legislation. I concur with him that, in terms of setting a precedent, that is not something that we want to do. This has a unique set of circumstances in which the county actually had conveyed the property to the Federal Government at no cost. Certainly, I would agree with my colleague opposite that we need to make sure that taxpayers get the best return and that this does not set a precedent. Mr. Speaker, I would urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation on behalf of the American taxpayers. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MEADOWS

Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on S. 898.

Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. S. 898 would direct the GSA to convey property in New Mexico to the Amy Biehl High School Foundation for fair market value. The Amy Biehl High School is a public charter school that has been using the building since 2006. While the school currently leases the facility from the General Services Administration, the GSA only receives a nominal rent, making it more costly to the taxpayers to maintain the property. In fact, the Amy Biehl Foundation has invested funds to renovate and restore the building for use as a school. The GSA has determined that there is no Federal need for the property, and it has concluded that the cost of managing the building exceeds any revenue. Selling this property for fair market value will ensure that taxpayers receive the best return on the property. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.