[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 65 (Monday, May 23, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: May 23, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
         SAM B. HALL, JR. FEDERAL BUILDING AND U.S. COURTHOUSE

  Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 3840) to designate the Federal building and U.S. courthouse 
located at 100 East Houston Street in Marshall, TX, as the ``Sam B. 
Hall, Jr. Federal Building and United States Courthouse.''
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 3840

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. DESIGNATION.

       The Federal building located at 100 East Houston Street in 
     Marshall, Texas, shall be known and designated as the ``Sam 
     B. Hall, Jr. Federal Building and United States Courthouse''.

     SECTION 2. REFERENCES.

       Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper, 
     or other record of the United States to the Federal building 
     and United States courthouse referred to in section 1 shall 
     be deemed to be a reference to the ``Sam B. Hall, Jr. Federal 
     Building and United States Courthouse''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Ohio [Mr. Traficant] will be recognized for 20 minutes, and the 
gentleman from Wisconsin [Mr. Petri] will be recognized for 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Traficant].
  Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, Congressman Sam B. Hall, Jr., was appointed to be the 
U.S. district judge for the eastern district of Texas in 1985. This 
appointment followed an impressive career in Congress serving the 
constituents of the First Congressional District of Texas from 1976 to 
1985.
  He was first elected to Congress in a special election following the 
death of Representative Wright Patman. In the House, he served with 
great distinction on the Judiciary and Veterans Affairs Committees. 
Judge Hall was especially interested in the compelling issue of POW's 
and MIA's and in 1978, he traveled to Southeast Asia to investigate 
POW's and MIA's, returning with the remains of 13 American servicemen.
  On April 10, 1994, after a long public career, Judge Hall died at the 
age of 70. In recognition of his many contributions to his State and 
Nation, it is fitting and appropriate to designate the Federal 
buildings and U.S. courthouse located at 100 East Houston Street in 
Marshall, TX, as the ``Sam B. Hall, Jr. Federal Building and U.S. 
Courthouse.''
  I urge adoption of H.R. 3840 and reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to support H.R. 3840, which designates the 
Federal building and U.S. courthouse in Marshall, TX as the ``Sam B. 
Hall, Jr. Federal Building and Courthouse.''
  The late Sam B. Hall was a distinguished Member of Congress from 1977 
to 1985.
  As a Member of Congress, Representative Hall was a highly regarded 
member of the House Judiciary and Veterans' Affairs Committees as well 
as the Select Committee on Narcotics. Judge Hall, upon appointment by 
President Reagan, served with great distinction as a Federal district 
judge in the Eastern District of Texas.

                              {time}  1320

  In addition, Judge Hall was devoted to his family, and gave endless 
hours of service to his community. Judge Hall passed away in April of 
this year.
  I am pleased to join the sponsor of this legislation, the gentleman 
from Texas [Mr. Chapman], in urging the House to approve H.R. 3840.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to 
the distinguished successor of Sam B. Hall, the gentleman from Texas 
[Mr. Chapman].
  (Mr. CHAPMAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. CHAPMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3840, 
legislation to name the Federal building and U.S. courthouse located in 
Marshall, TX, as the ``Sam B. Hall, Jr. Federal Building and United 
States Courthouse.'' I introduced this legislation on February 10 to 
honor Judge Hall who served here in the House as the Representative to 
the First Congressional District from 1977 until 1985 and most recently 
served as a U.S. district judge for the eastern district of Texas.
  As we all know, Judge Hall recently passed away on Sunday, April 10. 
After fighting valiantly with cancer, his death has saddened all of us 
who knew him. Judge Hall gave a lifetime of commitment to the Marshall 
community and its people and I believe it is fitting and proper that 
the Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, where he served as the 
District Court Judge until his recent death, be dedicated to Sam B. 
Hall, Jr.
  Sam B. Hall, Jr., was born and raised in Marshall, TX. He graduated 
from Marshall High School in 1940 and the College of Marshall in 1942. 
He attended the University of Texas at Austin, served in the U.S. Army 
Air Corps, and upon discharge from the Air Corps, enrolled in Baylor 
University where in 1948 he received an LL.B. degree from Baylor School 
of Law.
  Upon graduation from Baylor, Judge and Mrs. Hall returned to Marshall 
where Judge Hall practiced law until his election to Congress in 1976. 
During his years in private practice, Judge Hall had a distinguished 
legal career, and devoted his time not only toward the judiciary but 
toward improving the community. Judge Hall had a deep desire to serve 
the people of Marshall, TX, and was a member of many civic and 
community organizations. He served in the Marshall Jaycees, the Greater 
Marshall Chamber of Commerce, the Rotary Club, the Kiwanis, on the 
Marshall Memorial Hospital Board, and the Marshall School Board. He was 
recognized as the citizen of the year by the Marshall Chamber of 
Commerce among numerous other awards and honors. His example inspired 
many in public service.
  Judge Hall served as my predecessor in representing the First 
Congressional District of Texas in the U.S. Congress in which time he 
distinguished himself in many ways. He served on the House Judiciary 
Committee--serving as the chairman of the Administrative law and 
Governmental Affairs Subcommittee and as a member of the Immigration, 
Refugees and International Law Subcommittee; and the Veterans Affairs 
Committee--serving as a Member and past chairman of the Subcommittee on 
Compensation, Pension and Insurance and as a member of the Subcommittee 
on Oversight and Investigations; and the Select Committee on Narcotics 
Abuse Control. His impressive dedication to public service and his 
career in the Congress was particularly demonstrated through his work 
on issues such as POW/MIASS, U.S. involvement in Lebanon, and justice 
matters. His devoted service, honesty, and caring for people was 
recognized by his constituents and reflected in each of his reelection 
campaigns for Congress.
  In 1985, Judge Hall resigned his seat in Congress and was sworn in as 
a U.S. district judge for the eastern district of Texas. His dedication 
to the bench earned him the deep respect and admiration of many of his 
colleagues.
  Throughout his life as a dedicated public servant, Judge Sam B. Hall, 
Jr., never lost sight of the importance of his family. He was a devoted 
and loving husband to his wife, Madeline, and he had three daughters 
who he loved very deeply. Judge Hall dedicated his life to the people 
of Marshall, the State of Texas, and the country. He served the public 
in a superb manner and loved and provided for his family.
  It was my hope that Judge Hall would be a part of the dedication 
ceremonies for naming the courthouse in his honor. Mr. Speaker, I urge 
my colleagues to vote in support of this legislation to honor Judge 
Hall. It would be a tribute which Sam B. Hall, Jr., so richly deserves.
  Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to 
the gentleman from Kentucky [Mr. Mazzoli], the distinguished chairman 
of the Subcommittee on International Law, Immigration, and Refugees, 
and a friend of Sam Hall.
  (Mr. MAZZOLI asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. MAZZOLI. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this 
time. I rise in strong support of this resolution to rename the Federal 
courthouse and Federal building in Marshall, TX, after our late 
colleague and my very good friend, Sam B. Hall, Jr.
  Mr. Speaker, one can learn a great deal about a person by sitting 
next to him or her in committee meetings, and it was my great privilege 
to sit next to Judge Hall for many years from his joining the Committee 
on the Judiciary in 1976 until he became a Federal judge in 1985.
  We talked a lot in these sessions, and we talked a lot about things 
that all people talk about, their family, their community, their 
country, their leadership.
  I also sat next to Judge Hall when we flew back from Southeast Asia, 
an 18-hour trip from Bangkok, after having visited the refugee camps in 
Thailand, seeing deprivation and difficulty, and we talked a lot on the 
way back to Washington. You learn a lot about a person that way, Mr. 
Speaker.
  Everything I learned about Judge Hall was positive, that he is, I 
say, in present tense. It is hard to think of Sam in the past tense. He 
was a very good man.
  You can learn a lot about a person in how he treats his family and 
his friends. And Judge Hall always talked about Madeleine. He talked 
about the daughters. He talked about his grandchildren. He talked about 
them fondly and with great love and affection, as he talked about us, 
his friends and the Members with whom he served here in Congress.
  I have learned in these years, working with Sam, that this was a man 
who did take public service very seriously. It was a happy moment when 
we learned that our friend was being elevated to the Federal bench by 
President Reagan. But there was a note of sadness, because it took 
Madeleine and Sam from our community here. They did return to their 
beloved Marshall, but it meant that Helen and I did not have our good 
friends, who lived in Arlington fairly near us, to join periodically 
and have fun and friendship with.
  Our daughter and son-in-law and grandbaby lived in Sugar Land, TX, 
for some years, and each time I went to Texas to visit them, I would 
pick up the phone and call Sam or Madeleine over in Marshall, and we 
talked. And I knew, of course, from our last conversation in January 
with Madeleine that Sam was extremely ill. But always we kept hoping. 
And when it came to pass on April 10 Sam was unable to continue his 
valiant fight, it was a moment of poignance for all of us who knew him, 
because we knew that a good man, a solid public servant, a good jurist, 
a good Member of Congress, had been taken from us.
  So, Mr. Speaker, I can think of nothing better in remembrance of Sam 
B. Hall, Jr., and what he stood for as a legislator and as a jurist, 
than to name the courthouse and the Federal building in Marshall, his 
hometown, after him. We do that in memory of Sam and also in sympathy 
to his family, to Madeleine and the family, because we know what a 
grievous loss they have sustained.
  Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to 
the gentleman from Mississippi [Mr. Montgomery], a good friend of Judge 
Hall, who worked with him on Veterans' Affairs.
  (Mr. MONTGOMERY asked and was given permission to revise and extend 
his remarks.)
  Mr. MONTGOMERY. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the manager of this 
bill, the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Traficant], and also the gentleman 
from Wisconsin [Mr. Petri], for bringing this bill to the floor today, 
and to the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Chapman], who is the author of 
this legislation. I am proud to be a cosponsor.
  I rise in support of this legislation naming the Federal Courthouse 
in Marshall, TX, the Sam B. Hall, Jr., Federal Courthouse. I had the 
pleasure, Mr. Speaker, as you did and others, to serve with Sam Hall. 
He was elected, as has been said here today, in a special election in 
June of 1976, and he resigned in 1985. He really was what Texas was all 
about, a man born and reared in Texas, a man of the soil.
  I had the privilege of also being on that trip that was mentioned by 
the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Chapman], when we went to Southeast Asia, 
and Sam Hall and others were able to bring back some Americans who lost 
their lives, to bring their remains back.
  Mr. Speaker, he wanted to go back to Texas after serving almost 10 
years in the House of Representatives. He was appointed Federal 
district judge by the President of the United States, who was Ronald 
Reagan. He really loved being a Judge and enjoyed his farm, and after 
working all day as a Federal Judge, he would go out to the farm in the 
late afternoon. I know that Judge Hall's wife, Mardeline, and their 
three daughters, will be proud of this action today taken by the House 
of Representatives.
  Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I served with Judge Hall. He was a great friend of all 
of us. I think your comments and the comments of the gentleman from 
Mississippi [Mr. Montgomery] say a whole lot. A ranking minority 
member, the gentleman from Tennessee [Mr. Duncan], who is not here with 
us today, also was a very good friend and made some very strong 
comments at the subcommittee level.

                              {time}  1330

  I want to make sure that the gentleman from Tennessee [Mr. Duncan] 
has an opportunity in the future to have those remarks placed in the 
Record.
  With that, I urge adoption of H.R. 3840, Mr. Speaker.
  Mr. MINETA. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3840, a bill to 
designate a Federal building located at 100 East Houston Street in 
Marshall, TX, as the ``Sam B. Hall, Jr., Federal Building and U.S. 
Courthouse.''
  Congressman Sam Blakely Hall, Jr., was born in Marshall, TX in 1924. 
He attended Marshall public schools, and the College of Marshall. He 
served in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers during World War II from 
1943 to 1945. In 1946, Congressman Hall graduated from Baylor 
University and from Baylor University Law School in 1948. That same 
year he was admitted to the Texas bar and commenced private practice 
continuing until 1976.
  On June 19, 1976, during the 94th Congress, Sam Hall was elected by 
special election to the U.S. Congress to fill the vacancy created upon 
the death of U.S. Representative Wright Patman. Congressman Hall was 
reelected to the five succeeding Congresses and served the constituents 
of the 1st Congressional District of Texas until May 1985.
  While in Congress, Congressman Hall served on the House Judiciary 
Committee, chairing its Subcommittee on Administrative Law and 
Government. Some of his most important work involved American Prisoners 
of War [POWs] and Missing in Action [MIAs] and United States 
involvement in Lebanon. In 1978 he was appointed to a congressional 
delegation that traveled to Southeast Asia to investigate POWs and MIAs 
and returned with the remains of 13 servicemen.
  Upon being appointed by President Reagan as a U.S. district judge for 
the eastern district, Congressman Hall resigned from the House on May 
17, 1985, and was sworn in as judge the following day.
  Judge Hall received numerous awards honoring him for his dedication 
and outstanding contributions to his profession and to his country. On 
April 10, 1994, in Marshall, TX, Sam Hall died at the age of 70. It is 
fitting and appropriate to designate the Federal Building and U.S. 
Courthouse located at 100 East Houston Street in Marshall TX, as the 
``Sam B. Hall, Jr. Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse.''
  I urge an ``aye'' vote.
  Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Mazzoli). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Traficant] that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3840.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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