[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 73 (Monday, June 2, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5191-S5192]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. WARNER:
  S. 819. A bill to designate the United States courthouse at 200 South 
Washington Street in Alexandria, Virginia, as the ``Martin V.B. 
Bostetter, Jr. United States Courthouse''; to the Committee on 
Environment and Public Works.


THE MARTIN V.B. BOSTETTER, JR. UNITED STATES COURTHOUSE DESIGNATION ACT 
                                OF 1997

   Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I am introducing a bill today to 
designate the U.S. Bankruptcy Courthouse, at 200 S. Washington Street 
in Alexandria, VA the ``Martin V.B. Bostetter, Jr. United States 
Courthouse.''
  I authored previous legislation which is now law, authorizing the 
transfer of the Albert V. Bryan U.S. Courthouse building name from 200 
S. Washington Street to the new Alexandria U.S. Courthouse. Since that 
time the old Albert V. Bryan Courthouse has remained nameless, while 
still serving the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. I can think of no better 
person to name the bankruptcy court after than Chief Judge Bostetter 
given his long service to the bankruptcy court in Alexandria.
  Chief Judge Bostetter is currently the Chief Judge for the Eastern 
District of Virginia. He was appointed to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in 
1959, and appointed Chief Judge on February 1, 1985. He has the longest 
tenure on the bench of any bankruptcy judge in the country, a record he 
will probably hold for sometime.

[[Page S5192]]

  Born in Baltimore, MD, on March 11, 1926, Judge Bostetter, has spent 
most of his life in Virginia. He attended Mount Vernon High School in 
Fairfax County, VA, and, after serving in the U.S. Navy during World 
War II, attended the University of Virginia where he obtained his B.A. 
Degree in 1950 and his law degree LL.B. Degree in 1952.
  I might add that I attended the University of Virginia Law School 
entering in 1949, then serving in the Korean war and returning for 
completion of my degree in 1953, 1 year after Judge Bostetter.
  Since 1952, Chief Judge Bostetter's entire legal career has occurred 
within an 8 block radius of Old Town Alexandria. He began his practice 
of law in the city of Alexandria, and, in 1953 he was appointed special 
assistant to the city attorney, serving in the capacity of city 
prosecutor. Judge Bostetter resigned that position in 1957 to become 
associate judge of the municipal court of the city of Alexandria, where 
he served for a period of 2 years, resigning in 1959.
  In 1959, Chief Judge Bostetter set up the first Bankruptcy Court in 
Alexandria at 200 S. Washington St.--the very building which he now 
occupies as Chief Judge of the Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern 
District of Virginia 38 years later.
  Over the last 38 years Judge Bostetter has seen the work of the 
Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia grow from 9 
filings per month to more than 2,600 filings per month and its 
personnel requirements increase from 1 clerk to three divisions with 5 
full time judges and an administrative staff of 90 employees. The 
Alexandria Division where Judge Bostetter serves now has 2 full time 
judges, 22 employees and averages 790 filings per month. During much of 
his career, Judge Bostetter has, by necessity, handled this 
increasingly heavy case load of approximately 2\1/2\ judges.
  During his tenure as a bankruptcy judge, Chief Judge Bostetter has 
been a dedicated and loyal public servant serving the people of 
Virginia faithfully with honor, integrity and distinction. Chief Judge 
Bostetter has fulfilled his duties as a bankruptcy judge with a strong 
sense of fairness and pragmatism while at the same time adhering to the 
constraints imposed by the Bankruptcy Code and related caselaw. In 
addition, Chief Judge Bostetter has set very high standards for the 
lawyers who practice before him making those lawyers better prepared 
and more effective advocates for their respective clients' interests.
  Mr. President, in addition to being an accomplished jurist, Judge 
Bostetter has also held several other distinguished positions. In 1957, 
he was appointed by the city of Alexandria as one of the original 
commissioners to serve on the Juvenile Detention Commission for 
Northern Virginia and served as its chairman from the inception of the 
commission until 1974. In 1959, the Alexandria Junior Chamber of 
Commerce awarded him the Distinguished Service Award as the 
``Outstanding Young Man of the Year 1959,'' and the Kiwanis Club of 
Alexandria designated him as an honorary member for his civic 
contributions to the city. In 1960, he was nominated by the Alexandria 
Junior Chamber of Commerce as 1 of the 10 outstanding men of the United 
States for his work on the Juvenile Detention Commission.
  Along with his responsibilities as a bankruptcy judge, Chief Judge 
Bostetter served as a member of the Committee on Court Administration 
of the Judicial Conference of the United States from July 1, 1982, 
until it was dissolved by reorganization of the Judicial Conference in 
1987. On October 16, 1984, he was elected by the Judicial Conference of 
the United States to the Board of Directors of the Federal Judicial 
Center, serving in that position until September 1987. He is a former 
member of the Transition Advisory Committee on Bankruptcy to the 
Director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. In 1986, he 
was appointed by Chief Justice Warren Burger as chairman of a committee 
to expand and improve the educational programs for all bankruptcy 
judges. Justice Rehnquist, upon assuming the position of Chief Justice 
of the United States, reappointed Chief Judge Bostetter to continue as 
chairman of that committee until his term expired in 1989. In addition, 
Chief Judge Bostetter was appointed to the State-Federal Judicial 
Relations Committee of the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1991.
  In addition to his significant public service as a judge, Chief Judge 
Bostetter has a strong record of civic contributions as well. He has 
served as president of the Alexandria Bar Association, president of the 
Alexandria Junior Chamber of Commerce, president and chairman of the 
Board of the Alexandria Sertoma Club, president of Alexandria Mental 
Health Association, and has also served on the boards of the Alexandria 
Hospital Corporation, the Alexandria Mental Health Clinic, the 
Alexandria Community Chest, and the Alexandria Boys' Club.
  Mr. President, I can think of no better tribute to Judge Bostetter 
than to name the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, at 200 South Washington Street, 
Alexandria, VA the Martin V.B. Bostetter, Jr. U.S. Bankruptcy 
Courthouse.

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