[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 142 (Tuesday, October 21, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H8854-H8855]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
DOUGLAS APPLEGATE POST OFFICE
Mr. McHUGH. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 2129) to designate the U.S. Post Office located at 150 North
3d Street in Steubenville, OH, as the ``Douglas Applegate Post
Office.''
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 2129
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. DESIGNATION.
The United States Post Office located at 150 North 3rd
Street in Steubenville, Ohio, shall be known and designated
as the ``Douglas Applegate Post Office''.
SEC. 2. REFERENCES.
Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper,
or other record of the United States to the United States
Post Office referred to in section 1 shall be deemed to be a
reference to the ``Douglas Applegate Post Office''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New
York [Mr. McHugh] and the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Fattah] each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York [Mr. McHugh].
Mr. McHUGH. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, H.R. 2129 designates the U.S. Post Office located at
150 North 3d Street in Steubenville, OH, as the Douglas Applegate Post
Office. The legislation was introduced by the gentleman from Ohio [Mr.
Traficant] and cosponsored by the entire House delegation from the
State of Ohio, as in accordance with the policy of the Committee on
Government Reform and House Oversight.
Mr. Applegate was born and educated in Steubenville. He served in the
Ohio House of Representatives and the Ohio Senate for 8 years,
respectively. He was then elected to the 95th Congress by Ohio's 18th
Congressional District, and reelected each term until his retirement
after the 103d Congress.
Mr. Applegate was known as an advocate of America's veterans, and was
chairman of the Subcommittee on Compensation, Pension, and Insurance of
the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Though he was known as a quiet
worker, he strongly and emphatically defended American jobs.
Madam Speaker, H.R. 2129 designates the U.S. Post Office located at
150 North 3d Street in Steubenville, OH, as the Douglas Applegate Post
Office. The legislation was introduced by Mr. Traficant and cosponsored
by the entire House delegation from the State of Ohio in accordance
with the policy of the Committee on the Government Reform and
Oversight.
Mr. Applegate was born and educated in Steubenville. He served in the
Ohio House of Representatives and the Ohio Senate for 8 years
respectively. He was then elected to the 95th Congress by Ohio's 18th
Congressional District and reelected each term until his retirement
after the 103d Congress. Mr. Applegate was known as an advocate of
America's veterans and was the chairman of the Veterans' Affairs
Subcommittee on Compensation, Pensions, and Insurance. Though he was
known as a quiet worker, he strongly and emphatically defended American
jobs.
Madam Speaker, I urge our colleagues to support H.R. 2129 designating
the U.S. Post Office located at 150 North 3d Street in Steubenville,
OH, as the Douglas Applegate Post Office.
Madam Speaker, the Congressional Budget Office has affirmed that the
legislation contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as
defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 and would impose no
costs on State, local, or tribal governments.
Madam Speaker, I would say, as happened earlier this afternoon with
our tribute to a former colleague, Mr. Moorhead, that Mr. Applegate as
well represents the kind of dignity, the kind of hard work and honesty,
that this body strives for each and every day.
{time} 1330
And he certainly would represent a very, very fitting recipient of
this postal naming bill, and I urge the support by all of my
colleagues.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. FATTAH. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
[[Page H8855]]
Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2129. The sponsor of this
bill, the gentleman from the great State of Ohio [Mr. Traficant], has
been very enthusiastic in making sure the committee acted expeditiously
on this piece of legislation. But I think it is appropriate because the
colleague whose service we recognize in the naming of this postal
facility is someone who, in many ways, the gentleman from Ohio
seemingly has some bond with because of their support for similar
causes.
Madam Speaker, the naming bill that is in front of us is a bill that
hopefully will enjoy broad-based support.
Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman
from Ohio [Mr. Traficant].
Mr. TRAFICANT. Madam Speaker, Steubenville is a tough town. It
produced Dean Martin and Douglas Applegate, and both of them had as big
an effect in the professional careers that they pursued. Dean Martin, a
giant on the screen and, although a lot of people did not realize this,
Doug Applegate was a giant right here.
Madam Speaker, when it comes to veterans benefits, veterans
compensation, and benefit compensation to survivors of those who lost
their lives, Doug Applegate was responsible for that legislation. When
it came about, as chairman of the Subcommittee on Water Resources, to
restrict the interstate transportation of hazardous materials, Douglas
Applegate did not get a whole lot of attention for it. When the
Taiwanese manufacturers were producing American flags and giving us a
great deal on them, it was Doug Applegate that brought to the attention
of Congress and the American people that Old Glory was being made by a
Taiwanese factory.
Madam Speaker, all of these imports all of a sudden had a ``Made in
America'' label on them. Doug Applegate worked very hard with me to
pass the law now that provides for a Federal offense to be applied to
anybody who places a fraudulent ``Made in America" label.
When it comes to benefits to veterans, Doug Applegate is a giant in
our history just like Dean Martin is a giant in the movie industry.
Madam Speaker, he was one of my mentors. He was just a great guy.
Along with Walter Jones and Jamie Whitten, there was no one better, and
maybe he is responsible for what I have evolved into. But this is
certainly one of the great Members that we have had in our past. He
really did not get the attention and the glory that he should have
earned. But I would like to, hopefully with the naming of this post
office, see that that comes to pass.
His beautiful wife Betty, I hope that they are watching, great
children and grandchildren. I do not know, maybe Doug is down there in
Florida now. But hopefully we will see him up in Steubenville.
Madam Speaker, it is a tough town, he is a tough guy, and he will
have his name on a new post office. I am hopeful that we will get the
other body to expeditiously handle our affair, and I thank the Congress
for listening to my plea.
H.R. 2129, to designate the U.S. Post Office in Steubenville, OH, as
the ``Douglas Applegate U.S. Post Office,'' will pay a much-deserved
tribute to a strong leader, a loyal friend, and a great man.
As many of you may remember, Doug was not one to grandstand or bring
attention to himself. Doug chose, instead, to work quietly, yet
diligently. It was in this manner that he affected important change,
earned the respect of his colleagues, and won the loyalty of Ohio's
18th Congressional District.
Doug chose his legislative battles then devoted himself to them
completely. Among the most important items on his agenda was protecting
the benefits to our country's veterans. He worked to substantially
increase the benefits to the survivors of those who did not make it
home. Realizing that no amount of money could ever make up for their
terrible loss, he also knew that such compensation could make life a
little less complicated for those left behind.
Doug was a champion of American jobs and industry. His house
stationery was emblazoned with the slogan ``Buy American! Save American
Jobs!'' But, this was not just a slogan to Doug. Time and again he
demonstrated his determination to protect and promote American jobs.
He fought to protect the sanctity of the ``Made in the U.S.A.'' label
when he worked to uncover a scheme, concocted by American companies, to
cut labor costs by having United States flags made in Taiwan, then
labeled ``Made in the U.S.A.'' Doug refused to let our workers and our
industry be misrepresented by those only concerned with the bottom
line.
Throughout his tenure in Congress, Doug demonstrated tremendous
integrity and true leadership ability. He could work to build a
consensus, yet he was not afraid to stand alone.
Never afraid to stand up for what he believed, he would not play
partisan politics if he felt the interests of the American people could
be better served by following another viewpoint.
In addition to all of this, however, some of my fondest memories of
Doug will be of a great and loyal friend.
I urge all of my colleagues who believe that great leadership should
be memorialized, to vote for H.R. 2129 to designate the U.S. Post
Office in Steubenville, OH, the ``Douglas Applegate Post Office.''
Mr. McHUGH. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time. I
would join with the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Traficant], a man who is
known for his plain words and straight-to-the-point comments on this
floor, and he has done them again here today, and his very poignant
tribute to a former colleague. I urge all of our colleagues to support
passage of this bill.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. FATTAH. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I would just say that the gentleman from Ohio [Mr.
Traficant], in the conclusion of his remarks said that he hoped that
the House would hear his words. There is not a day that he has spoken
before the House that all of America has not heard his words. So we
thank the gentleman for authoring this legislation, and we would hope
that it would receive unanimous support.
Mr. JOHNSON of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support
of H.R. 2129, which would designate the U.S. post office in
Steubenville, OH as the Doug Applegate Post Office.
Although I never had the privilege of serving in Congress with former
Congressman Applegate, I do have the privilege of serving on the
Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment, which he chaired. I
have also heard a lot about him through my legislative director, George
Shevlin, who worked for Mr. Applegate for 5 years. George has told me
of the fine work that Congressman Applegate did on behalf of his
congressional district and about how he was known for providing
excellent constituent services. He was very aware of the needs of his
district, which was hard hit by the economic restructuring of the
1970's and 1980's, and worked hard to protect American jobs. He
followed the example of his father, who was the mayor of Steubenville,
by dedicating his life to public service, first in the statehouse in
Columbus, and then for nine terms in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Despite his many years in Congress, he never lost touch with his
district, and traveled back there every weekend possible, even after he
had announced his retirement.
Doug Applegate was also known for his tireless work on behalf of
veterans and, as chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on
Compensation, Pensions, and Insurance, he worked hard to increase the
benefits to the survivors of those who gave their lives for our
country. He was well-liked by his colleagues on both sides of the aisle
and was loved by his loyal staff, most of whom served him for many
years.
Mr. Speaker, I believe that we would all do well by following
Congressman Applegate's example of service to his constituents and
therefore I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this fine tribute to
a dedicated public servant and former colleague.
Mr. FATTAH. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from New York [Mr. McHugh], that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 2129.
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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