[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 93 (Tuesday, July 14, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H5445-H5446]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      DICK CHENEY FEDERAL BUILDING

  Mr. KIM. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 3453) to designate the Federal Building and Post Office located 
at 100 East B Street, Casper, Wyoming, as the ``Dick Cheney Federal 
Building''.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 3453

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

     SECTION 1. DESIGNATION OF DICK CHENEY FEDERAL BUILDING.

       The Federal Building and Post Office located at 100 East B 
     Street, Casper, Wyoming, shall be known and designated as the 
     ``Dick Cheney Federal Building''.

     SEC. 2. REFERENCES.

       Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper, 
     or other record of the United States to the Federal Building 
     and Post Office referred to in section 1 shall be deemed to 
     be a reference to the ``Dick Cheney Federal Building''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Kim) and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Traficant) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California (Mr. Kim).
  Mr. KIM. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, this resolution designates the Federal Building and Post 
Office located in Casper, Wyoming, as the Dick Cheney Federal Building. 
As a former Member of this body and a former Secretary of Defense, Dick 
Cheney has served this country and distinguished himself in both the 
executive and legislative branches of Federal Government. He served in 
the administrations of Presidents Nixon, Ford and Bush. As head of the 
Department of Defense, Secretary Cheney presided over a number of 
historical operations, including Operation Just Cause in Panama and 
Operation Desert Storm in the Middle East. For his service during 
Desert Storm, President Bush awarded Secretary Cheney the Presidential 
Medal of Freedom on July 3, 1991.
  In addition to his career in the executive branch, Dick Cheney was 
elected to the House of Representatives in 1978, representing the State 
of Wyoming. At the end of his first term, he was elected to serve as 
the Chairman of the Republican Policy Committee. Congressman Cheney was 
reelected to serve in the House for five more consecutive terms. He 
became the Chairman of the Republican Conference and House Minority 
Whip during his tenure.
  For such a distinguished career and dedicated service to his career, 
this is a fitting tribute to Secretary Cheney. I support this bill and 
urge my colleagues to support the bill.
  Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I knew Dick Cheney and served with Dick Cheney and am 
proud to be here today associated with this honor being paid to the 
former Secretary of Defense. I would just like to say that under his 
stewardship and leadership, two of the largest, most recent military 
campaigns, and, I might add, most successful, perhaps, in our recent 
history, that was Operation Just Cause in Panama and Operation Desert 
Storm in the Middle East, were under his stewardship.

                              {time}  1645

  His leadership was not only positive but powerful for all of us that 
knew him. When he said something, he meant it. Everybody recognized 
that, no one debated it, and no one had to argue the point.
  He was well liked. In addition to this stern, strong leadership, he 
possessed a genuine sense of humor and did much to advance the Armed 
Services of the United States of America, and everyone who worked with 
him and interacted with him not only respected him, they liked him very 
much.
  So I want to just join today and say that I am proud to be a part of 
that, proud to be able to vote on this legislation, and urge everyone 
to vote for it.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. KIM. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the distinguished 
gentlewoman from Wyoming (Mrs. Cubin).
  (Mrs. CUBIN asked and was given permission to revise and extend her 
remarks.)
  Mrs. CUBIN. Mr. Speaker, it is a great pleasure for me to rise here 
today in support of passage of this legislation designating the Dick 
Cheney Federal Building in Casper, Wyoming. I should note that by 
naming this building after Dick, in some respects we are passing on a 
family heritage. Dick's father worked in that building when it was 
first opened, when it was a brand-new building. So I am very grateful, 
and it has special meaning to those of us from Wyoming.
  As my colleagues may know, I introduced the bill in March to rename 
the Federal building and post office in Casper, Wyoming, in recognition 
of Mr. Cheney's many contributions to our country. I can think of no 
one who is more deserving of this honor. Dick has served this body in a 
number of capacities, including policy committee chairman, conference 
chairman, and minority whip. He also very ably served our country as 
Secretary of Defense in the Bush administration and received the 
Presidential Medal of Freedom for his leadership during Operation 
Desert Storm.
  Mr. Speaker, there are few things in our lives that happen where we 
remember forever and ever where we were sitting and what we were doing 
when a

[[Page H5446]]

national event occurred. The tragic death of President Kennedy was one 
of those things for me. When Anwar Sadat was assassinated, that was 
another thing for me.
  I remember very well when Operation Desert Storm started. I was in 
the State legislature in a committee meeting in the Capitol, and the 
news came in that the bombing had started, and I remember having 
brothers that served in Vietnam and thinking about the young people 
that were there. I remember thinking, well, thank you, God, that Dick 
Cheney is in charge of those troops over there, because they could not 
be in better hands, and I truly felt that way, and I believe that 
today.
  I know my colleagues will join me in thanking Dick for his 
leadership, for his statesmanship, but, most of all, for his 
friendship. I would also like to thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania 
(Mr. Shuster), the gentleman from California (Mr. Kim), and the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure staff for working with 
me to enact this legislation. I urge the Senate to act on it 
expeditiously and hope that when it comes before that body that it will 
come into law.
  Mr. KIM. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished 
gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter).
  (Mr. BEREUTER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this 
legislation to name the Federal building in Casper for our former 
colleague, Dick Cheney. I thank the chairman for yielding me this time.
  The gentlewoman from Wyoming has pointed out Dick Cheney's meteoric 
rise within Republican ranks of leadership here in the House of 
Representatives. In all probability, he now would be the Speaker of the 
House of Representatives if he had stayed here, if he had not answered 
the call of the country to serve as our Secretary of Defense, and he 
served there so ably with such a distinguished record.
  Dick Cheney's competence was recognized by all as soon as he arrived 
here. I can recall that, directly, since he and I were first elected in 
the 96th Congress and served the first 4 years side by side on what was 
then called the House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs.
  He was born in my district in Lincoln, Nebraska. His father was an 
employee of the U.S. Soil Conservation in Nebraska before he moved to 
Wyoming with Dick and his mother. They lived in a small central 
Nebraska town during World War II when Dick's father was serving in the 
military.
  Dick Cheney has sometimes told me in the past when he came into my 
district or when I visited him in his district, ``Doug, if I stayed in 
Lincoln, of course, I would be the Congressman.'' He would be. And I 
would be? ``Well,'' he said, ``I don't know what you would be.'' So 
Dick Cheney's departure to Wyoming was probably fortunate for me and 
undoubtedly for the citizens of Wyoming.
  But I must say, as I watched Dick Cheney in this body and watched his 
competence already demonstrable in the earliest stages of his career 
here in the House, because of his service as the White House Chief of 
Staff and earlier at the OEO where he worked for Dick Rumsfield, I 
think that I and everyone else who knew Dick were quite impressed with 
him. He was my candidate to be the President of the United States; I 
wish he had made that effort.
  In any case, he brought great honor and respect to this body for the 
contributions that he made here, and I thank my colleagues, 
particularly the gentlewoman from Wyoming, for offering this 
legislation. Naming the Federal Building in Casper for the Honorable 
Richard Cheney is a wonderful tribute that ought to be due to our 
former colleague, Dick Cheney.
  Mr. KIM. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman), our chairman of the Committee on 
International Relations.
  (Mr. GILMAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in strong support of 
the gentlewoman's measure, the gentlewoman from Wyoming, in honoring 
Dick Cheney by naming the Federal building and post office at Casper, 
Wyoming, in his name.
  As a former White House Chief of Staff, as a former Member of the 
Congress, former Republican Chairman in the Congress, former Secretary 
of Defense, I can think of no more appropriate honor that we could give 
to Dick Cheney for his service to our Nation, and I am pleased to rise 
in support of the measure.
  Mr. KIM. Mr. Speaker, I have no other speakers, and I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Kim) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 3453.
  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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