[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 164 (Thursday, November 18, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H12866-H12867]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR UNITED STATES COURTHOUSE

  Mr. COOKSEY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take from the 
Speaker's table the Senate bill (S. 1595) to designate the United 
States courthouse at 401 West Washington Street in Phoenix, Arizona, as 
the ``Sandra Day O'Connor United States Courthouse'', and ask for its 
immediate consideration in the House.
  The Clerk read the title of the Senate bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Louisiana?
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, reserving the right to object, and I shall 
not object, but I will ask the gentleman from Louisiana for an 
explanation of the bill.
  Mr. COOKSEY. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. OBERSTAR. I yield to the gentleman from Louisiana.
  Mr. COOKSEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding to me.
  Mr. Speaker, S. 1595 designates the United States courthouse in 
Phoenix, Arizona, as the Sandra Day O'Connor United States Courthouse. 
This legislation was introduced by Senator Kyl and passed the Senate on 
October 8.
  Sandra Day O'Connor grew up on a ranch founded by her grandfather in 
southeastern Arizona. The ranch house was a simple four bedroom adobe 
that did not have running water or electricity until she was 7. Justice 
O'Connor stayed with her grandmother and attended school in El Paso, 
Texas, until she graduated at the age of 16. She then entered Stanford 
University and in 1950 earned a degree in economics, graduating magna 
cum laude. Upon graduation, she entered Stanford Law School and 
graduated third in her class in 1952.
  Justice O'Connor accepted a position as deputy county attorney in San 
Mateo, California. On her experience in San Mateo, Justice O'Connor was 
quoted as saying the job ``influenced the balance of my life because it 
demonstrated how much I did enjoy public service.'' She then spent 3 
years in Frankfurt, Germany, as a civilian lawyer for the Quartermaster 
Corps while her husband was serving in the United States Army Judge 
Advocate General Corps.
  In 1957, Sandra Day O'Connor and her husband returned to the United 
States

[[Page H12867]]

and settled in Maricopa County, Arizona. While maintaining a 
partnership in her law firm and raising her three children, O'Connor 
wrote questions for the Arizona bar exam, helped start the State's 
lawyer referral service, sat on the zoning commission, served on the 
County Board of Adjustments and Appeals, served on the Governor's 
Committee on Marriage and Family, worked as an administrative assistant 
on the Arizona State Hospital, was an adviser to the Salvation Army, 
and volunteered in schools for African American and Hispanic children.
  In 1965, Justice O'Connor became an assistant State attorney general 
and continued her volunteer work. In 1969, she was appointed to fill a 
vacated seat in the State senate. She won reelection in two successive 
terms and served as majority leader in 1972. In 1974, O'Connor was 
elected to a State judgeship on the Maricopa County Superior Court 
before being appointed to the Arizona Court of Appeals.
  In 1981, while serving in the Court of Appeals, Ronald Reagan 
fulfilled his campaign pledge of nominating a female justice to sit on 
the Supreme Court and nominated Sandra Day O'Connor. Justice O'Connor 
was confirmed 99 to 0 by the Senate as the Supreme Court's first female 
justice.
  Justice O'Connor has had a major impact on the court and has 
distinguished herself as a justice, a public servant, volunteer and 
mother. This naming is a fitting honor to a person who has dedicated 
her life in so many ways to public service. I support the bill and urge 
my colleagues to support it as well.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, further reserving the right to object, I 
yield to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Shadegg).
  Mr. SHADEGG. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I 
simply want to add a few remarks for the record.
  I want to thank the chairman of the committee, the ranking member of 
the committee, and all those involved in this effort. S. 1595 is a 
fitting tribute to Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, a native of Arizona and 
a woman who has distinguished herself.
  As my colleagues know, we have constructed a new United States 
courthouse in Phoenix, Arizona, and many of us active on this issue 
have been most anxious to designate this courthouse and to name it 
after Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. As my colleague, the gentleman from 
Louisiana (Mr. Cooksey), has just recited, her career has been a 
distinguished one.
  For a moment I would like to brag about the fact that Arizona has 
many women leaders. Five of the top elected officials in Arizona today 
are women, including our governor, our secretary of State, our attorney 
general, our superintendent of public instruction, and our State 
treasurer. But before they were elected as distinguished women leaders 
of Arizona, Justice O'Connor was a distinguished member of the Arizona 
bar, and my colleague, the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Cooksey), has 
read off a litany of her accomplishments.
  I simply want to say that as a young man growing up in Phoenix and 
taking the Arizona bar and some of the questions that Justice O'Connor 
wrote, she went on to distinguish herself and to set an example which I 
believe all people should follow, and to distinguish herself in the 
legal field. I am thrilled that Ronald Reagan appointed her to the 
United States Supreme Court as the first woman Justice on that court, I 
am thrilled that she continues to do Arizona well and to demonstrate 
the leadership of the women of Arizona and the women of this Nation, 
and I simply wanted to express my sincere appreciation and thanks to 
both the chairman and the ranking member of the committee for allowing 
this legislation to proceed through this evening.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, further reserving the right to object, I 
join with delight in supporting this legislation to honor the first 
woman to serve on the Supreme Court, Justice O'Connor, who has indeed 
distinguished herself. I have had the delight and privilege of meeting 
and visiting with her on several occasions.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this bill, which designates 
the courthouse at 401 West Washington Street in Phoenix, Arizona, as 
the Sandra Day O'Connor United States Courthouse.
  Justice O'Connor is the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court. 
She was nominated by President Reagan and was confirmed by a unanimous 
vote of the U.S. Senate in September of 1981. Ever since, she has 
served as a distinguished jurist on our Nation's highest court.
  In addition to her outstanding legal career and dedication to 
judicial excellence, Justice O'Connor also devotes many hours as a 
volunteer for various charitable organizations, and she has a long 
history of participation in numerous civic and legal organizations.
  Justice O'Connor has spent her career serving the public trust. She 
began her public career in legislative positions, including serving in 
the Arizona State Senate from 1969 until 1975, during which time she 
served as majority leader and a member of the Arizona Advisory Council 
on Intergovernmental Relations. Earlier in her career, from 1952 to 
1953, Justice O'Connor served the public in California as the Deputy 
County Attorney in San Mateo County, and as Assistant Attorney General 
in Arizona from 1965 until 1969.
  Her civic activities are numerous and reflect her broad interests and 
public services. She is a member of the National Board of the 
Smithsonian; she is President of the Board of Trustees of the Heard 
Museum; and she serves on the Advisory Board of the Salvation Army. 
Justice O'Connor has been Vice President of the National Conference of 
Christians and Jews, and a member of the Board of Trustees of her alma 
matter, Stanford. She has worked with the Arizona Academy, Arizona 
Junior Achievement, and Phoenix Historical Society.
  Justice O'Connor has been active in the training and education 
committees for the judicial conference, and holds memberships in the 
America Bar Association and several state associations.
  Amid all these accomplishments, Justice O'Connor has also been a 
devoted wife and mother. She and her husband, John, have been married 
almost 50 years and have three sons.
  Her life has been filled with challenge, hard work, and promise. It 
is with great pleasure that I support S. 1595 in honor of Justice 
O'Connor, and urge my colleagues to join me.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to further add to the comments of the 
gentleman from Arizona who listed a number of women who serve in public 
office. The State of Arizona is very privileged to have my cousin, Rose 
Oberstar, serve as its governor.
  Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my reservation of objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Louisiana?
  There was no objection.
  The Clerk read the Senate bill, as follows:

                                S. 1595

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

     SECTION 1. DESIGNATION OF SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR UNITED STATES 
                   COURTHOUSE.

       The United States courthouse at 401 West Washington Street 
     in Phoenix, Arizona, shall be known and designated as the 
     ``Sandra Day O'Connor United States Courthouse''.

     SEC. 2. REFERENCES.

       Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper, 
     or other record of the United States to the United States 
     courthouse referred to in section 1 shall be deemed to be a 
     reference to the ``Sandra Day O'Connor United States 
     Courthouse''.

  The Senate bill was ordered to be read a third time, was read the 
third time, and passed, and a motion to reconsider was laid on the 
table.

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