[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 164 (Thursday, November 18, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H12867-H12868]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   ROBERT C. WEAVER FEDERAL BUILDING

  Mr. COOKSEY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take from the 
Speaker's table the Senate bill (S. 67) to designate the headquarters 
building of the Department of Housing and Urban Development in 
Washington, District of Columbia, as the ``Robert C. Weaver Federal 
Building'', 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 take this reservation for the purpose of 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.

[[Page H12868]]

  Mr. Speaker, S. 67 designates the headquarters building of the 
Department of Housing and Urban Development in Washington, D.C. as the 
Robert C. Weaver Federal Building.
  Robert C. Weaver was born on December 23, 1907 in Washington, D.C. He 
attended Harvard University and earned three degrees, including a 
doctorate in economics. In the 1930s and 1940s, Dr. Weaver was involved 
in many government agencies, where he advocated racial equality.
  In the early 1960s, President Kennedy appointed Dr. Weaver 
administrator of the Housing and Home Financing Agency, the predecessor 
to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. President Johnson 
designated HUD a Cabinet-level agency. Following service in the Federal 
Government, Mr. Weaver became a professor of numerous colleges.
  Dr. Weaver passed away in July of 1997. This is a fitting 
designation. I support the bill and urge my colleagues to support it.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, further reserving the right to object, I 
too rise in support of S. 67 to designate the HUD headquarters as the 
Robert C. Weaver Federal Building.
  I have had the privilege, as a member of the staff of my predecessor, 
to meet Bob Weaver; and I have only the highest respect for his 
professional accomplishments and for Dr. Weaver as a very decent, warm, 
caring, energetic, hard working, and visionary human being.
  Dr. Robert Clifton Weaver has been one of the most instrumental and 
influential Americans in directing and administering federal housing 
policies. Dr. Weaver was a native Washingtonian, a graduate of Dunbar 
High School, and Harvard University in 1929. In 1931 he received his 
Masters degree, and in 1934 his Ph.D. in economics from Harvard.
  He entered government in 1933, as one of the young professionals who 
were drawn to Washington because of the ``New Deal'' programs of 
President Roosevelt.
  He quickly became a leader in promoting opportunities and efforts to 
increase minority participation in government projects and policy 
development. During the 1940's and 1950's, Dr. Weaver held a variety of 
prestigious positions, including Director of the Opportunity Fellowship 
Program of the John Hay Whitney Foundation, consultant to the Ford 
Foundation, State of New York Rent Administrator, and in 1960 he became 
the Vice Chairman of the New York City Housing and Redevelopment Board.
  In 1961, President Kennedy named Dr. Weaver as the Administrator of 
the Housing and Home Finance Agency, then a loose collection of 
agencies including the mortgage-insuring Federal Housing 
Administration.
  Dr. Weaver worked tirelessly to mold the agency into a single 
organization with a unified goal. In 1966, when the Department of 
Housing and Urban Development (HUD) was formed by President Johnson, 
Dr. Weaver was designated its first Secretary, the first African-
American to hold a cabinet-level position.
  After his service at HUD, Dr. Weaver returned to academic life and 
served as the President of Baruch College in New York City.
  Dr. Weaver was the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including 
the NAACP's Springarn Medal, the Albert Einstein Commemorative Award, 
the New York City Urban League Frederick Douglass Award, and New York 
University's Robert F. Wagner Public Service Award.
  Dr. Weaver led a rich, full life marked by professional 
accomplishments and excellence. His legacy in public service is a model 
for all of us. It is fitting and proper to honor Dr. Weaver with this 
designation and I join with the Gentleman from New York, Mr. Rangel, 
the sponsor of the House's companion bill, in supporting S. 67.
  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. 67

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

     SECTION 1. DESIGNATION OF ROBERT C. WEAVER FEDERAL BUILDING.

       In honor of the first Secretary of Housing and Urban 
     Development, the headquarters building of the Department of 
     Housing and Urban Development located at 451 Seventh Street, 
     SW., in Washington, District of Columbia, shall be known and 
     designated as the ``Robert C. Weaver Federal Building''.

     SEC. 2. REFERENCES.

       Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper, 
     or other record of the United States to the building referred 
     to in section 1 shall be deemed to be a reference to the 
     ``Robert C. Weaver Federal Building''.

  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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