[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 39 (Monday, April 3, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H1642-H1644]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
FRANK J. BATTISTI AND NATHANIEL R. JONES FEDERAL BUILDING AND UNITED
STATES COURTHOUSE
Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 1359) to designate the Federal building and United States
courthouse to be constructed at 10 East Commerce Street in Youngstown,
Ohio, as the ``Frank J. Battisti and Nathaniel R. Jones Federal
Building and United States Courthouse.''
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 1359
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
[[Page H1643]]
SECTION 1. DESIGNATION.
The Federal building and United States courthouse to be
constructed at 10 East Commerce Street in Youngstown, Ohio,
shall be known and designated as the ``Frank J. Battisti and
Nathaniel R. Jones Federal Building and United States
Courthouse''.
SEC. 2. REFERENCES.
Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper,
or other record of the United States to the Federal building
and United States courthouse referred to in section 1 shall
be deemed to be a reference to the ``Frank J. Battisti and
Nathaniel R. Jones Federal Building and United States
Courthouse''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Ohio (Mr. LaTourette) and the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. LaTourette).
Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1359 designates the Federal building and United
States courthouse now under construction in Youngstown, Ohio, as the
Frank J. Battisti and Nathaniel R. Jones Federal Building and United
States Courthouse.
Our colleague, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Traficant), who I
mentioned earlier, is a proud member of our committee and introduced
this measure. As with so many of the bills he had an introduced, it was
a good idea.
Judge Battisti and Judge Jones were both Ohio natives who had a
positive impact on their communities. Judge Battisti was admitted to
the Ohio Bar in 1950. Before being elected judge of the Common Pleas
Court in Mahoning County, he served as an Assistant Attorney General
for Ohio.
In 1961, he was appointed to the United States District Court for the
Northern District of Ohio. In 1969, he became the chief judge for the
Northern District, and shortly after his retirement, Judge Battisti
passed away.
{time} 1445
Nathaniel Jones served in World War II in the United States Army Air
Corps. He was admitted to the Ohio bar in 1957 while he was the
executive director of the Fair Employment Practices Commission of the
City of Youngstown. Judge Jones was later appointed assistant U.S.
attorney for the Northern District of Ohio. He later served as
assistant general counsel to the National Advisory Commission on Civil
Disorders and was the general counsel for the NAACP for 10 years.
In 1979, Judge Jones was appointed to the United States Court of
Appeals for the 6th Circuit and took senior status in 1995. This is a
fitting honor for two of Youngstown's most distinguished natives. I
support this measure and urge our colleagues to support it.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure for me to rise in support of H.R. 1359
and I appreciate our colleague, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr.
Traficant), for bringing it forward. The bill designating the new
courthouse and Federal building under construction as the Frank J.
Battisti and Nathaniel R. Jones Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse is
an appropriate recognition for these two native sons of Youngstown,
Ohio, who have contributed diligence and excellence to the judicial
system and dedicated their lives to preserving the notion of equal
justice under law.
Judge Battisti was born and brought up in Youngstown, attended Ohio
University in 1950, receiving his JD from Harvard Law School. He was an
assistant Attorney General, law instructor at Youngstown State
University and director of law in Youngstown. He was elected judge of
Common Pleas Court in Mahoning County, Ohio. In 1991, he was appointed
to the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Ohio by
President Kennedy; and in 1969, he became chief judge.
Judge Nathaniel Jones was also born and brought up in Youngstown, is
a World War II veteran. His civic and public appointments include being
director of the Fair Employment Practices Commission, and, as was
referenced, Executive Director of the Mayor'S Human Rights Commission.
He was appointed by Attorney General Robert Kennedy as assistant U.S.
attorney for the Northern District of Ohio in Cleveland.
In 1969, Roy Wilkins, then executive director of the NAACP, asked
Judge Jones to serve as the NAACP general counsel. He accepted that
offer and served for a decade from 1969 to 1979, when he was appointed
by President Carter to the U.S. Court of Appeals in the 6th Circuit.
Both gentlemen have been active in numerous community and civic
affairs. They were personal friends and professional colleagues, and it
is entirely fitting and proper that we support this bill in both of
their names.
Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman
from Ohio (Mr. Traficant), the sponsor of this legislation
Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the chairman of our
subcommittee, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Franks) and our
ranking member, the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Wise). I want to
thank the chairman of the full committee, the gentleman from
Pennsylvania (Mr. Shuster), and our ranking member of the full
committee, the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar). I want to give
a special thanks to Rick Barnett and Susan Brita of the staffs, who do
one of the finest jobs on one of the finest subcommittees of the House.
This is a great day for the Mahoning Valley and for the City of
Youngstown. Both the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. LaTourette) and the
gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer) have given many of the credits;
and I will not go into those credits except to say this, one of the
legacies of Judge Battisti is he is being credited with one of the
first desegregations of a major city in the United States of America,
that being Cleveland, Ohio. And the other significant aspect of this,
as brought out by Judge Jones, his work with the NAACP and his work
through several landmark cases with the Supreme Court to strike down
segregation.
One thing I did not know when I submitted this bill, that this will
be the first building, Federal building in the history of the United
States, to be named after both a black and white jurist, two native
sons of Youngstown, who have given of themselves and their lives to
make America a better place to live and to bring all of the diverse
ethnic people of our country together; not an easy task.
I am so very proud of Judge Battisti, who is deceased, having been
appointed by President Kennedy; Nathaniel R. Jones, still alive and
still very productive, having been appointed by President Carter.
This is a day of tribute to the people of Youngstown, to all of the
Mahoning Valley, to all of the State of Ohio, and, Mr. Speaker, to all
of America for their profound contributions in making America a better
and safer place to live.
Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to
the gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Jones).
Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to have
an opportunity to speak in support of this legislation. I am
particularly proud because I personally have had an opportunity to get
to know Judge Frank Battisti, as well as Judge Nathaniel R. Jones. I
will not try and repeat either of the backgrounds of either of these
great jurists. Coming from Cleveland, clearly both of them had a
significant impact on my legal career and my time in political life.
I am particularly proud today to speak up on behalf of Judge
Nathaniel R. Jones because my new chief of staff, Stephanie Jones, is
the daughter of Judge Nathaniel R. Jones; and she is staffing with me
today on the floor. So it gives me great pleasure to have a chance to
come to the floor in support of this piece of legislation.
I want to congratulate my colleagues in moving to pass such a piece
of legislation. I stand wholeheartedly in support.
Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I might
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I just want to commend our colleague, the gentlewoman
from Ohio (Mrs. Jones) for having the foresight to hire a chief of
staff named Stephanie Jones. If there is anyone named Steve LaTourette,
I guess I could go shopping for that as well. Mr.
[[Page H1644]]
Speaker, I would urge passage of the bill.
Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1359, a
bill to designate the Federal building and courthouse under
construction in Youngstown, Ohio, as the Frank J. Battisti and
Nathaniel R. Jones Federal Building and United States Courthouse.
This bill recognizes the careers, contributions, and friendship of
two very distinguished worthy public servants.
Judge Battisti was a Youngstown native, born on October 4, 1922. He
attended local schools and received his undergraduate degree from Ohio
University in 1947, and his law degree from Harvard in 1950. From 1950
to 1953, he served as the Assistant Attorney General of Ohio. In 1961,
President Kennedy appointed him to the position of Judge of the U.S.
District Court of Northern Ohio, and in 1969 he became the Chief Judge.
While serving as a Federal judge, he played a courageous and central
role in ending school segregation in Ohio.
In 1976, Judge Battisti was named ``Outstanding Trial Judge'' by the
Association of Trial Lawyers of America.
Nathaniel R. Jones is also a native of Youngstown, born in 1926. He
attended local public schools, and is a veteran of World War II,
serving in the U.S. Army Air Corps. He received his law degree from
Youngstown State University. Jones' career is highlighted by extensive
devotion to human rights, and service to the civil rights movement.
Attorney General Robert Kennedy appointed him as Assistant U.S.
Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio in Cleveland. In 1967, he
was appointed by President Johnson to serve as Assistant Counsel to the
National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, also known as the
Kerner Commission. In 1969, Roy Wilkins asked Jones to serve as the
NAACP's general counsel. Judge Jones held that position for over a
decade.
In 1979, President Carter appointed him to the U.S. Court of Appeals
for the Sixth Circuit.
In addition to his outstanding legal career, Judge Jones is very
active in numerous civic and professional organizations, including the
National Conference of Christians and Jews, and the Judicial Committee
on Codes of Conduct.
It is fitting and proper to honor the lives, careers, and lasting
contributions of these two gentlemen with this designation.
I urge all Members to support H.R. 1359.
Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Pease). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. LaTourette) that the House
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1359.
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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