[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 68 (Tuesday, June 6, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H3878-H3880]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     LES ASPIN POST OFFICE BUILDING

  Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 4241) to designate the facility of the United 
States Postal Service located at 1818 Milton Avenue in Janesville, 
Wisconsin, as the ``Les Aspin Post Office Building''.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 4241

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

     SECTION 1. LES ASPIN POST OFFICE BUILDING.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 1818 Milton Avenue in Janesville, 
     Wisconsin, shall be known and designated as the ``Les Aspin 
     Post Office Building''.
       (b) References.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation, 
     document, paper, or other record of the United States to the 
     facility referred to in subsection (a) shall be deemed to be 
     a reference to the ``Les Aspin Post Office Building''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Wisconsin (Mr. Ryan) and the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fattah) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Ryan).
  Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Former Congressman Les Aspin faithfully served the people of 
Wisconsin's First Congressional District for over 20 years as their 
elected representative. During his time in Congress, he was a credit to 
this institution we now serve in. A former U.S. Army captain, Aspin 
served as the chairman of the Committee on Armed Services from 1985 to 
1993. When the President called on him, Aspin continued his hard work 
to improve our Nation's security by serving as the U.S. Secretary of 
Defense from 1993 to 1994. This dedicated public servant passed away, 
unfortunately, on May 21, 1995 at the age of 56.
  Wisconsinites are very proud of Congressman Aspin and all that he has 
done for Wisconsin's First District and the Nation. I believe that it 
would be appropriate to honor the late Congressman Aspin by naming the 
U.S. Post Office in Janesville, Wisconsin, my own hometown, as the Les 
Aspin Post Office Building. Aspin's former Janesville office had been 
housed in the old Janesville Post Office downtown, which is now the 
Keeley Pharmacy, for over 2 decades.
  As the Congressman who currently serves the First Congressional 
District, and as a member of the opposite party that Congressman Aspin 
served from, I believe that this still would be a fitting tribute to 
Congressman Aspin, especially since this marks the 30th anniversary to 
the year he was first elected to this congressional seat.
  Les Aspin embodied honest public service and his example continues to 
inspire Members of Congress today. I thank the gentleman from New York 
(Mr. McHugh), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Postal Service, and 
the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton), the chairman of the Committee 
on Government Reform, for their cooperation and leadership in bringing 
this bill to the floor today, and I would urge my colleagues to honor a 
great American statesman who gave much to this institution and to 
support H.R. 4241.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1245

  Mr. FATTAH. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4241, joining my colleague, 
the gentleman from the great State of Wisconsin (Mr. Ryan).
  Les Aspin was a leader here in this Congress for many, many years 
dealing with issues related to national defense and the Armed Forces, 
but moreover, was a public servant who provided an extraordinary level 
of leadership to our Nation. He is someone who, as is obvious by the 
sponsorship of this bill, who enjoyed respect and support on both sides 
of the aisle. I would like to compliment the gentleman for the 
introduction.
  Madam Speaker, we look forward to favorable, if not unanimous, 
support for this bill.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the 
gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Petri).
  Mr. PETRI. Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague, the gentleman from 
Wisconsin, for yielding time to me.
  I would like to commend him for taking the leadership to bring this 
measure before the House today to honor a distinguished son of the 
State of Wisconsin and a friend of mine, Les Aspin.
  While a member of the Democratic Party, Les was a person who took his 
responsibilities as a United States Representative, not as a party 
representative, seriously. He often broke party ranks to take actions 
that he felt were right, and his leadership influenced many others in 
this body, so that it ended up being quite effective.
  I can remember myself wondering whether it made sense for us to get 
involved in military action in the Gulf at the time of that crisis, 
when Kuwait was invaded, or whether we should, as many counseled at the 
time, rely on an embargo, which is still in effect, to bring down 
Saddam Hussein and roll back the troops.
  Les took the well of this House and repeatedly urged us to use 
military force, overwhelming military force, and predicted that if we 
marshalled that force it would not be effectively resisted, and we 
would have, and gasps went from the crowd, if any casualties, 
casualties in the hundreds, not the thousands.
  At the time, people were predicting a quagmire and tens of thousands 
of American troops and allied troops losing their lives. While it did 
not seem to many that plausible at the time, Les proved to be 
absolutely right. His counsel by a narrow vote was followed, and we did 
roll back the invasion of Kuwait, and set an example that we hope will 
deter others from taking similar action.
  He broke ranks from the military community in opposing the B-2 
weapons system. He broke ranks again with party orthodoxy in 
supporting, but in a moderate way, the SDI, Strategic Defense 
Initiative, feeling that we should not try in Congress to cut it off, 
we should not throw money at it, but we should invest in research in 
that area, as we could prudently and as the defense community indicated 
could be absorbed.
  He was well respected, a former educator, an economist at the 
Marquette University, and a person who has been honored by Marquette 
University; there is the Aspin Institute here in this city, which 
trains many young people who come out to learn about government. I have 
been pleased to have a number of Aspin Institute scholars in my own 
office. Others in Congress I think can say the same.
  I really am very, very pleased that my colleague and the worthy 
successor of former Defense Secretary and former Representative Les 
Aspin, former chairman of the Committee on Armed Services, has chosen 
to honor Mr. Aspin in this way.
  Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the 
gentlewoman from Maryland (Mrs. Morella).
  Mrs. MORELLA. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding time

[[Page H3879]]

to me, and for introducing this resolution to name the building for 
somebody with whom many of us did serve in this House of 
Representatives who truly was a great statesman.
  He started off with a great education, certainly, having gone through 
the Milwaukee schools, entering higher education, and then he became a 
professor, serving very well. He went through the staff positions where 
he worked for Senator Proxmire. He also worked for Walter Heller, who 
was the chairman of President Kennedy's Council on Economic Advisors.
  Also, he served as a captain in the United States Army. He was an 
economic adviser to the Secretary of Defense. Then he was elected to 
the House of Representatives in the 92nd Congress. Then he was 
reelected to the 11 succeeding Congresses, serving, therefore, from 
1971 in January until he resigned in January of 1993.
  While serving here in Congress, he was a member of the Committee on 
Armed Forces, and he was its chairman from the 99th through the 102nd 
Congresses. We then know he became Secretary of Defense until his 
resignation in 1994.
  Additionally, from August, 1994, until his death at the age of 57 in 
1995, he was professor of international policy, Washington Center for 
Government, Marquette University. He was also chair of the Foreign 
Intelligence Advisory Board and of the Commission on the Roles and 
Capabilities of the United States Intelligence Community.
  I want to point out, Madam Speaker, that here is a man who, from the 
beginning of his career until the very end at age 57, devoted himself 
in so many ways to the greatness of our country. He was indeed a 
patriot and a public servant.
  I want to congratulate our colleague, the gentleman from Wisconsin 
(Mr. Ryan), sponsor of the legislation, having introduced it in 
recognition of his predecessor, Les Aspin, who served this Nation and 
his constituency for many years with great ability, dedication, and 
finesse. I think he is indeed deserving of having the Post Office 
located on 1818 Milton Avenue in Janesville, Wisconsin, named after 
him. I urge all our colleagues to support this measure.
  Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Just to briefly reiterate, Madam Speaker, Les Aspin served the First 
Congressional District for 22 years; served as Secretary of Defense, 
was a scholar, was a professor and academic. He was known as a good 
statesman, as an honest man.
  Whether we agreed or disagreed on a given issue with Les Aspin, we 
always knew that he thought issues through, and that he was going to 
give good service to the First Congressional District of Wisconsin. He 
was a gifted statesman. His memory will live on for quite a while.
  We thought it would be especially fitting that the Janesville, 
Wisconsin, Post Office be renamed after Les Aspin, given the fact that 
his own office was housed in the old Janesville Post Office for a good 
20 years. I might add, Madam Speaker, that the Janesville City Council 
has passed a resolution affirming the designation of this Post Office.
  Madam Speaker, I ask passage of this measure.
  Mr. KIND. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4241, 
legislation designating the United States Post Office in Janesville, 
Wisconsin as the ``Les Aspin Post Office Building.''
  Les Aspin was a larger-than-life political icon who represented 
Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District in the U.S. House of 
Representatives from 1971 to 1993. After being successfully reelected 
in 1992, Les was appointed by President Bill Clinton to become this 
nation's 18th Secretary of Defense, a position he held until February 
3, 1994.
  Les accomplished much in his nearly 57 years. Born in Milwaukee, Les 
received a B.A. from Yale University in 1960, an M.A. from Oxford 
University in 1962 where he was a Rhodes Scholar, and earned a Ph.D. in 
economics from MIT in 1965. As an officer in the U.S. Army from 1966 to 
1968, Les served as a systems analyst in the Pentagon under Secretary 
of Defense Robert McNamara. In 1970, after first contemplating running 
for other state offices, Les was elected to the House of 
Representatives, where he served for the next 22 years.
  Once in the House, Les soon developed a special interest and 
expertise in defense matters. In 1985, as a junior member of the House 
Committee on Armed Services, Les leap-frogged Members much more senior 
to become chair of this powerful committee. As chair, Les proved to be 
a straight shooter, not one to always toe his party's political line. 
Les was a strong early supporter of the Persian Gulf War, predicting in 
advance that the U.S.'s military force would drive the Iraqis from 
Kuwait. In a paper written prior to the war, Les stated that the United 
States could win a quick military victory with light casualties. The 
accuracy of his prediction lent credence to his already strong 
reputation. As chair, Les' sentinel work on reshaping the Armed Forces 
after the demise of the Soviet Union was instrumental in the formation 
of post-Cold War strategies and policies for this nation.
  In turn, Presidential candidate Bill Clinton relied on Les for his 
wisdom and once elected named him as his first defense secretary. 
During his tenure at the Pentagon, Les dealt with such weighty issues 
as base closures, a shrinking Pentagon budget, and the growing threat 
of regional conflicts. As Secretary, Les will always be remembered for 
instituting the ``bottom-up'' review which took the first hard look at 
the organizational structure of the military in a post-Cold War world.
  After leaving the Pentagon in early 1994, Les joined the faculty of 
Marquette University's international affairs program in Washington, 
D.C. In March 1995, be became a member of the Commission on Roles and 
Missions. In May, President Clinton chose him as chairman of the 
President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board. In March 1995, he 
began work as chairman of still another study group, this on the Roles 
and Capabilities of the Intelligence Community. Shortly thereafter, on 
May 21, 1995, he died of a stroke.
  Les was a brilliant man who, through his tremendous energy and work 
ethic, worked tirelessly to shape this nation's vision for defense 
policy and armed forces to meet the changing demands of the 21st 
century. His intellect and perspective are sorely missed.
  Wisconsin has sent a number of nationally known historical leaders to 
represent them in Washington. Robert LaFollette, Melvin Laird, Bill 
Proxmire and Gaylord Nelson to name just a few. Without question, Les 
Aspin's name must be certainly added to this list.
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud to join my colleagues in paying tribute to 
former Congressman, Les Aspin.
  Mr. ORTIZ. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4241, to 
rename the Janesville, Wisconsin, Post Office the Les Aspin Post Office 
Building.
  I served with Les from 1985 until 1993, when he left to serve the 
Clinton Administration as Secretary of Defense. Les was an incredibly 
talented public servant with a mind that worked quickly and saw the 
complexity of problems, both near-term and long-term. He was an amazing 
man who never lost touch with the people he represented. He could talk 
to farmers and mechanics as easily as he talked to presidents and prime 
ministers, a trait I greatly admire. He never lost a political race and 
worked his entire life to make this country a better place to live.
  I think he surprised us all when he challenged Mel Price for the 
Chairmanship of the House Armed Services Committee, but for the face of 
the House Representatives, it was indeed a good thing. Les brought a 
new mind-set and new way of thinking to the different problems that we 
faced as a country in the aftermath of the Cold War. He served in the 
Army for 2 years and understood the nature of the animal.
  As the Secretary of Defense, he led the efforts to address the 
Quadrennial Defense Review to assess the needs of our military on a 
regular basis. From this effort came the philosophy that the United 
States may well need to fight two wars in the not-too-distant future 
and in the course of that scenario, a rogue state could easily attack 
the United States or exercise acts of terrorism against us. Les dubbed 
the U.S. strategy scenario in this instance as ``win-hold-win.'' If the 
U.S. was indeed in the two-war scenario, Les devised a strategy that 
would win one war, hold our ground on a second war, and win the third.
  Thankfully, we have not seen this worst-case scenario, fighting on 
two fronts and holding a third, but we have seen terrorism against the 
U.S. interests around the world, and despotism in Europe (again) 
required our military response there. Les Aspin's ideas changed the way 
the House Armed Services Committee operated and changed the way the 
United States assessed threats and disposed of resources.
  Les Aspin made this a better country and was wholly dedicated to 
public service. I am proud that we will be naming the Janesville Post 
Office after this great American. I hope Les Aspin's name on the 
building will inspire pride in the young people in his community who 
did not have the opportunity to know this politically savvy, 
academically gifted creative thinker.
  Mr. KLECZKA. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4241, 
legislation which will

[[Page H3880]]

rename the post office in Janesville, Wisconsin, as the ``Les Aspin 
Post Office Building.''
  One of Wisconsin's favorite son's Les Aspin served his home state 
with distinction during his eleven terms as Congressman from the First 
District. He went on to serve the Clinton Administration as its first 
Secretary of Defense. He served his home state and his country with 
great honor.
  Les began and ended his professional career as a professor at 
Marquette University in Milwaukee. The university's Washington program, 
which brings students to our Nation's capitol to experience firsthand 
the way our government works, was renamed in 1996 the Les Aspin Center 
for Government in his honor. I know Les would be proud to know that the 
institute which bears his name is building upon his legacy by teaching 
future generations of leaders about the values of civic involvement and 
public service.
  Madam Speaker, throughout Les' service to his country, his love and 
commitment to his home state remained deep and unwavering. Today we 
have the opportunity to further recognize the outstanding achievements 
of one of our former colleagues who left us far too soon. Renaming the 
post office in Janesville as the Les Aspin Post Office Building is a 
fitting tribute to a man who served Wisconsin so well.
  Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Madam Speaker, I rise today as an original 
cosponsor and strong support of H.R. 4241 which designates the facility 
of the U.S. Postal Service located at 1818 Milton Avenue in Janesville, 
Wisconsin, as the Les Aspin Post Office Building.
  I had the distinguished honor of serving with Mr. Aspin. As a fellow 
Wisconsinite, I admired his dedication to public service that was 
evident throughout his tenure; not only as a Member of the House of 
Representatives, but as Secretary of Defense and Chairman of the 
President's Intelligence Advisory Board, to name just a few.
  Secretary Aspin did not begin his life's devotion to the public in 
the political arena. He served this country in the U.S. Army from 1966 
to 1968. He then entered politics and went on to served in this body 
from 1971 to 1993. He served as the Chairman of the House Armed 
Services Committee from 1985 to 1993. He was then appointed by 
President Clinton as his first Secretary of Defense.
  Secretary Aspin was known to share his knowledge and passion for 
America in many circles. He continued his outreach by serving as a 
distinguished professor for Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI, and 
in Washington, DC. The naming of the Marquette University Washington 
program, the Les Aspin Center for Government, recognized his service to 
this program.
  Secretary Aspin brought his love for his work and his sense of humor 
into her personal life as well. As an avid dog lover, my fellow 
Wisconsinite named his dog ``Junket,'' and Junket was equally 
comfortable and welcome in the office and at home.
  I believe that H.R. 4241 is a fitting tribute to a man who gave 
tirelessly to the people he represented in Wisconsin during his tenure 
as Congressman and the country during his tenure as Secretary of 
Defense. I am honored to speak in support of H.R. 4241 and believe that 
the recognition it would lend to Secretary Aspin, is well deserved.
  Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin, Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my 
time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Biggert). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Ryan) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4241.
  The question was taken.
  Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and 
nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

                          ____________________