[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 111 (Tuesday, September 19, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H7757-H7759]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                GERTRUDE A. BARBER POST OFFICE BUILDING

  Mr. BARR of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 4625) to designate the facility of the United 
States Postal Service located at 2108 East 38th Street in Erie, 
Pennsylvania, as the ``Gertrude A. Barber Post Office Building''.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 4625

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

     SECTION 1. GERTRUDE A. BARBER POST OFFICE BUILDING.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 2108 East 38th Street in Erie, 
     Pennsylvania, shall be known and designated as the ``Gertrude 
     A. Barber 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 ``Gertrude A. Barber Post Office 
     Building''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Georgia (Mr. Barr) and the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fattah) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Barr).


                             General Leave

  Mr. BARR of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend 
their remarks on H.R. 4625.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Georgia?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BARR of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, the bill before us, H.R. 4625, was introduced by the 
distinguished gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. English). The 
legislation designates the facility of the United States Postal Service 
Building located at 2108 East 38th Street in Erie, Pennsylvania as the 
Gertrude A. Barber Post Office Building. The House delegation from the 
State of Pennsylvania has cosponsored this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman 
from Pennsylvania (Mr. English).
  Mr. ENGLISH. Mr. Speaker, this is a great privilege. Let me, first of 
all,

[[Page H7758]]

thank the gentleman from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Mr. Fattah), the 
distinguished ranking member, who helped me shepherd this legislation 
through the committee and through the House of Representatives, with 
the unanimous support of the entire Pennsylvania delegation, because 
the person we are honoring today really enjoyed a Statewide reputation 
in Pennsylvania as an advocate of those with special needs.
  With every handshake, Mr. Speaker, Dr. Gertrude Barber left an 
indelible mark, reflective of her compassion and caring not only for 
those with special needs, but everyone. This native of Erie, a 
community that I have lived in all of my life and which I represent, 
touched so many individuals. Her special gift and passion was reserved 
for the mentally disabled, but through that, she touched the lives of 
an entire community and reached out and touched many people throughout 
the State of Pennsylvania.

                              {time}  1145

  For years, she gave all that she had and more, and she asked no less 
of the community in which she lived. Even when one met Dr. Gertrude 
Barber just once, that encounter lasted for a lifetime.
  For these reasons, we as a community have decided to name the post 
office in Erie, on East 38th Street, the Gertrude A. Barber Post Office 
Building. I can again proudly say that every member of the Pennsylvania 
delegation has cosponsored this bill.
  Dr. Barber died April 29 at the age of 88. During her life, she 
impacted not only Erie but our entire Nation. Her influence stretched 
outside of Erie into neighboring counties, States and everywhere in her 
path. It is inconceivable for Erie to imagine a life without Dr. 
Barber. There was something about this extraordinary individual that 
made one think that she would be around forever. To quote the Erie 
Times, who eulogized Dr. Barber, ``She was a legend whose name and 
works will be with us for years to come.''
  Dr. Barber served more than 2,850 developmentally disabled clients 
not only in Erie but throughout the State of Pennsylvania. She knew 
everyone by name, whether it was a client, volunteer, or staff person. 
She knew about their lives and the challenges they faced and she truly 
cared.
  For those of us who visited her in her office and visited her at the 
Dr. Gertrude Barber Center, we saw that caring very much in action. The 
disabled children and adults always came first with her. Whether she 
was walking with the Governor or even a Member of Congress, Dr. Barber 
would always take the time to talk to her children. After all, they 
were every bit as important to her and maybe even more so.
  A member of a prominent and respected family in Erie, Dr. Barber 
became a special education teacher in 1933. Focusing on a need in our 
community, she opened the center that now bears her name in 1952. The 
Barber Center has since blossomed and flourished under her strong and 
thoughtful and watchful hand. The Center has dramatically improved the 
lives of the developmentally disabled. The Center has facilities for 
autistic and Down syndrome children, classrooms, a library, and many 
satellite sites. It has sponsored adult literacy and adult job training 
programs. She and her staff have worked with mental health 
professionals from 33 countries, many coming to see the methodologies 
and accomplishments of this Center.
  As Dr. Barber's dream continued to expand, so did the Center. During 
her 48 years of service, she established many satellite sites 
throughout Pennsylvania, including group homes in Philadelphia and in 
Pittsburgh. She started with a small staff, which grew to 60 in the 
1970s, and more than 1,650 across the State today.
  During her lifetime she was recognized by world leaders, including 
Pope John Paul II, and Presidents Kennedy and Bush. President Kennedy 
appointed Dr. Barber as a delegate to the White House Conference on 
Children and Youth. She was also a member of his Task Force on Mental 
Retardation. She testified many times before Congress about the needs 
of people with disabilities and mental retardation. National figures 
sought out her advice, and she gladly guided them.
  This is the 10th anniversary of the year that the Americans With 
Disabilities Act was passed by Congress; and in July, 10 years ago, 
when President George Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act 
into law, he invited Dr. Barber to attend the ceremony. Her invitation 
was in recognition of the work she put into the caring for the 
disabled.
  In 1981, she was on the planning committee for the International Year 
of Disabled Persons and was a delegate to the White House Conference on 
Education. Not only did Dr. Barber serve on countless local, State, and 
Federal committees, but she even established a number of local branches 
of national advocacy groups for people with mental retardation and 
related developmental disabilities.
  She founded the Division of Mental Retardation within the 
Pennsylvania Federation Council for Exceptional Citizens, the Northwest 
Council for Exceptional Children and, in Erie County, the ARC. She also 
served as president of the Pennsylvania Association for Retarded 
Citizens, the Pennsylvania Federation Council for Exceptional Citizens, 
and the Polk State School Board of Trustees.
  In her honor, scholarships have been established at Penn State 
University, Gannon University, Mercyhurst College, and the University 
of Notre Dame. She was one of the most recognized advocates of people 
with special needs for generations and she made this her mission.
  Dr. Barber was truly called to her life's work. She dedicated her 
life to the thousands of children and adults whom others often treated 
with disregard. She believed strongly in her dream to transform the 
lives of the developmentally disabled. Her dream was just one small 
seed planted in the broad fields of life, but she loved it and 
protected it. She believed in her dream until it grew and blossomed and 
gave great joy. She proved without doubt that one person, one 
extraordinary person, can make a difference.
  In the new testament, Mr. Speaker, Matthew wrote, ``The house fell, 
for it was not founded upon a rock.'' Dr. Gertrude Barber was the rock 
on which her centers for the disabled were built and, in fact, she was 
the rock on which the disability community in Erie and even throughout 
the United States could lean. Though she has died, her ideals and her 
goals live on.
  It is my great honor to sponsor this legislation to name a post 
office after her. I urge my colleagues to join me in honoring a 
remarkable woman who has taught so much to so many with her message of 
caring.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. 
Barr) for managing this bill on the floor, and I would also like to 
thank the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton), the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. McHugh), and the ranking member, as I said, the gentleman 
from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fattah), for their efforts in committee to make 
sure that this bill passes and becomes a reality.
  I hope all my colleagues will support H.R. 4625 in recognition of 
this remarkable woman.
  Mr. FATTAH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Let me congratulate my colleague and my good friend from the great 
State and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (Mr. English). He is responsible 
for this legislation. And appropriately so, because in his home 
district, in the City of Erie, the person who we honor has been so well 
known. But also throughout our State her work has been documented, even 
in the area of Philadelphia, and it is obvious that this is the type of 
person that a Federal facility, like a postal facility, should 
appropriately be named, and will in this case be named, after her.
  I want to thank my colleague for introducing this legislation and ask 
all to support H.R. 4625.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. BARR of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my the 
time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Linder). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Barr) that the House suspend 
the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4625.
  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.

[[Page H7759]]



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