[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 152 (Tuesday, November 6, 2001)]
[House]
[Pages H7748-H7750]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
{time} 1515
NATHANIEL R. JONES AND FRANK J. BATTISTI FEDERAL BUILDING AND UNITED
STATES COURTHOUSE
Mr. REHBERG. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 852) to designate the Federal building and United States
courthouse to be constructed at 10 East Commerce Street in Youngstown,
Ohio, as the ``Nathaniel R. Jones and Frank J. Battisti Federal
Building and United States Courthouse''.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 852
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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 ``Nathaniel R. Jones and
Frank J. Battisti 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 ``Nathaniel R. Jones and
Frank J. Battisti Federal Building and United States
Courthouse''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Biggert). Pursuant to the rule, the
gentleman from Montana (Mr. Rehberg) and the gentlewoman from
California (Mrs. Tauscher) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Montana (Mr. Rehberg).
Mr. REHBERG. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Madam Speaker, H.R. 852 designates the Federal building and United
States courthouse to be constructed at 10 East Commerce Street in
Youngstown, Ohio, as the Nathaniel R. Jones and Frank J. Battisti
Federal Building and United States Courthouse.
Judge Nathaniel R. Jones was born in Youngstown, Ohio, in 1926. After
serving in the United States Air Force during World War II, he earned
his undergraduate degree and law degree from Youngstown State
University. Judge Jones was the editor of the Buckeye Review newspaper
before serving as executive director of the Fair Employment Commission
in the city of Youngstown. He also served on the Mayor's Human Rights
Commission.
Judge Jones had a distinguished legal career before being appointed
to the Federal bench. He was in private practice for 2 years; he served
as Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio
from 1961 until 1967; as general counsel for the NAACP on civil
disorder; and as general counsel of the NAACP for 10 years.
In 1979, Judge Jones was appointed to the United States Court of
Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. While sitting on the Federal bench,
Judge Jones has been active in legal education at Case Western Reserve
University School of Law, City University of New York School of Law,
University of Cincinnati College of Law, Harvard Law School, North
Carolina Central Law School, Indiana University School of Law, Northern
Kentucky State University Salmon P. Chase College of Law, and Nova
University Law Center in Florida. He has also received numerous honors
and awards from universities throughout the United States.
In 1985, Judge Jones traveled to South Africa on behalf of the
Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights, where he was a legal observer at a
treason trial. He has continued to be active in civil rights law in
South Africa. Judge Jones took senior status in 1995 and maintains a
busy docket.
The second judge being honored with this courthouse designation is
Frank J. Battisti. Judge Battisti was born in Youngstown, Ohio, and
graduated from Ohio University. He then went on to earn his law degree
at Harvard University. In 1950, he was admitted to the Ohio bar and
served as Ohio Assistant Attorney General. In the early 1950s, Judge
Battisti was a legal advisor for the Army Corps of Engineers. He also
entered private practice and started teaching at Youngstown University
Law School until he was elected a Common Pleas judge in 1958.
In 1961, President Kennedy appointed Judge Battisti to the Federal
bench. At the time he was the youngest Federal appointed judge. He
served as Chief Judge from 1969 until 1990, and took senior status that
April. Judge Battisti presided over the Cleveland public school
desegregation case, a public housing desegregation case, and in 1974,
the trial of eight members of the Ohio National Guard accused of
violating the civil rights of four Kent State students who were shot
during student demonstrations in 1970. Judge Battisti passed away on
October 19, 1994.
This is a fitting honor for two extraordinary Federal judges from
Youngstown. Similar legislation passed the House last year, but was
never enacted. I support this bill, and ask my colleagues to support it
as well.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. TAUSCHER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Madam Speaker, I support H.R. 852, a bill to designate the new
courthouse and Federal building under construction in Youngstown, Ohio,
as the Nathaniel R. Jones and Frank J. Battisti Federal Building and
United States Courthouse.
These two native sons of Youngstown, Ohio, have contributed to the
excellence of the judicial system and dedicated their lives to
preserving the notion of equal justice under the law.
Judge Battisti was born and brought up in Youngstown. After attending
Ohio University, in 1950 he received his J.D. from Harvard Law School.
Judge Battisti was Assistant Attorney General and a law instructor at
Youngstown State University. Later in his career, he was elected judge
of the Common Pleas Court of Mahoning County, Ohio.
In 1961, he was appointed to the United States District Court for the
Northern District of Ohio by President Kennedy. In 1969 he became the
Chief Judge.
Judge Nathaniel Jones was also born and brought up in Youngstown and
is a World War II veteran.
His civic and public appointments include serving as director of the
Fair Employment Practices Commission and executive director of the
Mayor's Human Rights Commission.
Attorney General Robert Kennedy appointed Judge Jones as an Assistant
U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, based in Cleveland.
In 1969 Roy Wilkins, executive director of the NAACP, asked Judge
Jones to serve as the NAACP's general counsel. Judge Jones accepted the
offer and served at the NAACP for a decade, from 1969 until 1979. In
1979, President Carter appointed Judge Jones to the U.S. Court of
Appeals, Sixth Circuit. Both gentlemen have been active in numerous
community and civic organizations. They were personal friends and
professional colleagues. It is very fitting and proper that we support
this naming bill, and I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting
H.R. 852.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. REHBERG. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. TAUSCHER. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
Ohio (Mr. Brown).
Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Madam Speaker, naming a Federal courthouse in
Youngstown after Nathaniel Jones and Frank Battisti is an ideal way to
mark the contributions these men have made to their profession and
their communities. Judge Nathaniel Jones once said he ``saw law as a
way to effect meaningful changes in society and shape the destiny of
individuals locked into second class status.''
The son of a steelworker and World War II veteran, Judge Jones spent
his career as an advocate for better, fairer schools and
discrimination-free workplaces. He worked alongside some of the
greatest legal minds of our time, including Supreme Court Justice
Thurgood Marshall.
[[Page H7749]]
His accomplishments as the general counsel to the NAACP caught the
attention of President Carter, who appointed him to the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. President Carter recognized that Judge
Jones's exceptional understanding of how the legal process could remedy
some of society's shortcomings would serve the country well on the
bench. Many of us who have known Judge Jones over his career believe
that if President Carter would have been reelected in 1980, he would
have chosen Judge Jones to be a member of the United States Supreme
Court.
We can say the same kinds of accolades about Judge Battisti, who had
the same kind of passion for social justice. He was an outstanding
public servant appointed by President Kennedy. Judge Battisti never
shied away from controversy. As others mentioned, his career on the
bench included rulings on the antiwar protest at Kent State University
and ending school desegregation in Cleveland.
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleagues, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr.
Traficant) and others, for giving us an opportunity to pay tribute to
these distinguished sons of Ohio.
Mrs. TAUSCHER. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
Ohio (Mr. Traficant).
Mr. TRAFICANT. Madam Speaker, both of these men contributed
tremendously to desegregation of public schools in the United States of
America. Most importantly, both of them were Youngstown, Ohio, natives,
born and raised there, and very well respected. The community is very
pleased that this Federal building and U.S. courthouse is being named
in their honor. I think the most important thing that can be said about
both is that they were not afraid to tackle controversial issues. When
we talk about desegregation, our Congress looks towards fairness in
America; these were two of the trailblazers of desegregation.
Their participation at their respective levels had a trickle-down
effect on this entire Nation, and that would be the legacy probably of
both men. Hopefully, this bill will be passed into law, and I believe
it would signal the first time that a U.S. Federal building and
courthouse has been named for both an outstanding African American and
white member of the Federal bench. That in itself would be a
significant landmark. It would be a fine building.
Madam Speaker, I ask for the House to move this bill through the
other body so that this great building can be named for these two
outstanding members of our Federal court system.
Mr. PORTMAN. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R.
852, legislation to name the federal building and U.S. courthouse to be
built in downtown Youngstown, Ohio after former Federal Judge Frank J.
Battisti and United States Court of Appeals Judge Nathaniel R. Jones.
Both Judge Battisti and Judge Jones are natives of Youngstown, Ohio,
and naming this federal building and courthouse after them would be a
source of pride for the residents of that fine city.
Judge Battisti served in many capacities during his distinguished
career. None was more notable than his tenure as Chief Judge of the
United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.
Judge Nathaniel Jones is a personal friend. I have had the pleasure
of working with him on the National underground Railroad Freedom Center
project in Cincinnati, Ohio and on other projects. Judge Jones serves
as the Co-Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Freedom Center and his
leadership has been critical. Through my work with the Freedom Center,
I have come to admire Judge Jones for his commitment to racial healing
and cooperation.
Judge Jones was born and raised in Youngstown, Ohio. He served in the
U.S. Army Air Corps in World War II, and later went on to attend
Youngstown State University where he received undergraduate and law
degrees. Judge Jones later went on to serve as General Counsel for the
NAACP where he helped coordinate efforts to end school segregation. In
1979, President Carter appointed him to serve on the United States
Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit where he serves to this day.
I have great respect for Judge Jones. In all of his accomplishments,
perhaps none rank higher than his wife Lillian and their four wonderful
children, one of whom--Stephanie J. Jones--is chief of staff for our
colleague, Stephanie Tubbs Jones. There are few people more dedicated
to public service than Judge Jones.
The naming of the federal building and courthouse in Youngstown, Ohio
after Judge Battisti and Judge Jones is a fitting tribute to two worthy
men. I thank my colleague Jim Traficant for introducing this measure
and my colleague Steven LaTourette for helping move the bill to the
floor. I am honored to co-sponsor this legislation, and am grateful to
see us take action on it.
Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Madam Speaker, it is my pleasure and honor to
stand in support of H.R. 852, which names the Federal Building and
United States Courthouse in Youngstown, Ohio after my dear friend Judge
Nathaniel R. Jones and the late Judge Frank Battisti. No two men are
worthier of this recognition.
It is particularly significant that this courthouse is being named
after these two wonderful sons of Youngstown who have done so much for
their community and for our nation. It is my understanding that this is
the first time anywhere in the country that the names of two people of
different races have been joined together to name a federal building.
How fitting this is. Judge Battisti devoted his life--often at great
cost--to reaching across the racial divide and to removing those
divides altogether. Judge Jones has committed himself to securing
justice for all and healing a divided nation. I am so pleased that
these two men will be honored together in this way.
This bill has particular meaning to me, professionally and
personally. I first came to know both Judge Jones and Judge Battisti
through their involvement in the landmark school desegregation case in
my hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. Judge Battisti showed great courage in
his rulings and his willingness to force the overhaul of an illegally
segregated school system, not a popular thing to do at the time. And
Judge Jones' commitment to the law for the highest purposes earned my
admiration long before I knew him personally.
Over the years, I have come to know this thoughtful, generous and
humble man and am proud to say that he is my mentor and friend. He's
also the father of my Chief of Staff Stephanie J. Jones. Judge Jones
and I often joke about the unlikely coincidence of Stephanie and I
sharing the same name. In fact, he now refers to me as his ``other
daughter,'' as honorary title I'm proud to hold.
Judge Jones has traveled the world, counseled Presidents, walked with
great leaders, earned the respect of all who know him and achieved
great renown. Yet he has never forgotten his roots and the lessons he
learned at his mother's knee. He has always lived by the simple
admonition he learned in Sunday School--``brighten the corner where you
are.''
I had the pleasure of meeting Judge Jones' mother, Lillian Brown
Jones Rafe not long before she died and, through her, came to
appreciate even more the son she called her ``keen-eyed child.'' This
great-grandson of slaves, whose parents moved from the rural south to
Youngstown, Ohio seeking opportunities for their children, has risen to
heights even a proud mother never imagined, but has never forgotten his
roots. Through it all, he remains a child of Youngstown.
It is appropriate that less than two miles away from the street on
which he was born, along the route his weary but determined mother
walked selling household products and newspaper subscriptions to
support her family during the Depression, up the street from the movie
theater his father cleaned at night, on a site where he played as a
boy, near the small office in which he once toiled as editor of the
Buckeye Review newspaper, down the hill from Youngstown University,
where he earned his bachelor and law degrees (and fought for equal
rights for all students), across the square from the small building
that housed his first law office, a few miles from his beloved parents
gravesite, will stand a United States Courthouse engraved with the name
of Nathaniel R. Jones.
It is truly an honor and a pleasure for me to stand in support of
this bill honoring my friend Judge Nathaniel Jones and the late Judge
Frank Battisti. This Courthouse, like the remarkable men for which it
is named, will brighten its corner, where it will long stand as a
reminder and beacon to all who desire and work for justice, equality
and mercy.
Mrs. TAUSCHER. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time,
and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. REHBERG. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and
I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Montana (Mr. Rehberg) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 852.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of
those present have voted in the affirmative.
Mr. REHBERG. 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
[[Page H7750]]
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be
postponed.
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