[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 8 (Wednesday, February 6, 2002)]
[House]
[Pages H173-H174]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     PAT KING POST OFFICE BUILDING

  Mr. WELDON of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the 
Committee on Government Reform be discharged from further consideration 
of the Senate bill (S. 1026) to designate the United States Post Office 
located at 60 Third Avenue in Long Branch, New Jersey, as the ``Pat 
King Post Office Building,'' and ask for its immediate consideration in 
the House.
  The Clerk read the title of the Senate bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. LaHood). Is there objection to the 
request of the gentleman from Florida?
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, reserving the right to object, 
and I will not object, because, as a matter of fact, I rise in support 
of S. 1026, legislation designating the United States Post Office 
located at 60 Third Avenue in Long Branch, New Jersey, as the Pat King 
Post Office Building. However, I would like to ask the gentleman from 
Florida for further comments.
  Mr. WELDON of Florida. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Further reserving the right to object, I yield 
to the gentleman from Florida.
  Mr. WELDON of Florida. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, S. 1026, introduced by the distinguished Senator from 
New Jersey Robert Torricelli, designates the facility of the United 
States Postal Service located at 60 Third Avenue in Long Branch, New 
Jersey, as the Pat King Post Office Building. A bill for the same 
purpose was introduced by my distinguished colleague, the gentleman 
from New Jersey (Mr. Frank Pallone).
  Mr. Speaker, Detective Sergeant Pat King was the most decorated 
police officer in Long Branch, New Jersey's history. Tragically, he was 
killed in the line of duty by a career criminal from out of State in 
November of 1997. Pat King is survived by his wife Maureen and two 
sons.
  I urge adoption of S. 1026, and I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, further reserving the right to 
object, I yield to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone), the 
author of this legislation.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank not only the chairman and 
the ranking member, who are here today, but also the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Armey) and the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Gephardt) for 
their support in bringing this bill to the floor, the bill, S. 1026, to 
name the Long Branch, New Jersey, post office after a hero, Detective 
Sergeant Pat King.
  Let me start out, Mr. Speaker, by saying that Long Branch is my 
hometown. I have lived there my entire life. The post office that will 
be named after Sergeant King is a post office that I have been going to 
since I was a little boy and a post office where my grandfather 
actually worked as a letter carrier. I also knew Sergeant King 
personally, and I know his mother and his entire family.
  As was mentioned, on November 20 of 1997, Sergeant Pat King was 
killed by a career criminal from out of State who made his living 
promoting prostitution and selling drugs. On this particular day, the 
assailant went gunning for a police officer, any police officer. He was 
not looking specifically for Pat King, but he found Pat King, and 
Sergeant King was killed because he was wearing an officer's uniform.
  Following the shooting, the assailant went on an hour-long crime 
spree, including a chase and an exchange of gunfire that injured other 
officers. He finally shot himself with a second gun, Officer King's 
gun.
  Mr. Speaker, S. 1026 is an identical bill I introduced in the House 
naming the Long Branch post office after Pat King. I cannot express how 
important this is not only to Sergeant King and his wife, but to the 
entire Long Branch Police Force and to the community. Officer King was 
only 45, and he was the most decorated police officer in the history of 
the city of Long Branch.
  By passing this bill we not only pay tribute to him, but we honor all 
the police officers across the country that have died in the hands of 
vicious criminals. And if there is any year that we can truly 
appreciate the contributions of police and firemen, it is certainly 
this year.
  Mr. Speaker, for a police officer the mere act of donning a uniform 
makes him an immediate target for sick and criminal minds. Each call 
presents dangers and threats we cannot begin to imagine. It is my hope 
that in naming the post office after Pat King, we will be paying to 
tribute to individuals so dedicated to their fellow human beings that 
they are willing to die to protect our security. It is a way to honor 
the bravery and unselfishness of our men and women in uniform. It is a 
way to remind young people that dedicating a career to helping others 
is a path deeply admired by their community.
  To Pat's widow Maureen and her children, I want to say that I hope 
this tribute provides them with some small comfort that their husband 
and father will not be forgotten, not by the people of Long Branch and 
not by the Congress of the United States.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, further reserving the right to 
object, I yield to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Holt).
  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Illinois and the 
gentleman from Florida and join strongly and emotionally in the remarks 
of my friend and colleague, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. 
Pallone), who grew up near this post office, knew this law enforcement 
officer, knew Pat King, and understands the respect with which he was 
held in his town of Long Branch.
  It is really very fitting that we do this. It is an honor not only 
for Sergeant Pat King, but for all law enforcement officers. It will be 
a daily reminder to the people of Monmouth County, to all of New 
Jersey, to all who pass through this post office that law enforcement 
officers live day and night just an instant away from danger.
  It is also, I think, a testimonial to Maureen King, Pat King's widow. 
Maureen King is very much not a victim. She has suffered real grief, 
but she has not turned that grief inward. She has become deeply 
involved in safety issues in New Jersey, turned her talent to see that 
this sort of thing never happens again. She has taken this grief and 
turned it to something positive. She has become one of the leaders of 
Cease Fire New Jersey, advocating for

[[Page H174]]

gun safety. She has become one of the leaders of the Million Moms March 
in New Jersey, advocating for gun safety.
  No, she is not a victim. And in everything she does, the love comes 
through; surely the love for her four children, but for children all 
over the country. So this is a testimonial not just to Sergeant Pat 
King, not just to law enforcement officers across the country, but also 
to Maureen King. And it is very fitting that this bill be rapidly 
approved and that the designation proceed. And I thank my friend from 
Long Branch for championing it.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, I just want 
to concur with the comments that have been made by all of my colleagues 
in consideration of S. 1026, legislation naming the post office in Long 
Branch, New Jersey, after Pat King, a police officer slain in the line 
of duty.
  S. 1026 was introduced by Senator Robert Torricelli, Democrat of New 
Jersey, on June 13, 2001. The late Detective Sergeant Pat King, a 
member of the Long Branch Police Force was born in Morristown, New 
Jersey, in 1952 and lived most of his life in Long Branch. As a 21-year 
veteran of the police force, Detective King was the most decorated 
police officer in the city's history and the only Long Branch police 
officer to receive the Medal of Valor.
  Sadly, he was killed in the line of duty by a career criminal on 
November 20, 1997. Officer King is survived by his wife Maureen and his 
two sons.
  Mr. Speaker, I wish to commend the House sponsor of this bill, the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone), for his hard work and 
dedication in seeking to honor the life and work of Detective King by 
naming the Long Branch post office after him.
  The gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) was the sponsor of H.R. 
2997 and has been pursuing the passage of legislation naming the post 
office after Detective King since the 106th Congress. I am proud to say 
that with the House passage of the Senate version of that bill, his 
efforts will finally be realized.
  In keeping with the long-standing tradition of naming post offices 
after individuals who have made differences in their communities, I am 
pleased to lend my support to S. 1026, naming the post office after a 
police officer who gave his life defending the community. I also want 
to thank the chairman of the Committee on Government Reform, the 
gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton), his staff, and the ranking member, 
the gentleman from California (Mr. Waxman), for moving this bill to the 
floor.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of the bill, and I withdraw my 
reservation of objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Florida?
  There was no objection.
  The Clerk read the Senate bill, as follows:

                                S. 1026

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

     SECTION 1. DESIGNATION OF PAT KING POST OFFICE BUILDING.

       The United States Post Office located at 60 Third Avenue in 
     Long Branch, New Jersey, shall be known and designated as the 
     ``Pat King Post Office Building''.

     SEC. 2. REFERENCES.

       Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper, 
     or other record of the United States to the United States 
     Post Office referred to in section 1 shall be deemed to be a 
     reference to the Pat King Post Office 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.

                          ____________________