[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 100 (Monday, July 22, 2002)]
[House]
[Pages H5036-H5037]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 WILLIAM C. CRAMER POST OFFICE BUILDING

  Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 5145) to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 3135 First Avenue North in St. Petersburg, Florida, 
as the ``William C. Cramer Post Office Building''.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H. R. 5145

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

     SECTION 1. WILLIAM C. CRAMER POST OFFICE BUILDING.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 3135 First Avenue North in St. Petersburg, 
     Florida, shall be known and designated as the ``William C. 
     Cramer 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 William C. Cramer Post Office Building.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Putnam) and the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Clay) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Putnam).


                             General Leave

  Mr. PUTNAM. 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. 5145, the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Florida?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5145, introduced by our colleague from the State of 
Florida (Mr. Young), the distinguished chairman of the Committee on 
Appropriations, designates a post office at 3135 First Avenue North in 
St. Petersburg as the William C. Cramer Post Office Building. Members 
of the entire House delegation from the great State of Florida are co-
sponsors of this legislation.
  In 1951, Republicans in the Florida legislature were still a rarity; 
but as Pinellas County sent up an entirely GOP delegation to the 1951 
session, there were enough to justify electing a minority leader for 
the first time. They elected freshman William C. Cramer as the minority 
leader who, along with two other members of this Pinellas County 
delegation, made up the entire Republican conference.
  It is worth noting under his leadership they soon doubled their 
numbers to six in the 1954 election.
  Mr. Speaker, this post office will recognize former Congressman Bill 
Cramer for his 16 years of service to the people of Florida. Bill 
Cramer represented Floridians in the Republican Party of Congress as 
the ranking member on the House Committee on Public Works, the 
Subcommittee on Roads and the Committee on Federal Aid Highway 
Investigation. Prior to his elective service, he also served in the 
Navy reserves in Europe during World War II.
  Mr. Speaker, Bill Cramer is a friend and mentor who served our Nation 
with great honor and distinction in this House. The enactment of this 
legislation will leave in St. Petersburg, the hometown he so dearly 
loved and served, a lasting tribute to his service, his patriotism, and 
his devotion to our Nation. I thank the distinguished chairman from 
Florida (Mr. Young), who is unfortunately unable to be with us today, 
for introducing this measure. I urge all Members to support the 
adoption of H.R. 5145.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, as a member of the Committee on Government Reform, I am 
pleased to join my colleague in the consideration of H.R. 5145, a bill 
to designate a facility of the U.S. Postal Service after William C. 
Cramer.
  H.R. 5145 was introduced by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young) on 
July 16, 2002, and enjoys the support and co-sponsorship of the entire 
Florida congressional delegation. William Cramer was born in Denver, 
Colorado, and at the age of 3 moved with his parents to St. Petersburg, 
Florida, where he attended public schools. After serving as a 
lieutenant in the Naval Reserve and the State House of Representatives, 
William Cramer was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 
1955, and served until January 1971. He is currently retired and a 
resident of St. Petersburg, Florida.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge the swift passage of this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
distinguished gentleman from the greater Orlando, Florida area (Mr. 
Mica).
  Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to come before you in support of this 
legislation that will name a Federal facility in honor of William C. 
Cramer, a former Member of this distinguished body.
  I have had the opportunity over the past 3 decades to know, and the 
opportunity to work with, the opportunity to admire Bill Cramer as he 
is affectionately known. Congressman Cramer, as we have heard, was one 
of the leaders in Republican-elected service in the State of Florida at 
a time when all the Republicans in the State legislature could meet in 
one phone booth and still have plenty of room left over. He not only 
led the beginning of a two-party system in the Florida legislature when 
he was first elected to Congress, he was the first and only Republican 
elected since the Civil War, one lone Republican member of the 
delegation; and today we have 15 of 23 due to his great legacy of 
service.
  I had the opportunity to work for Bill Cramer as a young man in his 
campaign for the United States Senate in 1970. Much of what I have 
learned in campaigns and much of what I learned about elected service 
comes from the model provided by Bill Cramer. Bill Cramer served in 
this House and also served as an inspiration for me to become involved 
in the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. He was one of 
the leading Republican members of its predecessor, the Committee on 
Public Works, and served with distinction.
  Bill Cramer's service is an example of the legacy that we can leave 
here, not just in words, but also in changing the infrastructure and 
the opportunity and lives of so many people.
  If you go through central Florida and look at the intrastate and the 
infrastructure projects from end to end, many of them show the handy 
work of this great leader who we are here to honor. Bill Cramer will be 
celebrating his 80th birthday, and it could not be more fitting to have 
any facility named for any individual I know of

[[Page H5037]]

than the distinguished former gentleman from this body, the Honorable 
William C. Cramer.
  Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida (Mr. 
Mica), who has taken up the mantle of leadership from Mr. Cramer as the 
lead advocate for Florida's infrastructure needs.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of this measure.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Putnam) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 5145.
  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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