[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 71 (Tuesday, May 13, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H3986-H3987]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
DELBERT L. LATTA POST OFFICE BUILDING
Mr. MURPHY. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 985) to designate the facility of the United States Postal
Service located at 111 West Washington Street in Bowling Green, Ohio,
as the ``Delbert L. Latta Post Office Building''.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 985
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. DESIGNATION.
The facility of the United States Postal Service located at
111 West Washington Street in Bowling Green, Ohio, shall be
known and designated as the ``Delbert L. Latta Post Office
Building''.
SEC. 2. REFERENCES.
Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper,
or other record of the United States to the facility referred
to in section 1 shall be deemed to be a reference to the
Delbert L. Latta Post Office Building.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Pennsylvania (Mr. Murphy) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murphy).
General Leave
Mr. MURPHY. 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. 985.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Pennsylvania?
There was no objection.
Mr. MURPHY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 985, introduced by my distinguished colleague from
the State of Ohio (Mr. Gillmor), designates the facility of the United
States Postal Service located at 111 West Washington Street in Bowling
Green, Ohio, as the Delbert L. Latta Post Office Building.
Mr. Speaker, this is a special day for this House as we have a chance
here to honor one of our own former Members. U.S. Representative
Delbert Latta, or Del, as he was affectionately known, worked 30 years
for the people of the great State of Ohio's fifth district. He was one
of the House's most devoted Members, and I am proud to be a part of
these proceedings to honor him today.
Del grew up in northwest Ohio before serving our country in the Ohio
National Guard and Marine Corps Reserve. After graduating from Ohio
Northern University's law school in 1943, Del Latta began to practice
law in Bowling Green. Ten years later, he sought and won a seat in the
Ohio State senate, to which he was reelected two times. Finally, in
November of 1958, Del Latta was elected to the 86th Congress, beginning
a career where he spent most of his time fighting for fiscal prudence.
Not known as one of this body's most attention-seeking Members,
Congressman Latta was definitely one of its most diligent. He held
pivotal seats on the Committee on Rules, the Committee on Agriculture,
and the Committee on the Budget during his time in the House. In 1975,
he became the ranking member of the Committee on the Budget, a post he
held for 13 years until his retirement. In that position, Del Latta
played an important role by consistently fighting for budget-balancing
measures and against wasteful government spending. He was the dean of
his home State of Ohio's congressional delegation when he chose to not
seek reelection in 1988, and he returned home to Bowling Green.
In addition, perhaps the most suitable aspects of renaming this post
office building after Congressman Latta is the fact that this very
facility once housed Congressman Latta's district office in Bowling
Green.
Therefore, I urge all Members to recognize the public service career
of former Ohio Congressman Del Latta by supporting the passage of H.R.
985. I thank my colleague from Ohio for introducing this important
measure.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 985, legislation which names a
postal facility in Bowling Green, Ohio, after Delbert L. Latta. H.R.
985, introduced by the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Gillmor) on February
27, 2003, has met the committee cosponsorship requirement and enjoys
the support of the entire Ohio delegation.
Delbert L. Latta is a former Member of Congress who represented the
Fifth Congressional District in Ohio from 1959 to 1989. A native of
``Beautiful
[[Page H3987]]
Ohio,'' the title of the State song, Mr. Latta was born and educated in
the State whose motto is, ``With God all things are possible.'' He went
on to serve in the Ohio National Guard and the U.S. Marines before
settling down and practicing law in Bowling Green.
Prior to his election to the U.S. House of Representatives, Delbert
Latta served in the State senate for three terms. In November of 1958,
he was elected to the 86th Congress. During his 30 years in Congress,
Representative Latta served on the House Committee on Agriculture, the
Committee on the Budget, and the Committee on Rules. In 1988,
Representative Latta decided not to run for reelection and returned
home to Bowling Green, Ohio, where he is active in numerous community
and civic organizations.
Mr. Speaker, I commend the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Gillmor) for
seeking to honor former Congressman Del Latta in this matter, and I
urge swift passage of this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I have no additional requests for time, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
Mr. MURPHY. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Gillmor), the sponsor of this legislation.
Mr. GILLMOR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this
time.
I am very pleased to rise and ask my colleagues to support H.R. 985,
which would duly honor a man who was my predecessor in this body,
Congressman Del Latta. Del served for 30 years in this Chamber, and it
was 30 years of distinguished service to the people of the fifth
district of Ohio.
It designates the post office at 111 West Washington Street in
Bowling Green as the Delbert L. Latta Post Office building, and I think
it is particularly appropriate, because Del spent a great deal of time
in that building. During most of his career in Congress, his
congressional office was located there.
He was born in Weston, Ohio, in Wood County. He attended Findlay
College and Ohio Northern University; and before World War II, from
1938 to 1941, he served in the Ohio National Guard and in the U.S.
Army. He was in the Marine Corps Reserve from 1942 to 1943. He was
admitted to practice law in 1944. He served later in the Ohio senate
for three terms, from 1953 to 1958. After some gap in service, I had
the privilege of also representing that State senate district. He was
elected to the 86th Congress in November 1958.
During his tenure, he had a number of very important assignments: the
Committee on Rules; the Committee on the Budget, where he was ranking
minority member; and he also served three terms on the House Committee
on Agriculture. He was very well known as the cosponsor of the Graham-
Latta bill, which was a major tax cut bill in the Reagan
administration. And after deciding he would not run for reelection in
1988, he returned to his home in Bowling Green, and Del remains active
in the community today.
Among his achievements in public service are his involvement in the
Watergate hearings and his role as dean of the Ohio delegation. The
character, hard work, and the commitment he brought to public life had
a significant effect on our State and on our Nation's public policy,
and his accomplishments should not go unnoticed.
So I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting this important
legislation.
Mr. MURPHY. Mr. Speaker, I have no other speakers on this issue, and
I want to again thank the gentleman from Ohio for introducing this
important legislation. I urge all Members to support the adoption of
this measure.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murphy) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 985.
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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