[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 106 (Thursday, July 17, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9618-S9619]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
WILLIAM J. SCHERLE POST OFFICE BUILDING
Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the
Governmental Affairs Committee be discharged from further consideration
of S. 1399 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk
will report the bill by title.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
A bill (S. 1399) to redesignate the facility of the United
States Postal Service located at 101 South Vine Street in
Glenwood, Iowa, as the ``William J. Scherle Post Office
Building''.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I rise in support of S. 1399, a bill I
am happy to cosponsor with Senator Harkin, to name the post office in
Glenwood, IA, the William J. Scherle Post Office Building. Former
Congressman Bill Scherle served in the U.S. House of Representatives
for four terms, from 1967-1975. Before that, we served together in the
Iowa House of Representatives. Bill Scherle is originally from New York
State, so he was not born an Iowan, but you would never know it. He
acclimated well to Iowa, living on a farm near the small southwestern
Iowa town of Henderson. Bill is a farmer through and through. He was a
plainspoken conservative voice in Congress and he represented his
largely rural western Iowa district well. He then went on to serve his
country in the Department of Agriculture. Bill Scherle has given a good
portion of his life to public service and it is fitting that a post
office near his home be named in his honor. In fact, Bill Scherle's
legacy as a public servant is demonstrated by the fact that this bill
to honor him is a bipartisan initiative. Both Senator Harkin and I
recognize the contribution made by Bill Scherle to Iowa and to the
United States. I was very sorry when I recently learned that Bill is in
poor health. I wish him the best and my prayers are with him and his
family. I am glad that we have this opportunity now to recognize Bill
and his service to his State and his Nation. I would like to thank
Chairman Collins for her help in allowing this bill to be moved quickly
through the Government Affairs Committee and the Senate. I know that
Congressman King, who follows in Congressman Scherle's footsteps, has
sponsored a similar measure in the House with the support of others
from the Iowa delegation. Those who know Bill Scherle or know of his
legacy understand why this honor is so appropriate and I hope this bill
can be enacted very soon.
Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I am very pleased that the Senate is
moving towards passage today of legislation that would name the
Glenwood, IA, post office for former Iowa Congressman, William J.
Scherle. Bill Scherle and his wife Jane live on their family farm just
outside of Henderson, IA, in Mills County. Glenwood is the county seat
of Mills County. Bill served four terms in the U.S. House of
Representatives, beginning with three terms in 1967 in what was then
Iowa's 7th Congressional District, and a term in the re-districted 5th
Congressional District. I think it is appropriate that Glenwood's Post
Office will soon permanently bear Congressman Scherle's name.
Bill long served his Nation. He started with military service in the
Navy and Coast Guard during World War II, then afterwards served in the
Naval Reserve. He chaired the Mills County Republican Party for almost
a decade starting in 1956. He served in the Iowa legislature from 1960
through 1966. He then was elected to the U.S. Congress and served
through 1974, including service on the Education and Labor Committee
and the Appropriations Committee. His public service continued in 1975
and 1976, when he was appointed to a senior position at the Department
of Agriculture.
In January 1968, North Korea seized the USS Pueblo, imprisoned and
tortured the crew. Congressman Scherle led the effort in Congress to
free the crew of the Pueblo. I have always admired Bill's tenacity in
never letting the Pueblo crew be forgotten. Bill was the only Member of
Congress invited to attend Pueblo reunions and as their health has
allowed, Bill and Jane always have attended.
Bill and I are at different places on the political spectrum, and I
ran
[[Page S9619]]
against him for Congress twice. He wont the first time, and I won the
re-match. We disagreed on many issues, but I always understood that he
acted on the basis of strong-held views about what he considered were
the best interests of those he represented and of the Nation.
Long after we ran as opponents, I got to know Bill and visited him on
his farm. He is a good person who cares deeply about his community and
rural America. Politics has always had a certain amount of rough and
tumble. But while Bill was certainly a good Republican who wanted to
see consistent victories for the GOP, he also could see the good in all
people.
One area of our mutual interest was the Iowa School for the Deaf in
Council Bluffs. Bill always did what he could for the school my brother
attended years ago, and for deaf people in general.
Congressman Scherle always cared about children and their welfare. He
wrote a children's book. ``The Happy Barn.'' He gave away thousands of
copies to schools, hospitals and individual families in Southwest Iowa
and the Omaha area, reading to young children time after time. He had
lots of fun reading to children, and I believe that there are few more
valuable things we can do as adults than to read to children and get
them started on that most important activity.
Bill was a businessman and farmer, proud of both professions. He
received the Alegent Health Mercy Hospital Heritage Award for his
contributions to business in Southwest Iowa.
He remains a good father to his two sons, and a good husband to his
wife of 55 years, Jane. He is blessed with 6 grandchildren--five girls
and a boy. Bill has lived a dedicated, patriotic, family and public
service life.
I am pleased that my colleague, Senator Grassley, joins me in
sponsoring this legislation. Congressman King has introduced similar
legislation in the House of Representatives.
Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read a third time
and passed, that the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and
any statements relating to the bill be printed in the Record.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The bill (S. 1399) was read the third time and passed, as follows:
S. 1399
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. WILLIAM J. SCHERLE POST OFFICE BUILDING.
(a) Redesignation.--The facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 101 South Vine Street in Glenwood,
Iowa, and known as the Glenwood Main Office, shall be known
and designated as the ``William J. Scherle 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 J. Scherle Post Office Building.
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