[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 131 (Tuesday, November 16, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H9691-H9692]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           GUARDIANS OF FREEDOM MEMORIAL POST OFFICE BUILDING

  Mr. PLATTS. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
Senate bill (S. 2640) to designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 1050 North Hills Boulevard in Reno, Nevada, 
as the ``Guardians of Freedom Memorial Post Office Building'' and to 
authorize the installation of a plaque at such site, and for other 
purposes.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                S. 2640

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

     SECTION 1. DESIGNATION OF GUARDIANS OF FREEDOM MEMORIAL POST 
                   OFFICE BUILDING.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Post 
     Office located at 1050 North Hills Boulevard in Reno, Nevada, 
     shall be known and designated as the ``Guardians of Freedom 
     Memorial 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 ``Guardians of Freedom Memorial Post 
     Office Building''.

     SEC. 2. INSTALLATION OF PLAQUE.

       (a) Agreement.--The Postmaster General may enter into an 
     agreement with the Office of Veterans' Services of the State 
     of Nevada under which the Office of Veterans' Services of the 
     State of Nevada agrees--
       (1) to install a plaque to be displayed at the Guardians of 
     Freedom Memorial Post Office Building referred to in section 
     1(a); and
       (2) to maintain and update such plaque, as appropriate and 
     in accordance with subsections (b) and (c).
       (b) Inscriptions.--
       (1) Dedication.--The plaque installed pursuant to 
     subsection (a) shall bear the following inscription: ``This 
     post office building is dedicated in the memory of those men 
     and women of the State of Nevada who have lost their lives 
     while serving in the Armed Forces of the United States in the 
     Global War on Terrorism and in Operation Iraqi Freedom.''.
       (2) Additional information.--The plaque installed pursuant 
     to subsection (a) shall also include with respect to the men 
     and women of the Armed Forces referred to in paragraph (1) 
     inscriptions containing the names, ranks, branches of 
     service, hometowns, and dates of death of such men and women.
       (c) Expenditure of Costs.--The agreement referred to in 
     subsection (a) shall provide that the Office of Veterans' 
     Services of the State of Nevada shall have sole 
     responsibility for the expenditure of all costs associated 
     with the installation, maintenance, and updating of the 
     plaque.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Platts) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Platts).


                             General Leave

  Mr. PLATTS. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous material on S. 2640.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. PLATTS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of S. 2640, a bill to 
designate the Reno, Nevada, Post Office as the Guardians of Freedom 
Memorial Post Office Building. The House version of this legislation, 
H.R. 4442, introduced by my esteemed colleague, the gentleman from 
Nevada (Mr. Gibbons), passed this body on September 7 of this year. I 
now urge like support for the Senate bill here today.
  I am pleased that this deserved legislative tribute to our Nation's 
military servicemen and women will soon be on the President's desk and 
become law.
  As our Nation is engaged in the global war on terror, courageous 
American troops work and fight each day to make us all safer here at 
home. When President Bush accepted his nomination for the presidency 
this summer, he stated, ``We have fought the terrorists across the 
Earth not for pride, not for power, but because the lives of our 
citizens are at stake.''

                              {time}  1430

  These words remain true today. And, thus, the sacrifices of our brave 
troops across the world continue to be so invaluable to all of us.
  This Guardians of Freedom Post Office in Reno, Nevada, is a 
relatively small, but critically important and very relevant, gesture 
of the American people's appreciation of Nevada's veterans. We will 
never take their blood, sweat, and tears for granted. I thank both the 
gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Gibbons) and his colleague in the Senate, 
Senator John Ensign of Nevada, for their meaningful work towards 
establishing the Guardians of Freedom Memorial Post Office.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Madam Speaker, as a member of the House Committee on Government 
Reform, I am pleased to join my colleague in consideration of S. 2640, 
legislation designating the postal facility in Reno, Nevada, in memory 
of the Guardians of Freedom. This measure, which was sponsored by 
Senator John Ensign, passed the Senate unanimously on July 22, 2004. S. 
2640 is closely related to H.R. 4442 which passed the House by voice 
vote on September 7, 2004.
  The name Guardians of Freedom Memorial Post Office was chosen by the 
Nevada North Valley High School Air Force Junior ROTC cadets and honors 
the Nevada men and women who lost their lives while serving in the 
military on the global war on terrorism and in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
  Madam Speaker, I was pleased to join last week with veterans in my 
hometown of Chicago at the George Giles and Dorrie Miller posts, as we 
all commemorated Veterans Day and we all paid tribute to the men and 
women who have given their lives in defense of this country. Therefore, 
I am pleased to support the men and women in the military, commend the 
young people at the Nevada high school for arriving at the name, and 
join with my colleague in urging swift passage of this bill.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. PLATTS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Gibbons).

[[Page H9692]]

  Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend and colleague, the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Platts), for granting me the time.
  Mr. Speaker, it is my great honor and privilege to rise today in 
support of Senate 2640, the Guardians of Freedom Memorial Post Office 
Building Designation Act. The concept of this legislation, while 
generated and originated in our office on the House side, was the 
genesis for the bill introduced by my good friend, Senator John Ensign, 
as companion legislation to my bill, H.R. 4442. All five members of 
Nevada's congressional delegation fully support the memorial that these 
bills would realize.
  This bill honors Nevada's military personnel who have made that 
ultimate sacrifice during the global war on terror and the liberation 
of Iraq. Nevada's families have lost precious loved ones during these 
conflicts, and many members of Nevada's communities have requested help 
in providing some form of recognition for these noble men and women.
  This bill helps provide such recognition by establishing the 
Guardians of Freedom Memorial Post Office building in Reno, Nevada, a 
consecration of ground forever preserving the memories of these valiant 
individuals.
  The name for this special memorial post office originates through a 
contest in a high school in the North Valleys area of Reno, Nevada, and 
the name Guardians of Freedom Post Office was selected from a name 
generated by the Junior ROTC of North Valleys High School in Reno. 
Those students created a name which best embodies the spirit of our 
recently fallen heroes.
  I congratulate these young Nevadans on their achievement and thank 
them for their participation in this special honor that will forever 
recognize these fallen patriots.
  To my knowledge, Mr. Speaker, no other post office in the United 
States honors the memories of all of those of a community who have 
fallen in defense of our Nation's liberty. At the Guardians of Freedom 
Post Office, a plaque will be placed at this site bearing the names of 
the Nevadans who have made the ultimate sacrifice in fighting terrorism 
and who have died defending America's liberties.
  It is my hope that the names permanently etched into this plaque will 
be an enduring reminder to future generations that freedom is never 
free, and those who defend liberty will never be forgotten.
  I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this bill.
  Mr. PLATTS. Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support this 
resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Petri). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Platts) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill, S. 2640.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the Senate bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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