[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 131 (Tuesday, November 16, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H9692-H9693]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       MIKE MANSFIELD POST OFFICE

  Mr. PLATTS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
Senate bill (S. 2214) to designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 3150 Great Northern Avenue in Missoula, 
Montana, as the ``Mike Mansfield Post Office''.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                S. 2214

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

     SECTION 1. MIKE MANSFIELD POST OFFICE, MISSOULA, MONTANA.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 3150 Great Northern Avenue in Missoula, 
     Montana, shall be known and designated as the ``Mike 
     Mansfield Post Office''.
       (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 ``Mike Mansfield Post Office''.

  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. Mr. 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. 2214.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. PLATTS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. 
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in support of this legislation that 
will name the postal facility in Missoula, Montana, after one of 
Montana's favorite sons, Senator Mike Mansfield. To put it 
forthrightly, Mike Mansfield was one of America's finest leaders. He 
was the longest-serving Senate Majority Leader ever, presiding over the 
other body during a critical and tumultuous time in our Nation's 
history from 1961 to 1977.
  Before entering government service, Senator Mansfield bravely served 
stints in three different branches of the military. Perhaps more 
remarkably, he began his military service as a seaman at just the age 
of 14 in the United States Navy during World War I. Later, he joined 
the Army from 1919 to 1920, and the Marine Corps from 1920 to 1922.
  Senator Mansfield became a history and political science professor at 
Montana State University for a decade prior to being elected to the 
first of his five terms in the House of Representatives in 1942. Then, 
in 1952 he won election to the Senate, where he would become a national 
household name, and the body where he would spend the next 24 years. 
Senator Mansfield rapidly became majority whip, the number two post in 
the Senate in 1957. When Senator Lyndon Baines Johnson left the Senate 
to become Vice President, Senator Mansfield was the natural choice to 
replace him. He became majority leader and held the post for an 
extraordinary 16 years, again from 1961 to 1977.
  After retiring from the Senate, President Jimmy Carter appointed him 
Ambassador to Japan, an office he held through 1988. The distinguished 
Senator died of congestive heart failure here in Washington at the age 
of 98 on October 5, 2001. His body was buried at Arlington National 
Cemetery.
  Mr. Speaker, the Nation benefited monumentally from Senator Mike 
Mansfield's legendary, yet humble, leadership. Therefore, I urge all 
Members to support this legislation that honors him.
  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, as a member of the House Committee on Government Reform, 
I am pleased to join my colleague in consideration of S. 2214, 
legislation designating the postal facility in Missoula, Montana, after 
the late Senator Mike Mansfield. This measure, which was sponsored by 
Senator Conrad Burns, passed the Senate unanimously on June 9, 2004.
  Michael Joseph Mansfield was born in 1903 in New York City. In 1906 
he moved with his family to Montana where he attended public schools. 
At the age of 14 he entered the United States Navy serving for 4 years, 
the U.S. Army for 1 year, and the U.S. Marine Corps for 2 years. After 
serving in the military, he returned to Montana to further his 
education, graduating from college and receiving a master's degree.
  From 1943 to 1953, Mike Mansfield, a Democrat, served in the United 
States House of Representatives, representing Montana's First 
Congressional District. In 1952, Representative Mansfield was elected 
to the U.S. Senate where he served until 1977. During his Senate 
career, Senator Mansfield served as democratic whip, majority leader, 
Chairman of the Committee on Rules and Administration, and Select 
Committee on Secret and Confidential Documents.
  A man of impeccable integrity, Senator Mansfield was instrumental in 
securing passage of the Civil Rights Bill in 1964. Although an early 
supporter of the Vietnam War, he later was a leading voice to end that 
war. After his service in the Senate, he was appointed Ambassador to 
Japan under Presidents Carter and Reagan.

[[Page H9693]]

  Prior to his death in 2001, he served as senior advisor to Goldman 
Sachs in Washington, D.C.
  Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleague for seeking to honor the memory 
and legacy of the late Senator Mike Mansfield, and I urge swift passage 
of this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. PLATTS. Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of S. 2214, and 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. Platts) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the Senate bill, S. 2214.
  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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