[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 64 (Monday, May 16, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H3270-H3271]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      LINDA WHITE-EPPS POST OFFICE

  Mrs. MILLER of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 627) to designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 40 Putnam Avenue in Hamden, Connecticut, as 
the ``Linda White-Epps Post Office''.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                H.R. 627

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

     SECTION 1. LINDA WHITE-EPPS POST OFFICE.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 40 Putnam Avenue in Hamden, Connecticut, 
     shall be known and designated as the ``Linda White-Epps 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 ``Linda White-Epps Post Office''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Michigan (Mrs. Miller) and the gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Baldwin) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. Miller).


                             General Leave

  Mrs. MILLER of Michigan. 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 the bill under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Michigan?
  There was no objection.
  Mrs. MILLER of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 627 will designate this post office in Hamden, 
Connecticut, as the Linda White-Epps Post Office. Linda White-Epps 
lived a life that is very fitting for this high honor. Mrs. White-Epps 
was a breast cancer and women's health advocate in her community ever 
since she personally overcame a bout with breast cancer in 1990.

                              {time}  1415

  A result of her battle with the dreaded disease, she founded a group 
called ``Sisters' Journey,'' a nonprofit organization that provides 
support to survivors and anyone affected by this dreaded disease.
  She was also a member of both the local NAACP executive board and the 
local Boys and Girls Club Board of Directors. In 2001, she was elected 
to the Hamden City Council. That same year, she was named a ``Point of 
Light'' for her work on behalf of women's health issues by the Points 
of Life Foundation, a national volunteer organization devoted to 
community service.
  Mr. Speaker, sadly, though, Linda White-Epps' form of cancer relapsed 
more than a decade later and she passed away in 2003. Over the years I 
know she became very close with the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. 
DeLauro), and I want to commend my distinguished colleague for her work 
on this bill. This Post Office will help citizens of Hamden, 
Connecticut to remember their dear friend, Linda, as well as her 
contributions and her charitable life.
  Linda White-Epps' grandfather was a letter carrier, making this honor 
of a Post Office all the more fitting and meaningful for her family. I 
strongly support this resolution and I urge all of my colleagues to do 
the same.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. BALDWIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I am pleased to join my colleague, the gentlewoman from Michigan 
(Mrs. Miller), in consideration of H.R. 627,

[[Page H3271]]

legislation designating a postal facility in Hamden, Connecticut after 
the late Linda White-Epps.
  This measure was introduced by my good friend, the gentlewoman from 
Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro), introduced on February 8, 2005 and 
unanimously reported by the Committee on Government Reform on May 5, 
2005. It enjoys the support and cosponsorship of the entire Connecticut 
delegation.
  By all accounts, Linda White-Epps was a very active member of her 
community. A member of the Hamden Legislative Council, Ms. White-Epps 
served on the executive board of the local NAACP and on the Board of 
Directors of the local Boys and Girls Club. Most importantly, she was a 
two-time presidential Point of Light recipient and a breast cancer 
activist.
  Linda White-Epps will forever be remembered for founding ``Sisters' 
Journey,'' a nonprofit support organization for women of color who have 
survived breast cancer. The organization published a calendar featuring 
African American cancer survivors and their stories and their words of 
support. The calendar also serves as an important reminder to conduct 
breast self-exams and schedule mammograms.
  Although Linda survived breast cancer in 1990, it eventually took her 
life in October of 2003.
  Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleague for seeking to honor the legacy 
of Linda White-Epps and urge the swift passage of this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the sponsor of 
this legislation, the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro).
  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman from 
Wisconsin (Ms. Baldwin) and the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. Miller) 
for their kind remarks about a wonderful, wonderful woman. I also want 
to say thank you to my colleagues in Connecticut for their support of 
this effort.
  I rise in support of the legislation that would name the Whitneyville 
Branch Post Office in Hamden, Connecticut the ``Linda White-Epps Post 
Office,'' and this is in honor of her heroic work on behalf of women 
battling breast cancer.
  To all who knew her Linda White-Epps was an inspiration, a true 
friend. An extraordinary young woman who did so much to improve the 
lives of those around her, she dedicated her life to her community. She 
served in the town government on Hamden's Legislative Council and on 
the boards of local nonprofits. As my colleagues have heard, she served 
as an executive board member of the NAACP and on the Board of Directors 
of the local Boys and Girls Club.
  But it was her devotion to raising awareness about breast cancer in 
African American women that became her life's work. Linda herself had 
beaten breast cancer in 1990, but knew that the disease continued to 
affect minority communities disproportionately, with African American 
women facing only a 72 percent 5-year survival rate, 15 percent lower 
than the survival rate for white women.
  That disparity inspired Linda to search for ways to bring survivors 
together. Knowing that many women often wait too long to be tested and 
are reluctant to talk about their problems, she wanted to ensure that 
all women, regardless of race, would be able to take advantage of the 
remarkable medical advances we have seen over these last several years. 
Whether it was early detection or increasing access to the best health 
care possible, she wanted to give every woman a fighting chance of 
beating this disease. She knew as a breast cancer survivor, as I do as 
an ovarian cancer survivor, that no one should have to depend on luck 
when it comes to fighting cancer.
  So she created Sisters' Journey, a nonprofit organization which 
provides education and support to breast cancer survivors, their 
friends, and their families, and it was the first of its kind in 
Connecticut.
  In 1999, Sisters' Journey published a calendar featuring the pictures 
of women who have beaten the disease. Each turn of a page provides a 
look at another month, more stories from ``sisters'' and words of 
encouragement to women, teaching women to conduct self-examinations and 
to get mammograms regularly. The unveiling of the calendar still occurs 
every October at a fund-raiser known as the ``Pink Tea,'' a tradition 
Linda started.
  In addition to Sisters' Journey, she organized the first Relay for 
Life held in the Hamden community, raising nearly $50,000 for the 
American Cancer Society.
  Sadly, Linda, a grandmother of two, finally succumbed to the disease 
in 2003, and we miss her to this day. For all her outspokenness on 
behalf of women too reserved to speak up for themselves, Linda faced 
her own breast cancer in such a quiet way that many of her neighbors 
and friends were not aware of the gravity of her illness.
  Linda approached advocacy with the same humility, dignity, and grace, 
receiving numerous awards from the American Cancer Society for her 
efforts. She won the Greater New Haven NAACP Freedom Fund Award and the 
``Daily Point of Light'' award by the Points of Life Foundation, which 
honors those who have made a commitment to bring people together 
through service to help meet critical needs in their communities. 
Indeed, she did. And today, Linda's legacy lives on in her mother, 
Phyllis White, who long joined Linda on her journey. Now she has taken 
up her cause as well, bringing new energy to that effort.
  Mr. Speaker, Linda White-Epps lived a life of hope and of resilience, 
perseverance, and dedication to community. She did bring people 
together and for the greatest of causes. As the granddaughter of a 
postal carrier, renaming the Hamden Post Office in Linda's honor would 
be a most fitting tribute. I urge my colleagues to support this 
legislation.
  Mrs. MILLER of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers at 
this time, and I continue to reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. BALDWIN. Mr. Speaker, we have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mrs. MILLER of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support 
H.R. 627, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Daniel E. Lungren of California). The 
question is on the motion offered by the gentlewoman from Michigan 
(Mrs. Miller) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 
627.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of 
those present have voted in the affirmative.
  Mrs. MILLER of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and 
nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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