[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 72 (Thursday, May 26, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S6064]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  DESIGNATING THE ``ROBERT M. LA FOLLETTE, SR., POST OFFICE BUILDING''

  Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Homeland 
Security and Governmental Affairs be discharged from further 
consideration of H.R. 1760 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 (H.R. 1760) to designate the facility of the United 
     States Postal Service located at 215 Martin Luther King, Jr., 
     Boulevard in Madison, Wisconsin, as the ``Robert M. La 
     Follette, Sr., Post Office Building.''

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. KOHL. Mr. President, I rise today in support of H.R. 1760, which 
would name a Post Office in Madison, WI as the ``Robert M. La Follette, 
Sr. Post Office Building.'' This passage of this legislation is timely, 
coming shortly before what would have been La Follette's 150th birthday 
next month.
  Robert La Follette was born into a farming family in Primrose, WI, on 
June 14, 1855. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin in 
Madison, he served as the District Attorney for Dane County. He would 
go on to serve the State of Wisconsin as a Congressman, the Governor, 
and a U.S. Senator. Throughout his career, he fought on behalf of the 
people, not the politics. He truly embodied the ``fighting'' spirit of 
the people of Wisconsin.
  As Governor, La Follette instituted direct primary elections, 
allowing the people to choose their representatives, rather than having 
the party leaders chose them. His reform efforts in the State, and his 
excellent speaking style, placed him in the national spotlight. In 
1906, La Follette joined the U.S. Senate, where he would remain until 
his death in 1925.
  It was as a U.S. Senator that La Follette truly launched a national 
progressive movement. He protested the corruption of government and the 
influence of large corporations on political leaders. He argued in 
favor of women's suffrage, worker's rights and racial equality. He 
fought for economic and social reform to remove power from the few and 
place it in the hands of the many.
  La Follette's fighting spirit and drive for reform have prevented him 
from falling out of the Naion's consciousness. Nowhere is this truer 
than in Wisconsin, the State he served so tirelessly for more than 30 
years. His legacy is alive in the people of Wisconsin, who so often 
embody his pioneering spirit of reform. His legacy is alive in the 
United States Senate, where we continue to fight for honesty in 
politics. For all these reasons, I urge my colleague to join me in 
support of H.R. 1760, to commemorate the legacy, and celebrate the life 
of Robert ``Fighting Bob'' La Follette.
  Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent the bill be read a third time and 
passed, 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 (H.R. 1760) was read the third time and passed.

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