[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 103 (Tuesday, July 26, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H6452-H6453]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
BRIAN P. PARRELLO POST OFFICE BUILDING
Ms. FOXX. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
Senate bill (S. 904) to designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 1560 Union Valley Road in West Milford, New
Jersey, as the ``Brian P. Parrello Post Office Building''.
The Clerk read as follows:
S. 904
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. BRIAN P. PARRELLO POST OFFICE BUILDING.
(a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal
Service located at 1560 Union Valley Road in West Milford,
New Jersey, shall be known and designated as the ``Brian P.
Parrello 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 ``Brian P. Parrello Post Office
Building''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
North Carolina (Ms. Foxx) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Foxx).
General Leave
Ms. FOXX. 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 the Senate bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from North Carolina?
There was no objection.
Ms. FOXX. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, the global war on terror is being fought at home and
abroad by the bravest of Americans. Lance Corporal Brian Parrello, a
19-year-old serving with the Second Marine Division from Passaic
County, New Jersey, was one of the most heroic of our fellow citizens.
Lance Corporal Parrello was killed in the city of Hadithah in Iraq on
New Year's Day of this year.
I know I speak for all American citizens when I say that we have
boundless appreciation for Lance Corporal Parrello's service to our
Nation. There are many ways we can remember his immeasurable efforts to
rid the world of the scourge of international terrorism. One small, but
meaningful, way we can memorialize Brian's selfless courage and his
priceless life is through this legislation.
To get a sense of Brian's patriotism, I want to impart some words
that his older brother Matthew Parrello shared with the local newspaper
following Brian's passing in January. Matthew told The Bergen Record
newspaper that Brian ``wanted to serve his country, and he loved what
he was doing. He was proud to be a Marine, and he loved the guys he was
serving with.''
Matthew said Brian had considered joining the military during high
school. During his senior year, in February of 2003, Brian enlisted in
the Marine Corps. He began active duty September 22, 2003, three months
after his high school graduation.
Sean Poppe, Brian's high school football coach, said Lance Corporal
Parrello ``possessed a strong desire to excel in whatever he did.''
Indeed, Lance Corporal Parrello gave his excellent life to this Nation.
Madam Speaker, America owes the greatest of debts to heroes like
Brian Parrello. No reward, decoration, or compensation can approach
what Brian Parrello devoted to his country. However, I appreciate the
Senator from
[[Page H6453]]
New Jersey's efforts to remember Brian's life through this legislation
that would name a post office after him in his hometown of West
Milford, New Jersey.
Madam Speaker, I strongly support Senate 904.
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. 904, a
bill designating the postal facility in West Milford, New Jersey, after
the late Brian P. Parrello. This measure, which was introduced by
Senator Frank Lautenberg, a Democrat from New Jersey, on April 26,
2005, was unanimously passed by the Senate on June 29, 2005.
Lance Corporal Brian P. Parrello, 19, was killed Saturday, January 1,
2005, as a result of hostile action in Hadithah, a city along the
Euphrates River. Brian Parrello is remembered by friends and family as
being a ``good guy,'' a young person who had dreams of one day becoming
a teacher.
Lance Corporal Brian P. Parrello had an avid interest in history. His
high school principal, Michael McCormick, recalled that Brian ``took
every elective history course that we have in our school.''
Madam Speaker, I commend my colleague for seeking to honor the memory
of the late Brian Parrello in this manner. Brian is to be remembered
for his sacrifice and that he lost his life in furtherance of our
freedom. We should not forget that he died in combat, and we would hope
that we could end this conflict so that it would not be necessary that
we take to the floor to honor young people whose lives are snuffed out
far too quickly.
This is indeed a tribute to Brian, and I would urge passage of this
bill.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. FOXX. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to my
distinguished colleague from the State of New Jersey (Mr. Garrett), the
author of the House version of this honor for Brian Parrello.
Mr. GARRETT of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, I also humbly rise this
morning as we support a bill to rename the post office in West Milford,
New Jersey, up in my district, after Lance Corporal Brian P. Parrello
who was killed in action, as we say, in Iraq earlier this year, in
January. He was an honorable defender of liberty, and he deserves our
gratitude and respect.
Brian joins that long list of our country's heroes who have made the
ultimate sacrifice so that each and every one of us can live free.
After the attacks on September 11, 2001, Brian proudly joined the
United States Marine Corps where he was assigned to the Second Marine
Expeditionary Force in North Carolina. In Iraq, Brian served in the
Marine's swift boat unit where he patrolled the Tigris and Euphrates
rivers.
As indicated earlier, back in West Milford High School, he served on
both the football and the hockey teams. His teachers and his coaches
and his peers called him a real leader, a real role model, someone who
always gave 150 percent to everything that he did, a guy with a big
heart who led by example. That is why I am proud to have introduced the
legislation in this House to rename the post office in West Milford
after Brian.
I am sure that Brian would have been proud to see the Iraqi people
vote in the fair and free elections this past January. Brian gave all
he could to help secure those freedoms. The war on terror is global in
nature, and Brian fought in Iraq so that we may end the scourge of
radical Islam and keep terrorists from attacking our homeland and
freedom-loving people around the entire world.
Now, we can never fully express our gratitude for his sacrifice, for
the freedom and the security to our Nation; but I am proud that we can
leave a lasting memorial so that his heroic actions can be remembered
in this country for now and future generations as well.
Today, we also remember his family, and we send them our prayers and
our comfort as well.
Ms. FOXX. Madam Speaker, I urge all Members to support S. 904.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Foxx) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the Senate bill, S. 904.
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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