[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 132 (Tuesday, October 18, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H8876-H8877]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  U.S. CLEVELAND POST OFFICE BUILDING

  Mr. PORTER. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 3830) to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 130 East Marion Avenue in Punta Gorda, Florida, as 
the ``U.S. Cleveland Post Office Building''.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 3830

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

     SECTION 1. U.S. CLEVELAND POST OFFICE BUILDING.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 130 East Marion Avenue in Punta Gorda, 
     Florida, shall be known and designated as the ``U.S. 
     Cleveland 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 ``U.S. Cleveland Post Office Building''.

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


                             General Leave

  Mr. PORTER. 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 H.R. 3830.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Nevada?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. PORTER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise in support of H.R. 3830, introduced by the distinguished 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Foley). This bill will designate this post 
office in Punta

[[Page H8877]]

Gorda, Florida as the U.S. Cleveland Post Office Building. All members 
of the Florida delegation have co-sponsored this legislation.
  Ulysses Samuel Cleveland was born September 7, 1919, in Boca Grande, 
Florida, to Cleve and Jean Cleveland. At the age of 2, Cleveland moved 
to Charlotte County's Punta Gorda with his family, the town that he 
would later dedicate a lifetime to preserving its history.
  In 1941, U.S. Cleveland was drafted and was later commissioned as a 
second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He oversaw 20 radio crews with the 
3103 Signal Service Battalion. He was a part of the secret 
disinformation campaign that misled the Nazis and helped contribute to 
the success of the Normandy invasion. Mr. Cleveland and his unit were 
credited by Supreme Commander General Dwight Eisenhower with saving the 
D-Day landing.
  After World War II, Cleveland returned to Punta Gorda and became the 
assistant postmaster. He worked for the U.S. Post Office for nearly 
four decades. During that time he devoted much of his life to archiving 
old photos, newspaper clippings, and all kinds of Charlotte County 
records. With all of his historical records he co-authored two volumes 
of local history entitled ``Our Fascinating Past.''
  Besides being a well-known historian, U.S. Cleveland also dedicated 
much of his time to various charities within the community. He produced 
monthly newsletters for the American Legion Post in Punta Gorda and 
provided and managed sound systems for various community events, 
including the Florida International Air Show. He was also the treasurer 
for the Punta Gorda Historical Society, historian for the Kiwanis Club, 
and a charter member of the Punta Gorda and Charlotte County Historic 
Preservation boards.
  Although U.S. Cleveland passed away this year at the age of 85, his 
legacy of public service lives on in Charlotte County, Florida. His 
vast historic collection, now in storage, will be added to by his 
fellow historians in time to come. I urge all members to join me in 
honoring this fine man and his quest to preserve the history of his 
hometown of Punta Gorda, Florida.
  Madam Speaker, I support H.R. 3830, and I salute the sponsor, the 
gentleman from Florida, for his work on this measure.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  As a member of the House Government Reform Committee, I am pleased to 
join with my colleague, the chairman of our subcommittee, the gentleman 
from Nevada, in consideration of H.R. 3830, legislation naming the 
postal facility in Punta Gorda, Florida, after the late Ulysses Samuel 
Cleveland. This measure, which was introduced by Representative Mark 
Foley on September 20, 2005, and unanimously reported by our committee 
on September 29, 2005, enjoys the support and co-sponsorship of the 
entire Florida delegation.
  Mr. Cleveland, or U.S. as he liked to be called, was a native of 
Punta Gorda, Florida. After serving in the Army, he returned to his 
hometown where he became the assistant postmaster for Charlotte County. 
Mr. Cleveland later became the historian for the Punta Gorda Kiwanis 
Club and charter member for the Punta Gorda and Charlotte County 
Historic Preservation boards, authoring books on local history.
  Unfortunately, his home was destroyed during Hurricane Charley in 
August of 2004. He lost his collection of photographs and historical 
artifacts. U.S. Cleveland passed away on April 22, 2005, a great 
citizen, a great historian, a person who is deserving of this honor. I 
commend my colleague for naming the post after the late Ulysses Samuel 
Cleveland, and I urge swift passage of this bill.
  Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. PORTER. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Foley).
  Mr. FOLEY. Madam Speaker, let me thank the gentleman from Nevada and 
thank the gentleman from Illinois for their kind introduction of our 
good friend and dear former citizen and resident, Ulysses Samuel 
Cleveland. Many of those listening to the testimony may recognize the 
name and they are struggling to remember where they heard the term 
Punta Gorda, Florida; but I can tell you August 13 was a startling day 
in Punta Gorda when Hurricane Charley approached landfall and did 
significant damage to our constituents. U.S. Cleveland was one of those 
who suffered the loss of his home. He was in the process of 
rehabilitating it and retrofitting it, because one of the unique 
features of U.S. was the fact that he made a lifetime commitment out of 
caring for his son Dallas who has Down's Syndrome from birth.
  So not only was he a native of the region, not only was he a veteran 
of our Nation, not only was he the assistant postmaster of our 
community, not only had he spent 83 long years as an active member of 
our community. He also showed the full measure of devotion to the 
children, his own particularly, who had been brought into this world 
with a challenge, a challenge so many other families face.
  This past weekend I happened to be in Palm Beach County where they 
were having the Down's Syndrome Walk, families celebrating the lives of 
their children who have been challenged, but with the support and 
strength of their family they have been able to overcome that 
adversity. U.S. was a father and a principled citizen who gave his 
devotion to both family, community, and always above self, which was 
the hallmark of American patriots.
  It was noted that Supreme Commander General Dwight Eisenhower 
credited his unit with saving the D-Day landing at Normandy. We 
mentioned him coming back home. One of the great things about Florida, 
and of course it is a State now with 16 million people, but the year of 
his birth there were very few. Florida was an emerging little area in 
the south of the United States, and our population was not what it is 
near today, and certainly he was part of that beautiful community, 
Punta Gorda, in Charlotte County.
  And so today we do rise as we do so often to commend the life's work 
of citizens who are deserving of this high honor. We do not name post 
offices after everyone, and it is not always the fact that they may 
have been postal employees. But this significance to Mr. Cleveland was 
the fact of his devotion to family, devotion to community, devotion to 
Nation, and of course being a historian for Punta Gorda.
  Those in southwest Florida know this beautiful community of ours, and 
they know full well of his devotion to that community. By cataloging 
the photos of early days, he was able to, as was mentioned, co-author 
two volumes of a local history book called ``Our Fascinating Past.'' 
These are the hallmarks of a great and giant man.
  Unfortunately, he passed away this spring due to complications from 
pneumonia. He was married to Yvonne Cleveland who preceded him in 
death, and he is survived by three sons, Max, Keith, and Dallas.
  I thank the members of the committee, my colleagues, for allowing us 
to present this bill to the floor and for their expedition in bringing 
it to the floor. I would like to thank my district director, Dick 
Keene, who lives in the Punta Gorda area for his work on this bill and 
also Jeffrey Ostermayer for helping us bring about this tribute to a 
fine American. I would like to thank the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. 
Tom Davis), the chairman of the committee, for bringing this bill to 
the House floor so quickly.
  Mr. PORTER. Madam Speaker, I urge all Members to support this 
legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Porter) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, H.R. 3830.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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