[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 28 (Tuesday, March 7, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H579-H581]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   HIRAM L. FONG POST OFFICE BUILDING

  Mr. DENT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
Senate bill (S. 2089) to designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 1271 North King Street in Honolulu, Oahu, 
Hawaii, as the ``Hiram L. Fong Post Office Building''.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                S. 2089

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

     SECTION 1. HIRAM L. FONG POST OFFICE BUILDING.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 1271 North King Street in Honolulu, Oahu, 
     Hawaii, shall be known and designated as the ``Hiram L. Fong 
     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 ``Hiram L. Fong Post Office Building''.

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


                             General Leave

  Mr. DENT. 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 
gentleman from Pennsylvania?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. DENT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of Senate bill S. 2089 offered by 
Senator Akaka. This bill would designate the post office in Honolulu, 
Hawaii, as the ``Hiram L. Fong Post Office Building.''
  Hiram Fong was born on the island of Oahu in Honolulu on October 15, 
1906. The seventh of 11 children, Fong helped to support his family at 
an early age by earning money selling newspapers, shining shoes and 
caddying on golf courses. After graduating from high school, he went on 
to attend the University of Hawaii and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa 
as a graduate in 1930. He then graduated from Harvard Law School and 
began a career of public service that spanned over 40 years. He served 
in the Territorial House for 14 years, including 6 as Speaker of the 
House.
  With the coming of statehood in 1959, he ran for a seat in the United 
States Senate and was elected to three consecutive terms until his 
retirement in 1976. While serving in office, he was highly regarded for 
his work on immigration and naturalization law, and for encouraging 
relations with the People's Republic of China and other developing 
nations of Asia. From providing timely answers to constituent concerns, 
to being widely respected by both sides of the aisle, Senator Fong was 
indeed a great leader.
  I ask all Members to honor his leadership by passing S. 2089.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may 
consume to the gentleman from Hawaii (Mr. Abercrombie), the author of 
this legislation.
  Mr. ABERCROMBIE. Mr. Speaker, I would like to amplify my formal 
statement with a few personal observations. The chairman has kindly 
indicated some of the history of Senator Fong. It is interesting when I 
look down and see the word Hiram L. Fong, because he is so much of the 
history of Hawaii, we all think of him as Senator Fong.
  As has been noted, he was the seventh of 11 children of an immigrant 
family. If there was ever a story of Hawaii, of our rainbow people and 
our aloha spirit, it is Hiram Fong. He worked a lot of jobs and worked 
his way through school and did very, very well. He founded not only a 
prominent law firm but founded as well what became a financial empire.
  I have some real interest in it because the very first campaign that 
I ever ran was funded by Senator Fong's Finance Factors. I went down to 
get a loan. I thought if I was going to run against him, I thought the 
least I could do, in the spirit of bipartisanship, was to ask him to 
help fund my campaign. As a graduate student at the University of 
Hawaii, I went down to borrow $50. They said we cannot lend you $50, we 
have to lend you $200 if we are going to make any money on this. So I 
said, I will take it. I was able to run my very first campaign on Hiram 
Fong's dime, although I should say nickel, because that is what I 
passed out in the streets of Honolulu to represent the inflation that I 
thought we were going to have to deal with in those days. That was an 
innocent time.
  Senator Fong was always gracious. Senator Fong was always able to 
reach out. As has been noted, he was elected

[[Page H580]]

as a Republican in a very Democratic State. He was supported in great 
measure and elected in great measure with the support of labor in 
Hawaii. Most particularly, the ILWU, the International Longshoremen 
Workers Union, testifying in favor of the establishment of a commission 
in 2005, after he passed away, to honor and recognize him as a 
political, business and community leader testified, ``The Senator was a 
successful businessman and a Republican who never forgot his humble 
beginnings. He was a strong supporter of civil rights and often crossed 
the aisle to cooperate on issues important to Hawaii's unions and 
workers.''
  Senator Hiram Fong came to the United States Senate with the arrival 
of Hawaii as the last State of the Union. Probably nothing could be 
more fitting than to recognize him today through this legislation and 
the pioneer effort that he made. Yes, the last State to enter the Union 
had as its first Senator the son of an immigrant family who came from 
China looking for opportunity, looking for justice, and found it in the 
person of their son, and a true son of Hawaii, Hiram Fong.
  Mr. ABERCROMBIE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 2089, a 
bill to designate a post office in Honolulu, Hawaii, after Senator 
Hiram L. Fong. This is a fitting tribute for a man who was a great 
statesman, businessman and community leader.
  Senator Fong was born on October 15, 1906, in Kalihi. He was the 
seventh of 11 children in an immigrant family. A firm believer of 
standing on his own feet, he worked numerous odd jobs while in public 
school in order to help support his family. He worked his way through 
the University of Hawaii where he graduated with honors in 1930. He 
went on to Harvard Law School and became the state and county Deputy 
Attorney General of Honolulu for three years.
  At the age of 31, Senator Fong began his public service career by 
serving in Hawaii's Territorial House of Representatives. His ability 
to work well with both Democrats and Republicans was quickly identified 
and he was elected Speaker of the House during his first term in 
office. In 1959, he was elected to the first of three consecutive terms 
in the U.S. Senate.
  Senator Fong never forgot his humble beginnings and was an ardent 
supporter of labor rights. Despite being a Republican, Senator Fong 
enjoyed widespread support from the labor unions, particularly the 
International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) which endorsed 
Senator Fong's candidacy to Congress and campaigned for his reelection.
  Senator Fong played an integral role in Hawaii becoming the 50th 
state and worked on many landmark laws such as the authorization of the 
Interstate Highway System and the establishment of the East-West 
Center.
  Senator Fong's work and leadership will impact generations to come 
and it is with great honor that I rise to support S. 2089 in 
recognition of his leadership and service to this country. I ask my 
colleagues to support this measure and appreciate the House's attention 
to the life and work of this great man.
  Mr. DENT. 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 Committee on Government Reform, I am 
pleased to join with my colleagues in consideration of S. 2089, 
legislation naming the postal facility in Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii, after 
Hiram L. Fong. This measure, sponsored by Senator Daniel Akaka and 
cosponsored by Senator Daniel Inouye, was unanimously passed by the 
Senate on March 3, 2006. An identical measure, H.R. 4509, sponsored by 
Mr. Abercrombie, was unanimously reported by our committee on February 
1, 2006.
  Hiram L. Fong, a native of Hawaii, was a noted and well-known member 
of Hawaii politics. Mr. Fong was a graduate of the University of Hawaii 
and Harvard Law School before practicing law in Honolulu. He later 
served as deputy attorney for the city and county of Honolulu, and 
during World War II, Mr. Fong served as a major and judge advocate of 
the 7th Fighter Command of the 7th Air Force from 1942 to 1945.
  He began his political career in 1938 as a member of the Territorial 
legislature, serving 4 years as Vice Speaker and 6 years as Speaker and 
Vice President of the Territorial Constitutional Convention in 1950. In 
1959, Mr. Fong was elected as a Republican to the United States Senate. 
Upon the admission of Hawaii as a State, he was reelected in 1964 and 
again in 1970.
  Senator Fong did not seek reelection in 1976. Instead, he returned to 
private enterprise, serving as chairman of Finance Enterprises, 
Limited. Sadly, he passed away on August 18, 2004.
  Mr. Speaker, as Senator Akaka, my good friend and colleague observed 
last week upon the Senate passage of S. 2089, ``Senator Hiram Fong was 
a man of great integrity and a compassionate advocate for civil rights 
and workers' rights. It is fitting that a United States Post Office 
near his home in Kalihi be named in his honor. During his 20 years of 
service in the United States Senate, Senator Fong personified a spirit 
of bipartisan cooperation. He was instrumental in enacting landmark 
civil rights legislation in the 1960s; reforming U.S. immigration laws 
to end discrimination against Asian immigrants; improving job training 
programs for workers; and fighting for equal pay for women. The people 
of Hawaii were truly fortunate to have been represented by Hiram 
Fong.''
  I commend my colleagues for seeking to honor the political legacy of 
Senator Hiram Leong Fong and urge swift passage of this legislation.
  Mr. CASE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in full support of S. 2089, 
legislation which provides permanent recognition--the naming of the 
prominent Kapalama post office in Honolulu, Hawaii--of the late, great 
U.S. Senator Hiram L. Fong of Hawaii, whose long life--he died in 
August 2004 at the age of 97--was dedicated to reshaping, for the 
betterment of all, the social and political landscape of twentieth-
century Hawaii.
  S. 2089, introduced by Senator Daniel Akaka, and cosponsored by 
Senator Daniel Inouye, passed the Senate on March 3. I was pleased to 
cointroduce its companion, H.R. 4509, with Congressman Neil Abercrombie 
on December 13, 2005.
  Born into poverty in Honolulu in October 1907, Hiram L. Fong was the 
seventh of 11 children of Chinese-immigrant parents. His father, Fong 
Sau Howe, originally from China's Kwangtung Province, arrived in Hawaii 
in 1872, one of 45,000 Chinese immigrants who came to Hawaii to work on 
the plantations of the islands' once dominant sugar industry. His 
mother, Fong Lum Shee, arrived in Hawaii when she was 10 years old to 
work as a maid.
  By all accounts, Hiram Fong was enterprising, even as a child. He 
shined shoes, delivered poi, sold newspapers, led visitors to local 
tourist spots as well as caddied nine holes of golf for 25 cents.
  He attended Hawaii's public schools and was a member of McKinley High 
School's famous class of 1924, whose 216 members, many of them first-
generation immigrants, became some of Hawaii's most distinguished 
lawyers, business executives, and public servants. Hiram Fong himself 
became the first resident of Hawaii to receive the Horatio Alger Award 
for overcoming poverty to achieve great success in law, business, and 
public service.
  As a student at the University of Hawaii, Fong found time to edit the 
student paper and the yearbook, become a member of the volleyball, 
rifle and debate teams, and serve as president of the YMCA and Chinese 
Students Alliance, all the while working at the Pearl Harbor Naval 
Shipyard as a supply clerk. He somehow managed to graduate from the 
University of Hawaii with honors in 1930 after just 3 years.
  After working at what was then the Suburban Water System of Oahu from 
1930 to 1932, Hiram Fong attended Harvard Law School. Upon graduation 
in 1935, he returned to Honolulu to work as a deputy city attorney.
  In 1938, when he was 31, he founded the law firm of Fong, Miho, Choy 
and Robinson, and entered and won a race for a seat in the Territorial 
House of Representatives. A member of the Republican Party, he forged a 
coalition of independent Republicans and Democrats to win election as 
speaker of the Territorial House, where he would serve a total of 14 
years, including three terms as speaker.
  Hiram Fong's political career was interrupted by World War II, when 
he was called to active duty with the Army Air Corps. He served as 
judge advocate with the 7th Fighter Command of the Seventh Air Force. 
He later retired as a colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserve.
  As a member of the Hawaii Territorial House, Fong supported 
legislation designed to help organized labor and working families. In 
1945, he supported what became known as the ``Little Wagner Act,'' 
which allowed agriculture workers to unionize. It was Hiram Fong's 
understanding of and identification with Hawaii's laborers and 
plantation workers and fellow immigrant families that enabled him, a 
Republican in an increasingly Democratic Party-dominated Hawaii, to 
continue winning elections.
  His one electoral defeat, which ended the first phase of his 
political career, came in 1954, when he lost his race for re-election 
to the Territorial House seat by a mere 31 votes.

[[Page H581]]

Hiram Fong then focused on real estate, insurance, and investments, and 
established a number of successful island firms: Finance Factors, 
Finance Realty, Finance Home Builders, and Finance Investment, to name 
a few.
  In the Statehood year of 1959, Fong embarked on the second phase of 
his political career by running for and winning one of the two new 
United States Senate seats created for the newly established State of 
Hawaii. He won re-election in 1964 and 1970, and served with honor and 
distinction, beloved by all in his native Hawaii and beyond, until his 
retirement on January 2, 1977. At his retirement, Senator Fong was the 
ranking Republican on the Senate Committee on the Post Office and Civil 
Service.
  But even then, Senator Fong, as he was universally known thereafter 
with great affection, returned home to his various business enterprises 
and to the devotion of his expanded family. Well into his nineties, he 
was a remarkable sight as he strode through downtown Honolulu on his 
way to and from work, excited by what the day brought and eager to 
continue his long string of accomplishments. At his death, his body lay 
in state in Hawaii's State Capitol as whole generations of citizens 
paid tribute to a remarkable man who led a remarkable life.
  It is both fitting and appropriate that we provide this modest 
memorial, as he would have wished, in order to remember the essence of 
public service and a life well lived by Hawaii's quintessential native 
son, Hiram L. Fong.
  I would like to thank our House Leadership, Congressman Tom Davis, 
chairman of the House Government Reform Committee, and Congressman 
Henry Waxman, the committee's ranking member, for their assistance in 
moving this bill expeditiously to the House floor. I also appreciate 
the support of my colleagues on this measure.
  I am certain that Senator Fong's family and friends, and all of 
Hawaii, are appreciative of all of your support. Mahalo.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. DENT. Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support passage of S. 
2089, 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. Dent) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the Senate bill, S. 2089.
  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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