[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 36 (Tuesday, March 28, 2006)]
[House]
[Page H1140]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              DR. JOSE CELSO BARBOSA POST OFFICE BUILDING

  Mr. DENT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 3440) to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 100 Avenida RL Rodriguez in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, as 
the ``Dr. Jose Celso Barbosa Post Office Building.''
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 3440

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

     SECTION 1. DR. JOSE CELSO BARBOSA POST OFFICE BUILDING.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 100 Avenida RL Rodriguez in Bayamon, 
     Puerto Rico, shall be known and designated as the ``Dr. Jose 
     Celso Barbosa 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 ``Dr. Jose Celso Barbosa 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 H.R. 3440, offered by the 
distinguished gentleman from Puerto Rico (Mr. Fortuno). This bill would 
designate the post office in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, as the Dr. Jose 
Celso Barbosa Post Office Building.
  Dr. Barbosa received both his primary and secondary education in 
Puerto Rico. After graduating from the seminary, Barbosa tutored 
private students in order to save money to attend college. In 1875, he 
moved to New York to attend prep school, where he learned the English 
language in only 1 year. In 1876, he was admitted to the University of 
Michigan Medical School where he graduated valedictorian of his class 
in 1880.
  On returning to Puerto Rico to set up his practice, he learned the 
Spanish Government would not recognize Barbosa's degree because it was 
not from one of the prestigious European universities. It took the 
American consul to intervene for Mr. Barbosa's degree to be recognized, 
and he became the first person on the entire island with an American 
medical degree. Barbosa practiced medicine across Puerto Rico and 
introduced the idea of employers paying a fee for the future health 
care needs of their employees, a very early health insurance system.
  As well as being a respected physician, Barbosa was also an esteemed 
political activist. He formed the prostatehood Puerto Rican Republican 
Party on July 4, 1899, as an aftermath of the Spanish-American War in 
which Puerto Rico became a territory of the United States. In 1900, 
Barbosa became a member of the executive cabinet up until 1917 and a 
member of the Senate from 1917-1921.
  In 1907, he established the newspaper El Tiempo, the first bilingual 
newspaper on the island. His daughter, Pilar Barbosa would one day 
become a renowned historian and a political activist who would carry on 
her father's work. Jose Celso Barbosa died in San Juan in December of 
1921.
  I urge all Members to come together to honor the perseverance and 
courage of Dr. Barbosa by passing H.R. 3440.
  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 House Government Reform Committee, I 
am pleased to join my colleague in consideration of H.R. 3440, 
legislation naming a postal facility in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, after 
Jose Celso Barbosa. This measure was introduced by Representative Luis 
Fortuno on July 26, 2005, and unanimously reported by our committee on 
September 15, 2005.
  Jose Celso Barbosa was born in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, in 1857. Dr. 
Barbosa was the first Puerto Rican to graduate from the University of 
Michigan, where he received his medical degree and graduated as 
valedictorian in 1880.
  Upon returning to Puerto Rico, Dr. Barbosa worked in his private 
medical practice, became a professor of medicine in Puerto Rico, and 
entered political life as a firm defender of negotiating increased 
autonomy for Puerto Rico from Spain.
  In 1899, after Puerto Rico was ceded to the United States after the 
Spanish-American War, Dr. Barbosa formed the Republican Party of Puerto 
Rico, which advocated for Puerto Rican statehood. He was the founder of 
the newspaper El Tiempo, and active in Puerto Rican politics, serving 
in the executive cabinet and, later, the Senate. He died in San Juan in 
1921.
  Mr. Speaker, I would urge swift passage of this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. DENT. Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support the passage of 
H.R. 3440, 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 bill, H.R. 3440.
  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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