[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 70 (Tuesday, June 6, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H3409-H3410]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   MATTHEW LYON POST OFFICE BUILDING

  Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 5245) to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 1 Marble Street in Fair Haven, Vermont, as the 
``Matthew Lyon Post Office Building''.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 5245

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

     SECTION 1. MATTHEW LYON POST OFFICE BUILDING.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 1 Marble Street in Fair Haven, Vermont, 
     shall be known and designated as the ``Matthew Lyon 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 ``Matthew Lyon Post Office Building''.

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


                             General Leave

  Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
and to include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, born in County Wicklow, Ireland, Matthew Lyon was a 
printer, farmer, soldier and politician who came to America as an 
indentured servant at the age of 14 in 1764. During the Revolution, 
Matthew Lyon fought with Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys to 
capture Fort Ticonderoga. He later resigned from the Army in 1778, and 
became a member of the Vermont House of Representatives from 1779 to 
1783.
  During this time he built and operated various kinds of mills, 
including one to manufacture paper. He also established a printing 
office in 1793 and published the Farmers' Library. In addition, he 
created the Fair Haven Gazette, a weekly newspaper, and served as 
publisher and editor while using the paper to express his political 
opinions in the early years of our Republic.
  Lyon was elected as a Republican to the Fifth and Sixth Congresses, 
but was not a candidate for renomination in 1800. He then went on to 
relocate to the State of Kentucky in 1801, and settled in Caldwell 
County, now Lyon County, and became a member of the House of 
Representatives of Kentucky in 1802.
  He was then elected to the Eighth Congress and to three successive 
Congresses until he was unsuccessful in seeking reelection in 1810. He 
is certainly one of our Founding Fathers, and it is long overdue for 
him to be recognized with this post office.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

                              {time}  2230

  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
might consume.
  As a member of the Government Reform Committee, I am pleased to join 
my colleague in consideration of H.R. 5245, legislation naming the 
postal facility at 1 Marble Street in Fair Haven, Vermont, after 
Matthew Lyon. This bill, which was sponsored by Representative Bernard 
Sanders of Vermont, was unanimously reported by our committee on May 4, 
2006.
  Matthew Lyon was born in County Wicklow, Ireland, and in 1764, at the 
age of 14, emigrated to the United States as an indentured servant. It 
was not long before he was a free man and fighting alongside Ethan 
Allen and others in the famous battle of Ticonderoga. Lyon went on to 
settle in Vermont, founding the village of Fair Haven and later 
representing Vermont in Congress for two terms.
  Lyon was a fierce Jeffersonian Republican and a staunch opponent of 
the Sedition Act. Lyon's public opposition to the Sedition Act led him 
to be the first person arrested under the guise of the act. A dubious 
honor to some, perhaps, was a badge of honor to this protector of free 
speech and liberty. Lyon would serve a 4-month prison sentence and 
become a champion of the movement opposed to the Sedition Act.
  After serving two terms as the Representative for Vermont and one 
term in the Kentucky State legislature, Lyon was elected to Congress 
again, this time as a Representative for the State of Kentucky, 
becoming one of

[[Page H3410]]

only three people elected to Congress from two States.
  Mr. Speaker, this is certainly a great deal of historic as well as 
patriotic value, and I would urge swift passage of H.R. 5245 which 
seeks to honor the life of a true American pioneer, Matthew Lyon.
  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 5245, a 
bill I introduced to rename the Fair Haven, Vermont, post office in 
honor of Matthew Lyon, an American patriot and staunch defender of 
First Amendment rights.
  I would like to thank Chairman Davis and Ranking Member Waxman for 
their help in moving this bill through the Government Reform Committee. 
I would also like to thank Jeffrey Schulz, the Fair Haven Town Manager, 
and the Fair Haven Select Board for supporting this legislation.
  Matthew Lyon was born in Dublin, Ireland, on July 14, 1749, and 
immigrated to colonial America in 1765 as an indentured servant. In 
1774 he purchased land in the area of the Hampshire Grants now known as 
Wallingford, Vermont, and soon after joined Ethan Allen's Green 
Mountain Boys militia where he led his own unit in defending their land 
from competing claimants as well from British attacks from the north. 
In Vermont, he was involved in encouraging the formation of citizen 
committees across the state to discuss national and state issues, meet 
with their elected officials, and ensure that their government was 
being operated in the best interest of all citizens.
  In 1783, Matthew Lyon founded the town of Fair Haven. He served in 
the Vermont State Legislature for 14 years before being elected to the 
U.S. House of Representatives to serve as Vermont's Congressional 
representative from 1797-1801. Interestingly, he also represented the 
State of Kentucky in the U.S. House from 1803-1811.
  Matthew Lyon, however, is perhaps best known for being the first 
person to stand trial and be convicted under the 1798 Sedition Act--
sweeping legislation passed during a period when America was engaged in 
hostilities with France. As we're all aware, the purpose of the 
legislation was to curtail dissent from citizens and members of the 
press who opposed President John Adams' foreign policy toward France. 
The legislation was unquestionably a direct attack on rights explicitly 
protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
  For violating provisions of the Sedition Act, Matthew Lyon was 
convicted and sentenced to four months in jail, required to pay the 
cost of his prosecution and a fine of $1,000. His only crime was 
writing a letter to the editor critical of President John Adams' 
foreign policy toward France and submitting another person's similar 
writings to a local newspaper that published them. Although he was 
jailed, he continued to exercise his Constitutional rights by 
expressing his views and actively opposing the Sedition Act's anti-free 
speech provisions. He was even re-elected to Congress from prison in 
December of 1798.
  Eventually, the Sedition Act was allowed to sunset according to its 
terms and President Thomas Jefferson pardoned those still serving in 
prison under the Act and remitted their fines. Decades later, Congress 
passed a law that reimbursed Matthew Lyon's heirs and representatives 
for the fines he was forced to pay under the Sedition Act.
  This remarkable story is not only one that makes the citizens of my 
state proud but also represents an event of national historical 
significance. Too often today, we forget the struggles that many who 
came before us undertook to preserve freedom of speech, the press, and 
the right to assemble. This post office will serve as a reminder to 
Vermonters, the nation, and all those who visit Fair Haven, of the 
heroic efforts made in the past to protect the rights of all to speak 
freely, no matter what political viewpoint or ideas they may have.
  At a time when we find ourselves struggling to balance the security 
of our nation with the liberties we cherish, I can think of no better 
time to honor one of our nation's champions of the First Amendment's 
right of free speech. Naming the Fair Haven Post Office in honor of 
Matthew Lyon would be a fitting tribute to him and his fight for 
liberty, and would serve as a reminder of Fair Haven's connection to 
this great American patriot.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bill; to honor Matthew Lyon, a 
patriotic American who through his actions more than 200 years ago, 
reminds us of the importance of freedom of speech in our country.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption and yield back.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Issa) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 5245.
  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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