[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 121 (Monday, September 25, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H6986-H6987]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
MORRIS K. `MO' UDALL POST OFFICE BUILDING
Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules
and pass the bill (H.R. 5857) to designate the facility of the United
States Postal Service located at 1501 South Cherrybell Avenue in
Tucson, Arizona, as the ``Morris K. `Mo' Udall Post Office Building''.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 5857
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. MORRIS K. ``MO'' UDALL POST OFFICE BUILDING.
(a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal
Service located at 1501 South Cherrybell Avenue in Tucson,
Arizona,
[[Page H6987]]
shall be known and designated as the ``Morris K. `Mo' Udall
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 ``Morris K. `Mo' Udall Post Office
Building''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Virginia (Mr. Tom Davis) and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Van
Hollen) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Virginia.
General Leave
Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that
all Members may have 5 legislative days in 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 Virginia?
There was no objection.
Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5857, introduced by the gentleman from Arizona (Mr.
Grijalva), would designate the facility of the U.S. Postal Service
located at 1501 South Cherrybell Avenue in Tucson, Arizona, as the
``Morris K. `Mo' Udall Post Office Building.''
Mo Udall represented Arizona's Second District from 1961 to 1991 and
died of Parkinson's disease in 1998. He is one of the first
environmentalists to serve in this body. He was a leader, and when we
look back at the history of Congress in the latter part of the 20th
century, he was one of the giants.
This is a fitting remembrance for him. I remember reading his book,
``Too Funny to Be President,'' and still being able to use some of the
stories in the book which he said in his foreword we could do. He has
been an inspiration to a lot of us, maintaining his sense of humor even
during hard-charging debate, and he was beloved by Members on both
sides of the aisle.
I thank the gentleman for introducing this renaming, and I am proud
to support it.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, as Mr. Davis said, Mo Udall was a beloved figure in this
country and this Congress. He was a great American, a great Member of
Congress. He dedicated himself to preserving our great natural
resources and open spaces in this country, protecting our environment,
and he had a very quick wit which I think brought smiles to both sides
of the aisle, even for those who were sometimes the target of that wit.
I want to commend my colleague, the gentleman from Arizona (Mr.
Grijalva), for deciding to introduce this resolution to recognize the
wonderful national contributions of Mo Udall.
Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman
from Arizona (Mr. Grijalva).
Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, let me thank the gentleman from Maryland
(Mr. Van Hollen) for yielding me this time; and, to the chairman, thank
you very much for the support of this acknowledgment of Morris K.
Udall.
I had the great privilege, growing up in the southern part of
Arizona, to grow up at a time when we had a congressman that had a
stature and an ability to communicate to people that was unsurpassed.
That legacy needs to be commemorated.
He served in this House for 14 consecutive terms, from 1961 to 1991,
until Parkinson's disease called him from service. He graduated from
the University of Arizona, got his law degree from the University of
Arizona.
During his tenure, he stood for a lot of things. He established some
standards on the environment and the protection of our natural
resources that we continue to talk about, admire, and try to replicate
as we do legislation: the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation
Act of 1980, the Surface Mining and Reclamation Act of 1977, the
Arizona Wilderness Act of 1984, the American Heritage Trust Act, Strip
Mining Reclamation Act, and the list goes on and on.
In addition to that, Mo not only had an affinity for but a great
belief and love for the Native American communities in Arizona. He
introduced many bills to protect their natural resources, protect their
sovereignty, and protect the rights of Native Americans. For that, he
is part of the legacy.
Someone asked me, why a post office? Mo has many accolades that he
has received. He was chairman of the Post Office and Civil Service
Committee, as it was known then. It was a committee given to him
because he won in a special election and there were no committees
available, and Mo made the most of it. He served 30 years on that
committee; and what he did was he created an independent post office, a
post office with employees protected by the Civil Service, a post
office that understood the concept of universal service, and a post
office that set a standard of professionalism, independence, and took
away the cronyism and the corruption that was occurring at the time.
That was a legacy. So, as I looked around, what can we commemorate for
Mo, the post office became an obvious thing.
In Arizona, we inherited Mo Udall's great legacy; and that is a
legacy of commitment, tolerance, a love for natural resources, a
genuine love and tolerance for people, and a sense that we can do
better, that we can reform ourselves, we can reform this country. He
leaves that legacy. Those are not shoes you fill, they are merely paths
you follow.
I want to thank both the chairman and my colleague, Mr. Van Hollen,
for support of this legislation.
Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of
my time.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Arizona for introducing this.
As quickly as we saw it, we wanted to move this to the floor. This is a
fitting tribute to one of the premier legislators in the House over the
last 50 years. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this
bill as well, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Tom Davis) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 5857.
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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