[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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