[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 123 (Wednesday, September 27, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H7625-H7626]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    WILLIAM M. STEGER FEDERAL BUILDING AND UNITED STATES COURTHOUSE

  Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 5606) to designate the Federal building and United States 
courthouse located at 221 and 211 West Ferguson Street in Tyler, Texas, 
as the ``William M. Steger Federal Building and United States 
Courthouse''.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 5606

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

     SECTION 1. DESIGNATION.

       The Federal building and United States courthouse located 
     at 221 and 211 West Ferguson Street in Tyler, Texas, shall be 
     known and designated as the ``William M. Steger Federal 
     Building and United States Courthouse''.

     SEC. 2. REFERENCES.

       Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper, 
     or other record of the United States to the Federal building 
     and United States courthouse referred to in section 1 shall 
     be deemed to be a reference to the ``William M. Steger 
     Federal Building and United States Courthouse''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Shuster) and the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. 
Corrine Brown) will each control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania.
  Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  H.R. 5606, introduced by my good friends Ralph Hall and Louie Gohmert 
of Texas, designates the Federal building and United States courthouse 
located at 221 and 211 West Ferguson Street in Tyler, Texas, as the 
William M. Steger Federal Building and United States Courthouse. This 
bill honors William Steger, who dedicated most of his life to Federal 
service.
  Judge Steger's service began in 1941 when he joined the Army Air 
Corps the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor. By 1952, Judge Steger 
was a seasoned attorney and appointed to serve as the United States 
Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas by President Eisenhower.
  Judge Steger's career as a judge began in 1970 with an appointment to 
the Federal bench by President Nixon. During his tenure, he closed more 
than 6,500 cases, issued several landmark decisions and was rarely 
reversed on an appeal. Judge Steger passed away June 4, 2006.
  Mr. Speaker, I support this legislation and encourage my colleagues 
to do the same.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time 
as I may consume.
  H.R. 5606 is a bill to designate the Federal building and United 
States courthouse located at 221 West Ferguson Street in Tyler, Texas, 
as the William M. Steger Federal Building and United States Courthouse.
  Judge William Steger was born on August 22, 1920, in Dallas, Texas. 
He attended local schools and Baylor University. In 1941, the war 
interrupted his studies; and in 1942 he enlisted in the United States 
Army. After training as a pilot, he served in North Africa and flew 56 
missions over North Africa and Italy in Spitfires, the famous British 
fighter plane.
  Upon his return to Texas, he enrolled in South Methodist University 
as a pre-law student. In 1950, he graduated with honors from law 
school. Shortly after Eisenhower was elected, he appointed him to serve 
as the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas. He 
served until 1959 and then entered private practice. He was the 
Republican nominee in the Texas Governor's race in 1960. President 
Nixon appointed him to the Federal bench in 1970, beginning his long 
and distinguished Federal judicial career.
  He died in June of this year at age 85 and was known for his 
effective and judicial integrity and carried a heavy caseload even when 
he entered senior status. He was routinely described as an honest, 
ethical man and was a role model to teachers, his law clerks, lawyers, 
and fellow judges. It is both fitting and proper to honor the long 
public service of Judge Steger with this designation.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gohmert), my good friend.
  Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my good friend, Mr. Shuster, 
yielding. I do rise today to speak in support of H.R. 5606, to 
designate the Federal building and United States courthouse located at 
221 and 211 West Ferguson Street in Tyler as the William M. Steger 
Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse.
  Immediately after Judge Steger's death, my good and long-time friend, 
Congressman Ralph Hall, had spoken to me about what I also had in my 
heart, and that is paying a tribute to Judge Steger by naming this 
Federal building for Judge Steger. I appreciate my friend, Mr. Hall, 
and his commitment to his old friend and also the respect we both had 
for Judge Steger.
  Judge Steger was a heroic patriot, he was a caring father, he was a 
loving husband, an evenhanded, clear-thinking, constitutionally 
understanding judge, and he was a personal mentor. He was a cherished 
friend.
  After I finished the 4 years I owed the United States Army from a 
scholarship at A&M and my wife and I considered coming back to Tyler, 
Judge Steger was one of the first people I talked to about it. Judge 
Steger was the father of Reed Steger and husband of Ann Steger, and 
their son Reed was one of my little brother's very best friends.
  I learned a great deal from Judge Steger. Most people never did 
really come to know all that he had done and what he was, but he was a 
Dallas native originally. He always wanted the opportunity to become a 
pilot; and when the Nation entered World War II, he took the chance. On 
November 9, 1942, he got his wings; and, after training, he was sent to 
Casablanca and flew 56 combat missions, for which he received an Air 
Medal and four oak leaf clusters. While later training other pilots, 
Captain Steger also tested the first U.S. jet airplanes. If judged only 
by his service here, he would be counted as a hero, but he was much 
more than that.
  Once his Nation was secure, Bill Steger went back to school, received 
his law degree from Southern Methodist University Law School, and then 
he engaged in private practice in Longview and Tyler and headed up 
numerous east Texas campaign clubs for a gentleman named Dwight D. 
Eisenhower, who was running for president. After the election, 
President Eisenhower appointed Judge Steger in 1953 to the position of 
U.S. Attorney for east Texas at the very young age of 32.
  Judge Steger was up to the task. He became a Federal District Judge 
for the Eastern District of Texas in December, 1970, after President 
Richard Nixon nominated him.
  He did truly love being a jurist. He was a hardworking, dedicated, 
cerebral, no-nonsense constitutional constructionist judge, whose 
discerning intellect could always cut straight to the heart of any 
issue. I know. I tried cases in front of this great judge.
  In 1987, Judge Steger assumed senior active status duty, but since 
there still needed cases to be handled, Judge Steger stepped in and 
stood in the gap. December 1, 2005, marked 35 years on the Federal 
bench for Judge Steger. Since his appointment in 1970, he had handled 
more than 15,000 cases.
  Judge Steger not only made his home in Tyler, Texas, a better place, 
but he changed Texas politics. In 1960, he and a good friend debated as 
to which one should run for Governor and which one should run for 
Senator. Their goal was to bring the Republican Party into popularity 
in the State of Texas. Because Texas was conservative, it seemed to 
Judge Steger that it would be a good fit, but he was blazing a trail.
  He ended up being the one to run for Governor against a very popular 
John Connolly. Judge Steger's good friend,

[[Page H7626]]

named John Tower, ran for Senator. The Republican Party had never 
received enough votes to hold a primary, and even though Judge Steger 
knew he couldn't win the race, he hoped he would get the requisite 
200,000 votes so the Republican Party could hold a primary in the next 
election. Judge Steger actually received more than 600,000 votes that 
year. Texas then became eligible to begin having Republican primaries 
because of Judge Steger.
  Always having the courage of his convictions, despite the odds 
against him, Judge Steger was a profile in courage whose memory will 
continue to inspire me for the rest of my life. At the 2004 Tyler Law 
Day, Judge Steger received the Justinian award for his community 
service, his legal ethics, and professionalism.
  He was a Baptist, a Baptist's Baptist. He was a charter member and 
deacon at Green Acres Baptist Church, helping to nurse it through its 
early days of growing from nonexistence to its current 12,000 members. 
He was a confidant to me, he was a friend, and he was a wise sounding 
board.
  He and Ann endured the worst heartache a couple can face in the loss 
of their only child, Reed, in a tragic scuba diving accident. But the 
manner in which Judge Steger dealt with such devastation and allowed 
his faith, God's help and Ann's companionship to help overcome this 
horrendous blow has always and will always be an inspiration to me.
  It is an honor to be a part of this bill that will create a lasting 
tribute to such a deserving man. I thank my friend, Mr. Hall, and I 
urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 5606 in order to commemorate 
the life of an ideal American.
  Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance 
of my time.
  Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
distinguished gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hall).
  Mr. HALL. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding to me, and 
I thank my colleague Louie Gohmert. It is an honor to join Louie in 
sponsoring H.R. 5606, a bill to designate the Federal building and 
courthouse in Tyler, Texas.
  Judge Steger passed away on June 4, having served on the bench with 
great distinction for, I guess 35, 36, 37 years. I appeared before him. 
I was in law school with him at SMU. He was a great American. He was 
just really a wonderful guy, just a super friend.

                              {time}  2200

  He was a great jurist. Judge was successful in everything he did in 
life, including the marrying of his wife Ann, to serving his country in 
World War II, to being in public service.
  I had known Bill Steger when we were fellow law students at Southern 
Methodist University following World War II and had the utmost respect 
and admiration for him. I did not like him too much because he was very 
brilliant and he ruined the curve for a lot of us ordinary lawyers 
there and law students, but we had a lot of laughs about that.
  He was appointed by Richard Nixon. He began a long and distinguished 
service as U.S. District Judge in December of 1970. He served in 
Beaumont until 1977 and then returned to Tyler, where he built upon a 
reputation for efficiency and integrity. He closed more than 6,500 
cases, issued several landmark decisions and was rarely reversed on 
appeal.
  Judge was a constitutionally reverent jurist, upheld the highest 
ideals of our judicial system and earned the respect of fellow jurists, 
attorneys and their clients.
  As a testament to his contributions on the Federal bench, Judge was 
honored in 2005 by current and former law clerks, attorneys, fellow 
jurists, local officials, friends and admirers at a attribute dinner in 
Tyler.
  Prior to his appointment to the Federal bench, he was appointed by 
President Eisenhower as U.S. District Attorney in East Texas, a 
position he held from 1952 to 1969. Judge had been Eisenhower's East 
Texas campaign manager and was the founding father of East Texas 
Republican politics.
  He also distinguished himself in service to his country by answering 
his call to duty and enlisting in the U.S. Army Air Corps shortly after 
the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He was studying pre-law at Baylor 
University at the time but did not hesitate to enlist.
  He flew 56 combat missions as a fighter pilot in Tunisia, Sicily and 
Italy, received the Air Medal and four Oak Leaf Clusters and obtained 
the rank of Captain. While later training other pilots, Captain Steger 
also tested the very first U.S. jet airplanes.
  Upon completion of his military service in 1947, Judge returned to 
Dallas and enrolled in SMU. He also made one of the best decisions in 
his life in his marriage to Ann Hollandsworth Steger. Judge and Ann 
were inseparable and contributed so much to their community, both 
separately and as a couple.
  Shortly before his death, when it was mentioned to Judge that his law 
clerks, friends and family were hoping that the Federal Building would 
be named after him, he quipped, ``and maybe we could also have an Ann-
ex.'' Such was his love and respect for his wife of some 58 years.
  Judge and Ann, as Congressman Gohmert stated, had a wonderful son 
named Reed, who died tragically in a scuba diving accident several 
years ago. It was just a hard time for them to go through. But his 
faith in God and with God's help and Ann's companionship helped him 
through that very difficult time.
  In closing, Judge Steger just really was one of the great judges of 
the Eastern District. Naming the Federal building for him would be a 
living tribute and would remain long after we are all gone, while 
others will see his name and know it stood for justice. Judge Steger 
leaves a powerful legacy of ethical conduct, judicial prudence and 
distinguished service that will long be remembered.
  I urge my colleagues to support me today in support of H.R. 5606 in 
honor of this great jurist and great American, the late Judge William 
M. Steger.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5606 is a bill to designate the 
Federal building and U.S. courthouse located at 221 West Ferguson St. 
in Tyler, TX as the William M. Steger Federal Building and United 
States Courthouse.
  Judge William Steger was born in 1920 in Dallas, TX. He attended 
local schools and Baylor University. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 
1942. After training as a pilot, he served in Northern Africa and flew 
56 missions over North Africa and Italy in Spitfires, the famous 
British fighter plane.
  In the 1950s, President Eisenhower appointed him to serve as the 
United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas. In 1960, 
Judge Steger was the Republican nominee in the Texas governor race in 
1960. In 1970, President Nixon appointed him to the Federal bench, 
beginning his long and distinguished Federal judicial career. Judge 
Steger passed away this past June.
  I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 5606.
  Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, 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. Shuster) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 5606.
  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.

                          ____________________