[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 2 (Friday, January 5, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E10]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        INTRODUCTION OF THE GERALD R. FORD, JR. POST OFFICE ACT

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                            HON. MARK UDALL

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, January 4, 2007

  Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Madam Speaker, I rise to introduce legislation 
to name the post office in Vail, Colorado, after our Nation's 39th 
President, Gerald R. Ford, Jr.
  I believe this legislation is appropriate as another means of 
honoring the legacy of President Ford, in large part because of his 
special connection to Colorado and the Vail Valley.
  In 1968 then-Congressman Ford and wife, Betty, first came to Colorado 
with their children to celebrate Christmas and to ski in the mountains 
at Vail. Like many other visitors, President Ford was inspired by the 
beauty of the area and found a connection to the land and to the 
surrounding community.
  The Fords later owned a home and continued to vacation in Vail. When 
he became President, his vacations in Colorado helped introduce the 
world to the Town of Vail, and in fact, the family home was dubbed 
``the Western White House.''
  Vail residents knew President Ford and his family as neighbors and 
friends and are proud of their long association with them. Gerald Ford 
was beloved in Vail, where he was known to be a good neighbor, an avid 
golfer and a lover of the outdoors.
  President Ford will rightly be remembered for his personal warmth, 
his decency, his interest in bridging the many divisions in America 
during the 1970s. My father, Mo Udall, served in Congress with Gerald 
Ford, and while they were often on different sides in political 
matters--so much so that my father hoped to run against President Ford 
in the famous election of 1976--they were united by a common view that 
politics should unite people. They both were firm believers that in 
public life one could disagree without being disagreeable.
  This is a credo I continue to believe in, and I commend the memory of 
both good men to this House, an institution they loved.
  Coloradans, especially those in the Vail Valley, have come to think 
of him as the first President from Colorado because he was a great 
ambassador for the State, who established long ties to the people of 
Colorado.
  As a dedicated public servant, President Ford served honorably in his 
years in Congress and in the White House. Most important, when America 
needed someone to reassure their trust in government after Watergate, 
he filled that leadership role with authenticity.
  I believe President Ford's special relationship and legacy in 
Colorado should be appropriately recognized by naming the postal 
facilities in Vail, Colorado, in his honor.

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