[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 26 (Monday, February 12, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H1441-H1442]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
LINO PEREZ, JR. POST OFFICE
Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(H.R. 437) to designate the facility of the United States Postal
Service located at 500 West Eisenhower Street in Rio Grande City,
Texas, as the ``Lino Perez, Jr. Post Office''.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 437
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. LINO PEREZ, JR. POST OFFICE.
(a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal
Service located at 500 West Eisenhower Street in Rio Grande
City, Texas, shall be known and designated as the ``Lino
Perez, Jr. Post Office''.
(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 ``Lino Perez, Jr. Post Office''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Massachusetts (Mr. Lynch) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Issa)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Massachusetts.
General Leave
Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their
remarks.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Massachusetts?
There was no objection.
Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join my colleagues in the consideration
of H.R. 437, legislation naming a postal facility in Rio Grande City,
Texas, after the former postmaster of Rio Grande City, Lino Perez, Jr.
Lino Perez, Jr., was the 18-year-old son of the mayor of the City of
Rio Grande, Texas, where he witnessed how a breakdown in a government
service could disrupt the lives of nearly all of its beneficiaries.
The City of Rio Grande, with a population of over 2,000, was
disincorporated in 1933 at the height of the Great Depression over
local businesses' refusal to pay taxes, causing young Perez's high
school to lose its accredited status.
Thereafter, unable to complete in school in town, Mr. Perez
persevered with his education, attending classes 100 miles away in
Brownsville and eventually receiving his diploma from a school in
Austin. Mr. Perez's father, Lino Perez, Sr., had served for 4 years as
the Democratic mayor of the now disbanded town of Rio Grande. Some
might have feared that a town which had financially defaulted and
disbanded its government would suffer the fate of so many ghost towns
in the western States, slowly fading from the map.
However, Mr. Perez, Sr., continued to look after his community,
volunteering for the office of postmaster to his unincorporated
neighbors. Mr. Perez, Sr., put his son, Lino Perez, Jr., to work
delivering letters that same year.
Mr. Speaker, Lino Perez, Jr., succeeded his father as postmaster of
Rio
[[Page H1442]]
Grande on New Year's Eve, 1957. During his first term, Mr. Perez
improved service to the growing downtown district and the surrounding
rural areas of Starr County. Mr. Perez strove to further serve the city
by winning approval for a new post office building.
The Perez family, senior, and then junior, ran that post office in
Rio Grande from 1934 to 1975. Together, they watched the town heal from
economic stagnancy and grow in population throughout the century.
When Lino Perez, Jr., retired from the postal service, he continued
his public service as State warden, State secretary and finally State
treasurer of Texas. Lino Perez, Jr., learned from his father and, in
turn, showed his town the strength of a community to weather difficulty
as one, and the power of letter carriers to knit the lives of their
fellow citizens together, to make all of the neighbors' stories into
one story.
Many local officials support naming this post office after Lino
Perez, Jr., including the city mayor, the county judge, and the area's
State Representative.
Mr. Speaker, together with my colleagues, we urge the swift passage
of this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, it is not uncommon in this body to name post offices
after former Members of Congress, national figures, Presidents and the
like. But it is incredibly appropriate today to name a post office
after two generations of hard work on behalf of that very post office.
As a member of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, I have
managed many bills for post offices, and in my 6 years I have not seen
a more befitting naming of a post office. Because, in fact, it is this
group of tireless workers for the Federal Government, often the butt of
jokes, the postmasters and the postmen and postwomen, that make sure
that our bills, our letters, our correspondence, and, yes, our junk
mail, are delivered to us.
I think this is among the most appropriate pieces of legislation that
I have had the opportunity to help manage. I urge the passage of this.
I urge the people of this Congress to take note that we are, in fact,
naming a post office after a postman this one time.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, at this time I would like to yield for as
much time as he may consume to my esteemed colleague from Texas (Mr.
Cuellar).
Mr. CUELLAR. I thank the gentleman from Massachusetts for his kind
words, and the gentleman also from California for the kind words.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 437, a bill to name the postal
facility of Rio Grande City, Texas, after Lino Perez, Jr.
Mr. Lino Perez, Jr., is a role model and a leader in south Texas, who
helped ingrain a rich tradition of public service in his community. Mr.
Perez was born in Rio Grande City, Texas, in 1914. He attended high
school in south Texas, as well as in Austin, and then returned home to
Rio Grande City shortly after graduation to begin his post office
career.
He first started with the United States Post Office in 1934 under the
guidance of his father, who was then the postmaster of Rio Grande City.
Lino Perez, Jr., worked through the ranks of the Rio Grande City Post
Office; and after two decades, 20 years, he was named postmaster for
Rio Grande City.
Under his leadership, the Rio Grande Post Office was upgraded to a
second-class post office. Mr. Perez also established the city's first
mail delivery, created several rural routes in Starr County, and helped
lay that foundation for his community's further progress.
In addition, Mr. Perez served several terms on the Starr County
Hospital Board of Directors, was actively involved in the Knights of
Columbus, including being Texas State deputy, the highest Knights of
Columbus position in Texas. After 41 years of loyal service, Lino Perez
retired from the Rio Grande Post Office. Forty-one years of great
service.
Mr. Perez still resides in the region, is warmly remembered by his
family, friends and community as a community leader. Lino Perez, Jr.'s
service to our country shall be remembered and celebrated through this
small tribute, and I urge swift passage of this bill.
Again, I want to thank the gentleman from California and the
gentleman from Massachusetts.
{time} 1600
Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, we are indeed very proud that
this post office is being named after a postal employee, a very proud
family.
On behalf of all the workers of the United States Postal Service, we
want to urge swift passage of this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. ISSA. 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 Massachusetts (Mr. Lynch) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 437.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this question will
be postponed.
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