[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 43 (Tuesday, March 13, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H2460-H2461]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1400
                      NEAL SMITH FEDERAL BUILDING

  Mr. BOSWELL. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 1045) to designate the Federal building located at 210 
Walnut Street in Des Moines, Iowa, as the ``Neal Smith Federal 
Building''.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 1045

       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 located at 210 Walnut Street in Des 
     Moines, Iowa, shall be known and designated as the ``Neal 
     Smith Federal Building''.

     SEC. 2. REFERENCES.

       Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper, 
     or other record of the United States to the Federal building 
     referred to in section 1 shall be deemed to be a reference to 
     the ``Neal Smith Federal Building''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Iowa (Mr. Boswell) and the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Graves) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Iowa.


                             General Leave

  Mr. BOSWELL. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks and to include extraneous material on H.R. 1045.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Iowa?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BOSWELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, it is quite a privilege today for me to stand here and 
speak about someone who has been my mentor and that I have admired for 
many, many years of my life. Neal Smith, and in fact I should say his 
wife, Bea, have been exemplary in so many ways and have meant so much 
to the people of Iowa and in fact the people of this Nation.
  I would recognize that Neal served with distinction and bravery in 
World War II. He was a bomber pilot and was highly decorated.
  Those of you here in the Congress that served with Neal know that he 
was highly regarded, both in Washington and in his home State of Iowa. 
He was known for his skillful legislating and attention to his 
congressional district. Having served 36 years in Congress, Neal is the 
longest serving Iowan to serve in the House of Representatives. Naming 
the Federal building in Des Moines is an honor he deserves, and the 
time is correct.
  As chairman of the Commerce, Justice, State appropriations 
subcommittee, Neal spent most of his time outside the spotlight 
tenaciously defending programs under his jurisdiction against budget 
assaults.
  He was rooted in Depression-era Iowa. Neal was a man of liberal 
instincts, but he was considered fair and an honest broker as a 
subcommittee chairman and was known to keep debating until an agreement 
could be reached. He once said, ``I don't try to get confrontational. I 
try to do whatever I need to do to pass the bill.''
  Outside of appropriations, Neal was a champion for tougher meat and 
poultry inspection laws and introduced and supported legislation that 
required food labels stating sodium content. Neal was also instrumental 
in creating the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to guard against 
grain trading abuses and in setting up strict Federal procedures for 
grain inspection.
  Back in Iowa, other tributes have been given to his honor. We now 
have the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge, the Neal Smith Trail, and 
the Neal and Bea Smith Law School at Drake. It is now only fitting that 
the Federal building in Des Moines, a building I understand he helped 
get funded, be named the Neal Smith Federal Building.
  Again, Mr. Chairman, I appreciate this moment and urge passage of 
this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GRAVES. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I don't think I could really add much to Mr. Smith's 
accomplishments and what he has done, other than what Mr. Boswell has 
pointed out.
  He did mention he was a bomber pilot, and I looked up his service 
record. He was awarded the Purple Heart, nine Battle Stars and the Air 
Medal with four oak leaf clusters for his service, which is obviously a 
sign of a very outstanding individual. This obviously marks a long and 
very distinguished career. Obviously, he was one of us, a Member of 
Congress from Iowa; and I wholeheartedly support this.
  Mr. Speaker, could I inquire of the gentleman from Iowa what Mr. 
Smith flew during the war.
  Mr. BOSWELL. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman would yield, I would just 
share this. That is a very good question, Mr. Graves. It would be 
either a B-17 or B-29. It was one of the bombers at least. I know that. 
Neal was the kind of person, as others know from here, he never spoke 
about it. You had to kind of dig it out to know about that. But he 
truly was an American hero as well as a very much respected hero in 
Iowa, and I suspect that a lot of his influence reached over into 
Missouri.
  Mr. GRAVES. Mr. Speaker, I do thank the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. 
Boswell) for the kind words that he said. Again, this gentleman was a 
pilot, and you can't get any better than that. I would wholeheartedly 
support this bill and urge my colleagues to do the same.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. BOSWELL. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I would say this is a very 
special day for us in Iowa to name this building in Neal's honor. We 
also would say publicly and presently that we respect Bea so very much. 
They went to law school together at Drake and served together all these 
many, many years.
  Mr. Regula from Ohio was a colleague of Neal's and they served 
together, and he was very happy and ready to help sponsor the bill and 
so on. I would appreciate, Mr. Graves, if you will pass on to him our 
appreciation for his contribution and his greetings to Neal and Bea.
  Mr. Speaker, I would urge my colleagues to support and pass this 
bill.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1045, a 
bill to designate the Federal building at 210 Walnut Street in Des 
Moines, IA, as the ``Neal Smith Federal Building.''
  Neal Smith was born on March 23, 1920, in his grandparents' home near 
Hedrick, Keokuk County, IA. He served in the United States House of 
Representatives from 1959 until 1995, and has the distinction of being 
the longest serving Member of the House of Representatives from Iowa. 
Congressman Smith is a World War II veteran, having served in the 
United States Army Air Force as a bomber pilot. His plane was shot down 
during combat and he received a Purple Heart, nine Battle Stars, and 
the Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters.
  He received his undergraduate training at the University of Missouri 
and Syracuse University. In 1950, he received his law degree from Drake 
University.
  Neal Smith is one of Iowa's most respected and distinguished elected 
officials. His interests while serving in Congress were varied,

[[Page H2461]]

but he especially focused on agriculture, small business, and the 
environment. He became a champion for those issue areas and authored 
legislation establishing the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the 
Federal Meat, Poultry and Egg Inspection Acts, and Small Business 
Development Centers.
  Congressman Smith also sponsored legislation to authorize 
construction of the Big Creek and Rathbun Dams. Further, he was 
instrumental in creating the Red Rock Watershed Conservation District 
and a National Wildlife Refuge that was named in his honor. In the 
1980s, he was especially active in helping to jump start Iowa's 
stagnant economy. In 1996, Smith published his autobiography, Mr. Smith 
Goes to Washington: From Eisenhower to Clinton.
  It is most fitting and proper to honor the long, distinguished civic 
career of Congressman Neal Smith with this designation.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 1045.
  Mr. BOSWELL. 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 Iowa (Mr. Boswell) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, H.R. 1045.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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