[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 98 (Monday, June 18, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H6591-H6592]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               DR. FRANCIS TOWNSEND POST OFFICE BUILDING

  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the Senate bill (S. 1352) to designate the facility of the United 
States Postal Service located at 127 East Locust Street in Fairbury, 
Illinois, as the ``Dr. Francis Townsend Post Office Building''.
  The Clerk read the title of the Senate bill.
  The text of the Senate bill is as follows:

                                S. 1352

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

     SECTION 1. DR. FRANCIS TOWNSEND POST OFFICE BUILDING.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 127 East Locust Street in Fairbury, 
     Illinois, shall be known and designated as the ``Dr. Francis 
     Townsend 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 ``Dr. Francis Townsend Post Office 
     Building''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Davis) and the gentleman from Idaho (Mr. Sali) each will 
control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Illinois.


                             General Leave

  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their 
remarks.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Illinois?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I 
might consume.
  As a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government 
Reform, I am pleased to join my colleague in consideration of S. 1352, 
which names a postal facility in Fairbury, Illinois, after Dr. Francis 
Townsend.
  S. 1352, which was introduced by Senator Richard Durbin on May 10, 
2007, was reported from the Oversight Committee on June 12, 2007 by a 
voice vote.
  Dr. Francis Townsend was born in 1867 into an impoverished Illinois 
farming family. Shortly after he was born, his family moved to 
Nebraska, where he graduated from high school and began a varied 
career. He tried farming and selling in Kansas, land speculation in Los 
Angeles, and worked as a laborer in Colorado.
  In 1899, he enrolled in the Omaha Medical College, and graduated in 
1903 at the age of 36. He served as an Army doctor in World War I and 
during the Great Depression, and took a job as the assistant director 
of the City Health Office in Long Beach, California. At the age of 66, 
Dr. Townsend lost his job and found himself both poor and out of work.
  There were millions of elderly people just like him who were barely 
making ends meet. One day he had a vision of how to help the elderly 
and the country as a whole. He wrote a letter to a newspaper outlining 
his ``old-aged pension plan for seniors.'' This plan created a Federal 
pension of $200 a month paid to every citizen 60 and older on the 
condition that the pensioner spend the entire sum within 30 days in 
order to stimulate the economy. His efforts influenced the passage of 
President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Social Security Act.
  Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleague from Illinois, Senator Richard 
Durbin, for introducing this legislation, and I urge swift passage.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SALI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor one of Fairbury, Illinois' most 
famous citizens, and that was Dr. Francis Townsend. He was an American 
physician best known for creating the Townsend Old-age Revolving 
Pension plan and for spurring social movement that advocated for 
benefits for the elderly during the 1930s.
  Dr. Townsend, the son of a farmer, grew up in Fairbury, Illinois, and 
attended Omaha Medical College in 1917. Shortly after becoming a 
physician, he served in the Army Medical Corps during World War I. 
After leaving the Army, he began a medical practice in Long Beach, 
California. When this was not successful, he obtained employment as the 
assistant city health director. Sadly, due to the Great Depression, he 
lost that job and was forced into retirement.
  In 1933, Dr. Townsend witnessed something extremely heartbreaking but 
not uncommon during the Great Depression when he saw three old ladies 
searching through trash cans in his back alley for food. This became a 
watershed moment for the doctor. In response to what he observed, and 
his inner drive to help others, he decided to become involved in 
politics. Later that year he created the Townsend Plan, which proposed 
creating a Federal pension of $200 a month for every citizen 60 years 
old and older on the condition that the money would be spent within 30 
days in order to stimulate the economy.
  By 1934, through his leadership and determination to help the 
downtrodden, the plan generated a great deal of support and gave rise 
to the establishment of at least 5,000 ``Townsend clubs'' nationwide. 
At the height of popularity, membership in the clubs totaled over 2 
million people.
  By 1935, an additional 25 million Americans signed petitions to 
Congress

[[Page H6592]]

and the White House supporting the implementation of Dr. Townsend's 
plan. He became such a national celebrity by this time that he 
testified before Congress.
  Thanks to Dr. Townsend's efforts, his social crusades sparked a 
national antipoverty movement in 1933 that likely contributed to the 
expedited passage of Franklin D. Roosevelt's Social Security Act of 
1935, one of the major initiatives of the New Deal.
  Dr. Townsend was a steadfast leader and original thinker. His efforts 
to fight poverty during our Nation's worst economic crisis and his 
exemplary civic activism are an example for us all.
  Naming the Fairbury, Illinois, post office after one of its most 
famous citizens during the sesquicentennial anniversary of Fairbury is 
a fitting celebration of both Dr. Townsend's contributions to the city 
and to this important milestone.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I would just close by noting that 
here is an excellent example of a citizen with an idea, an idea that 
was promulgated into legislation, legislation that all of us, if we 
live to be 65 or somewhat close to, benefit from. And so I think it is 
indeed appropriate.
  Again, I want to thank Senator Durbin for introducing this 
legislation.
  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 Illinois (Mr. Davis) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the Senate bill, S. 1352.
  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. DAVIS of Illinois. 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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