[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 37 (Wednesday, March 5, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H1247-H1248]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             SGT. MICHAEL M. KASHKOUSH POST OFFICE BUILDING

  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 5400) to designate the facility of the United 
States Postal Service located at 160 East Washington Street in Chagrin 
Falls, Ohio, as the ``Sgt. Michael M. Kashkoush Post Office Building''.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 5400

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

     SECTION 1. SGT. MICHAEL M. KASHKOUSH POST OFFICE BUILDING.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 160 East Washington Street in Chagrin 
     Falls, Ohio, shall be known and designated as the ``Sgt. 
     Michael M. Kashkoush 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 ``Sgt. Michael M. Kashkoush Post Office 
     Building''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Davis) and the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton) 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 such time as I 
might consume.

[[Page H1248]]

  As a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government 
Reform, I stand with my colleagues from the Buckeye State of Ohio in 
consideration of H.R. 5400, which renames the postal facility in 
Chagrin Falls, Ohio, in honor of Sergeant Michael M. Kashkoush.
  H.R. 5400 comes to us with widespread support from the Ohio 
congressional delegation, yet the measure was first introduced by my 
colleague, Representative Steve LaTourette, back on February 12, 2008. 
The measure was taken up by the Oversight Committee on February 26, 
2008, where it was passed by the panel by voice vote.
  H.R. 5400 calls for honoring Sergeant Kashkoush's service to our 
country by naming the post office in his hometown of Chagrin Falls 
after him.
  Assigned to the 3rd Intelligence Battalion, III Marine Expeditionary 
Force, Okinawa, Japan, Sergeant Michael M. Kashkoush succumbed to his 
death on January 23, 2007, as a result of fatal wounds received while 
conducting combat operations in Iraq's Anbar province.
  Born and raised in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, Sergeant Kashkoush was a 
graduate of Chagrin Falls High School, where he was instrumental in 
taking the school's football and wrestling teams to winning seasons 
before electing to enlist in the Marine Corps after graduation. 
Sergeant Kashkoush was only 24 years old when he died in the line of 
duty as a counterintelligence/human intelligence specialist attached to 
the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division.
  Mr. Speaker, in honor of Sergeant Kashkoush's sacrifice and service 
to America, let us pass without reservation H.R. 5400.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I yield to my good friend, Mr. 
LaTourette of Ohio, a very fine Congressman, for such time as he may 
consume.
  Mr. LaTOURETTE. I thank the gentleman from Indiana for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I first want to thank Chairman Waxman and Ranking Member 
Davis for moving this legislation expeditiously through the committee 
and on to the floor today. And I want to thank the other Mr. Davis from 
Illinois and Mr. Burton for so ably managing it today as well.
  Mr. Speaker, Michael Kashkoush grew up in Michigan, and then he moved 
to Chagrin Falls to start high school. He was the beloved son of Marwan 
and Mary Jane Kashkoush.
  He spent his freshman and sophomore years in Chagrin Falls, and then 
moved with his family to London for a year and returned to Chagrin for 
his senior year, graduating in 2001.
  Michael was like many young men. His high school years had been about 
girls, friends, lifting weights, sports, and parties. He started 
college with great intentions, but didn't find it a good fit for that 
moment in his life and, after 2 years, he announced to his parents that 
he wanted to join the Marines. The exceptionally bright and capable 
young man said that he had led a soft life and wanted to be a marine 
because ``they're the toughest and most disciplined in the world.'' The 
Marines were the matching puzzle piece for this gifted former high 
school wrestler and football player.
  Michael's father urged him to finish college and instead attend 
officers school, but Michael believed he could not lead unless he knew 
what it was that the grunts had to do. Marwan Kashkoush stood behind 
his son's choice.
  Michael was an exemplary marine and was promoted to sergeant in 2005 
in counterintelligence/human intelligence. He had never spoken Arabic, 
but at the Defense Language Institute in 6 short months he mastered the 
language. He had a limitless future in the Marines.
  In 4 short years, the United States Marine Corps made Michael 
Kashkoush a man. They gave his self-described ``soft life'' purpose. He 
was very proud of his military service to our country. On January 23, 
2007, just 10 days after being sent to Iraq, he died while conducting 
combat operations in Anbar province.
  Earlier this year, Michael's father and stepmother, Phoebe Brockman 
Kashkoush, wrote to me and asked me if I would introduce this piece of 
legislation in honor of Michael. It was a wonderful idea, and it is a 
perfect one for Chagrin Falls, Ohio.
  Chagrin Falls is a small, tight-knit community where neighbors are 
close and there is a genuine sense of community. It is a place where 
there are almost as many American flags as front porches, and when one 
of their own died, it deeply touched the community.
  Chagrin Falls, a town of about 4,000 people, turned out en masse for 
the funeral services, and some 600 people crammed into St. Joan of Arc 
Catholic Church, where they sang a joyful, tearful rendition of Don 
McLean's ``American Pie.'' The Jaycees adorned street posts with 
hundreds of flags, and more than 300 people walked the half-mile trek 
from the church down South Franklin Street in blustery snow to 
Michael's final resting place.
  It is fitting, Mr. Speaker, that the Chagrin Falls Post Office be 
named in honor of Sergeant Michael Kashkoush, and it is a wonderful 
remembrance for a family who has lost so much.
  The father who first resisted his son's plan to enlist credits the 
Marines with changing his life. He said, ``They built me my best 
friend.''
  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I was looking at the picture of 
Mr. Kashkoush, and all I can say is he exemplifies the thousands of 
young men and women who have gone to serve their country in 
Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere in the world. And we just can't say 
enough about young people like that who go out there and risk their 
lives to protect our freedoms. I am very happy that my colleague from 
Ohio took the time to introduce this legislation, and I am very happy 
to support that.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. 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 bill, H.R. 5400.
  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 motion will be 
postponed.

                          ____________________