[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 42 (Tuesday, March 10, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H3118-H3119]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        SCOTT REED FEDERAL BUILDING AND UNITED STATES COURTHOUSE

  Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 869) to designate the Federal building and United 
States courthouse located at 101 Barr Street in Lexington, Kentucky, as 
the ``Scott Reed Federal Building and United States Courthouse''.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 869

       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 and United States courthouse located 
     at 101 Barr Street in Lexington, Kentucky, shall be known and 
     designated as the ``Scott Reed Federal Building and United 
     States Courthouse''.

     SEC. 2. REFERENCES.

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

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Maryland (Ms. Edwards) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mario Diaz-
Balart) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Maryland.


                             General Leave

  Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland. 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. 869.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Maryland?
  There was no objection.

                              {time}  1300

  Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 869, a bill to designate the 
Federal building and United States Courthouse located at 101 Barr 
Street, Lexington, Kentucky, as the Scott Reed Federal Building and 
United States Courthouse.
  From 1964 until 1969, Judge Reed was a member of the First Division 
of the Fayette Circuit Court when he was elected to the Kentucky Court 
of Appeals, then the highest court in the State, and was chosen by his 
colleagues on the Court of Appeals as Chief Justice. He became the 
first Chief Justice of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. His opinions from 
the Supreme Court of Kentucky were highly regarded and often cited by 
other jurisdictions. Judge Reed was a member of the American, Kentucky, 
and Fayette County Bar Associations.
  On November 2, 1979, President Jimmy Carter appointed him as a United 
States District Judge for the Eastern District of Kentucky. He became a 
Senior Judge August 1, 1988, and retired April 1, 1990.
  He was a frequent lecturer to the National College of Trial Judges 
and was named to the Hall of Distinguished Alumni of the University of 
Kentucky on April 11, 1980.
  Judge Reed was an exemplary lawyer and outstanding jurist. His public 
career serving the citizens of Kentucky spanned over 30 years. He 
served with great distinction at both the State and Federal judicial 
levels. It is both fitting and proper to honor his civic contributions 
with this designation, and I urge support for passage of H.R. 869.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida. I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Again, this bill designates the Federal building and United States 
Courthouse located on Barr Street in Lexington, Kentucky, the Scott 
Reed Federal Building and United States Courthouse.
  At this time, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may 
consume to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel).
  (Mr. RANGEL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. RANGEL. Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity to speak 
on behalf of the building, 799 United Nations Plaza, being named after 
my late friend, Ronald Brown. I want to thank his family and his 
community, the central Harlem community, for the support that they have 
given to this bill, as well as the community who loved and respected 
him all of his life. I want to thank Chairmen Oberstar and Holmes 
Norton for allowing this to become a part of our American history.
  Ron Brown was an extraordinary human being. He was born in 1941. My 
relationship to him was really outstanding since, while I was in 
school, I was the desk clerk at a rather famous hotel in Harlem called 
the Theresa Hotel. Ron Brown's father was the manager of that hotel. So 
I got to know Ron at a very, very early age, and was able to see the 
remarkable career that he staked out for himself. Bright, articulate. 
He was one of those type of Americans that could do most anything that 
he wanted to do.
  He worked for Senator Kennedy; he went to St. John's Law School; he 
worked for the Urban League. He became an outstanding member of the 
Democratic Party. But the most remarkable thing about Ron Brown is that 
as Secretary of Commerce under the Clinton administration, he became 
one of the greatest ambassadors that the American government ever had 
abroad.
  It wasn't that he was just extending trade and getting people to buy 
our goods and services. It's that he was extending love, attention, 
sensitivity and, especially in the developing countries, where we had 
not spent the time that we should have, he not only sold our wares, but 
he was able to sell our reputation as a country that wanted to help 
other countries.
  And so it is with a great deal of pleasure for those of us from 
Harlem, those of us from New York, those of us who understood and knew 
Ron Brown, and even the Clinton administration, who gave him this great 
opportunity to have a building named right across from the United 
Nations, which would have the responsibility for all of the member 
nations, as well as the employees there, to be able to establish 
American policies and embassies throughout the world, that there will 
be a little bit of Ron Brown's reputation as being a great American in 
everything that we are able to do in that building.
  So, I thank you so much for giving me this opportunity to join with 
the millions of Americans who believe that Ron Brown made us taller, 
made us more proud, and certainly more respected. God has taken his 
life far too early, but we praise God for allowing him to share his 
wonderful life with us.
  Mr. CHANDLER. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 869 is a bill to designate the 
Federal Building and United States Courthouse located at 101 Barr 
Street in Lexington, Kentucky, as the ``Scott Reed Federal Building and 
United States Courthouse.''
  I can think of no other individual more deserving, no other public 
servant more worthy, and no other action more appropriate than naming 
the federal courthouse in Lexington after the Honorable Scott Elgin 
Reed. Prominent Central Kentucky attorney, first Chief Justice of the 
Kentucky Supreme Court, and federal judge--Scott Reed exemplifies the 
definition of honor and dignity.
  Born in Lexington, Kentucky, on July 3, 1921, Scott Reed graduated 
with distinction from the University of Kentucky. While in college, he 
was editor-in-chief of the Kentucky Law Journal and awarded the order 
of Coif, the highest academic award that can be given to a law 
graduate. He was also a member of the Phi Delta Phi Fraternity. He 
achieved many honors at the University of Kentucky, including the 
Algernon Sydney Sullivan Medallion--a prestigious award recognizing 
outstanding character and humanitarian service.
  Prior to his time on the bench, Scott Reed was County Attorney, 
retained as counsel for the Fayette County School Board, and 
distinguished himself as a trial lawyer of great integrity.
  He served from 1948 through 1956 as an acting associate professor at 
the University of Kentucky College of Law. From 1964 until 1969, he was 
judge of the First Division of the Fayette Circuit Court. He then was 
elected to the Kentucky Court of Appeals.
  As Chief Judge of the Kentucky Court of Appeals, Judge Reed oversaw 
the passage of a constitutional amendment that unified and modernized 
Kentucky's court system. As part of the modernization, the Court of 
Appeals became the Kentucky Supreme Court. Reed was

[[Page H3119]]

elected by his fellow justices to be the first Chief Justice of 
Kentucky.
  As Chief Justice, he oversaw the implementation of a constitutional 
amendment leading Kentucky to have one of the most efficient court 
systems in the country. The Chief Justice of the Commonwealth holds 
equal rank with the Governor, the latter being the head of the 
Executive Branch and Chief Justice serving as head of the Judiciary.
  He was elected as a Fellow in the National College of the Judiciary 
in 1965 and was a voting member of the American Law Institute, a body 
of scholarly people who shape the laws of our nation. The opinions 
written by Scott Reed during his time on the Supreme Court of Kentucky 
have received national acclaim for their scholarly content. Judge Reed 
was a frequent lecturer to the National College of Trial Judges and has 
achieved the highest honors that can be bestowed on a member of his 
profession.
  In 1979, he was appointed by Jimmy Carter to be U.S. district judge 
for the Eastern District of Kentucky. He served as a U.S. district 
judge until he retired in 1990. His federal legal scholarship was 
widely regarded and likened to that of Justices Brandeis, Holmes and 
Marshall. Scott Reed was named to the University of Kentucky College of 
Law Hall of Distinguished Alumni on April 11, 1980.
  Judge Scott Reed passed away on February 17, 1994, but his legacy 
will always be a part of Kentucky's rich history. He deserves this 
honor, one that is indeed long overdue.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Mr. Rogers of Kentucky for being a 
cosponsor of this legislation. I also want to thank my colleagues Ms. 
Holmes Norton and Mr. Oberstar for their help in bringing this 
legislation to the floor.
  I support H.R. 869, and I strongly urge its passage.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 869, a 
bill to designate the Federal building located at 101 Barr Street in 
Lexington, Kentucky, as the ``Scott Reed Federal Building and United 
States Courthouse.'' The bill was introduced by the gentleman from 
Kentucky (Mr. Chandler) and his colleague from Kentucky (Mr. Rogers).
  Scott Reed was born in Lexington, Kentucky in 1921. He attended local 
schools and graduated from the University of Kentucky College of Law in 
1945. While at the University, Reed received many awards and honors, 
including the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Medallion for excellence.
  The first years of Judge Reed's career were spent in private 
practice, during which he distinguished himself as a trial lawyer of 
great integrity. During this time, he also taught at the University of 
Kentucky College of Law.
  From 1964 to 1969, he was judge of the First Division of the Fayette 
Circuit Court. From 1969 until 1976, Judge Reed served on the Court of 
Appeals, 5th Appellate District. In 1976, he became the Chief Justice 
of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, a position which holds equal rank with 
the Governor. His opinions from the Supreme Court of Kentucky have 
received national attention for their scholarly content and careful 
judicial reasoning.
  In August 1979, Judge Reed was nominated by President Carter to serve 
as the U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Kentucky. He was 
confirmed in October 1979, and served until his death in 1994.
  In the 110th Congress, the House passed similar legislation to 
designate the U.S. Courthouse in Lexington, Kentucky, as the ``Scott 
Reed Federal Building and United States Courthouse.'' Unfortunately, 
the Senate was unable to act on the bill.
  Judge Reed enjoyed a rich and rewarding career. His contributions to 
the American judicial system are exceptional. It is fitting that the 
courthouse in Lexington bear his name to honor his distinguished career 
and enduring legacy.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 869.
  Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my 
time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from Maryland (Ms. Edwards) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 869.
  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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