[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 68 (Tuesday, May 5, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H5109-H5111]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  CAROLINE O'DAY POST OFFICE BUILDING

  Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 1397) to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 41 Purdy Avenue in Rye, New York, as the ``Caroline 
O'Day Post Office Building''.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1397

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

     SECTION 1. CAROLINE O'DAY POST OFFICE BUILDING.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 41 Purdy Avenue in Rye, New York, shall be 
     known and designated as the ``Caroline O'Day Post Office 
     Building''.
       (b) References.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation, 
     document, paper, or other

[[Page H5110]]

     record of the United States to the facility referred to in 
     subsection (a) shall be deemed to be a reference to the 
     ``Caroline O'Day Post Office Building''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Massachusetts (Mr. Lynch) and the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Duncan) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Massachusetts.


                             General Leave

  Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, I ask 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, at this time, I would like to yield 5 minutes 
to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Lowey).
  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1397, which 
would rename the U.S. post office located in Rye, New York, after 
former Congresswoman Caroline O'Day. And I would like to thank Chairman 
Towns and the entire New York delegation for their support of this 
measure. Born in 1875 on a plantation near the rural town of Perry, 
Georgia, Caroline O'Day's experiences growing up in the post-Civil War 
South instilled in her a lifelong commitment to world peace and social 
welfare. The energy and passion with which she gave voice to those in 
need was the hallmark of her career in Congress.
  Caroline O'Day's interest in politics was piqued when during a 
suffrage parade her husband, Daniel O'Day, reportedly asked his wife 
why she was not marching herself. Soon, she joined the West Chester 
League of Women Voters and in 1917 worked with Jeannette Rankin to 
advance the enfranchisement of New York women 3 years before passage of 
the 19th amendment.
  Together with her close friend, Eleanor Roosevelt, O'Day helped found 
the Women's Division of the New York State Democratic Committee and was 
elected chairwoman of the New York delegation to the 1924 Democratic 
National Convention, becoming the first woman from either major party 
to hold the position.
  In 1934, Caroline O'Day was elected to one of New York's two at-large 
congressional seats. The second woman in the history of this body to 
chair a major committee, she quickly became known as a skilled 
legislator unwilling to compromise her principles for the sake of 
political expediency.
  During her four terms in the House, Representative O'Day was a 
leading voice for avoiding unnecessary armed conflict and fought to 
improve the quality of life of underrepresented minorities in the inner 
city and migrant agricultural workers. In particular, she was deeply 
troubled by the effects of poverty on at-risk children and tirelessly 
advocated a dramatic expansion, or ``national investment,'' of Federal 
programs to protect them.
  Mr. Speaker, Congresswoman O'Day not only faithfully represented the 
myriad interests of her constituents from Buffalo to Brooklyn, she put 
one of the first cracks in the glass ceiling as one of only six women 
in the House.
  As you know, Mr. Speaker, the number of women serving in the House 
has since risen to 76. And while this does not reflect the percentage 
of women in the American electorate, through common interests and 
coordinated effort, this relatively small group has had a significant 
effect on Federal policy. We women currently serving in this esteemed 
body stand on the shoulders of pioneering women like Caroline O'Day, 
whose grit and determination helped them not only overcome gender bias, 
but lead this Nation through depression and war.
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud to bring this legislation, which honors the 
life and service of Congresswoman Caroline O'Day, to the House floor 
today. And I urge my colleagues to support it.
  Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise today, Mr. Speaker, to join my fellow Members of Congress in 
recognizing a former New York Congresswoman and women's rights advocate 
by designating the facility of the United States Postal Service located 
at 41 Purdy Avenue in Rye, New York, as the ``Caroline O'Day Post 
Office Building'' for her extraordinary contributions to the State of 
New York and to American public life.
  Born Caroline Love Goodwin in 1869 on a plantation in Perry, Georgia, 
she was one of four daughters of a socially important family in 
Georgia. Despite the economic hardships that were widespread during the 
Reconstruction period, her father's success allowed her and her sisters 
to attend the prestigious secondary school called the Lucy Cobb 
Institute.

                              {time}  1300

  After graduation in 1886, she briefly studied art in New York at 
Cooper Union before sailing to Paris, France, where she enjoyed a 
stimulating life among the great artists of the time.
  An independent-minded woman, she supported herself as a freelance 
artist for the next 8 years. While living in Europe, she met Daniel 
O'Day, an oil businessman, who persuaded her to abandon her artistic 
career and return with him to New York in 1901. Although past the age 
of 30 and beyond the age when most women married in that era, she 
married Daniel O'Day and moved to Rye, New York.
  It was in Rye, New York, where Congresswoman O'Day would start her 
successful career as a civic activist and politician. Her power of 
persuasion was so great that although her husband was not politically 
active, he did become an enthusiastic advocate of women's suffrage and 
in 1916, after his sudden death, Congresswoman O'Day began working on 
issues of social welfare and female suffrage in New York. She became 
active with the New York Consumer's League, the Women's Trade Union, 
and the Democratic Party. Through these and other organizations, she 
became close friends with other prominent social activists, including 
Eleanor Roosevelt.
  After spending many years with a well-known activist working for 
women's suffrage and multiple organizations, she was urged to run for 
public office. Congresswoman O'Day first ran and won a seat in Congress 
in 1934 with the public support of her good friend Eleanor Roosevelt.
  As a well-regarded Member of Congress, Congresswoman O'Day worked on 
a number of labor reforms, particularly for the child labor protections 
of the Walsh-Healey Government Contracts Act and the Fair Labor 
Standards Act. She had a lifelong concern for protecting the rights of 
disadvantaged people.
  As an extension of that concern, Congresswoman O'Day sponsored 
legislation which stayed the deportation of 7,000 illegal aliens. She 
strongly supported the Federal anti-lynching law, was instrumental in 
arranging the memorable concert of Marian Anderson in 1939 scheduled 
for DAR Constitution Hall, and supported expanding the quota for Jewish 
refugees from Nazi Germany.
  In 1940, despite her sickness, Caroline O'Day won a fourth 
congressional term. Because of declining health, she did not return to 
Washington, although she did handle some of her House duties from her 
home. Sadly, on January 4, 1943, the gentlewoman from New York died at 
her home.
  Congresswoman Caroline O'Day may have been best described after her 
death by Eleanor Roosevelt who wrote, ``Her high ideals and integrity 
were an inspiration to all who knew her or felt her influence, and her 
generosity touched many people and many causes in which she believed. 
Her passing is a loss not only to her family but to the world.''
  It is with great respect and pleasure that I support H.R. 1397.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present for consideration this 
legislation that will designate the United States postal facility 
located at 41 Purdy Avenue in Rye, New York, as the Caroline O'Day Post 
Office Building in honor of a wonderful and dedicated public servant.
  Caroline Love Goodwin O'Day was born in the city of Perry in Houston 
County, Georgia, on June 22, 1875. Ms. O'Day completed her academic 
studies at the Lucy Cobb Institute in Athens, Georgia, in 1886, and 
initially chose to pursue a career as an artist, spending 8 years as an 
art student and painter in Paris, Holland and Munich.
  In 1902, Ms. O'Day relocated to what would become her lifelong 
hometown of

[[Page H5111]]

Rye, New York, where she would embark on an admirable and dedicated 
career devoted to public service. Following her husband's sudden death 
in 1916, Ms. O'Day became actively involved in the women's suffrage 
movement as well as a number of other social welfare groups, including 
the New York affiliate of the National Consumer's League and the 
Women's Trade Union League, dedicated to improving wages and workplace 
conditions for both women and children.
  In furtherance of her social and community causes, Ms. O'Day also 
served on the Rye school board and played an integral role in the 
establishment of the women's division of the Democratic State 
Committee. In 1923, she was elected by State party leaders to head the 
women's division as well as serve as chairman of the Democratic State 
Committee. Then First Lady of the United States, Eleanor Roosevelt, 
described Ms. O'Day's election to one of the State party leadership 
positions as ``breaking down a major barrier against women in the 
Democratic Party.''
  That same year, Governor Al Smith appointed Ms. O'Day to serve on the 
State Board of Social Welfare, a position that she held for over a 
decade. In 1924, Ms. O'Day was elected as a delegate to the Democratic 
National Convention and was elected as chairman of the New York State 
delegation, marking the first time that a woman had received such an 
honor from either major political party.
  Ms. O'Day proceeded to serve as a delegate for the party's next three 
national conventions. In 1934, at the age of 65, Ms. O'Day was elected 
to Congress as a Representative at Large in the 74th Congress. As noted 
by the author, Paul DeForest Hicks, in his profile of Ms. O'Day that 
appeared in the New York Historical Association Magazine, Ms. O'Day's 
1934 campaign materials ``evidenced a commitment for higher standards 
for wage earners, adequate relief to taxpayers, a sound and enlightened 
fiscal policy, friendly foreign relations, and advanced opportunities 
for women in government.''
  In addition, as recently noted by Rye City Councilman Mack 
Cunningham, Ms. O'Day's tenure in Congress was marked by a strong 
interest in social welfare measures. It is noteworthy that she was only 
the second congresswoman to chair a major committee, the Committee on 
Election of President, Vice President and Representatives.
  On a final note, I would like to mention that, as a New York 
Representative at Large, Ms. O'Day played a vital role in facilitating 
the construction of the Rye Post Office that is now the subject of this 
legislation. In fact, she presided over the post office's ribbon-
cutting ceremony on September 5, 1936, and now we stand here some years 
later seeking to name this post office after Ms. O'Day.
  Mr. Speaker, let us honor this dedicated public servant with the 
passage of H.R. 1397, and let us follow the leadership of the 
gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Lowey) by designating the Rye Post 
Office in honor of Caroline O'Day. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 
1397.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I yield 
back the balance of my time.
  Mr. LYNCH. 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. 1397.
  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.

                          ____________________