[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 167 (Monday, November 9, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11299-S11300]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              THE CALENDAR

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of the following postal naming 
bills en bloc: Calendar Nos. 198 through 207: H.R. 955, H.R. 1516, H.R. 
1713, H.R. 2004, H.R. 2215, H.R. 2760, H.R. 2972, H.R. 3119, H.R. 3386, 
and H.R. 3547.
  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to the bills en bloc.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I will make a brief comment. I had the good 
fortune of serving with Wes Watkins, a Member of the House of 
Representatives from Oklahoma. It is a very good thing that there is 
going to be a building named after him.
  Finally, Rex Lee was my neighbor when I first came back to Congress. 
His son and my boy Josh were best friends. They still are. Rex Lee was 
one of America's all-time great legal minds. He argued numerous cases 
before the U.S. Supreme Court. He was stricken as a young man with an 
incurable type of cancer and died at a much too early age. He was first 
dean of the BYU Law School and then president of BYU. His No. 1 
qualification was his legal mind, which was outstanding, and he had 
such a wonderful family. I think that is wonderful that there is going 
to be a building named after Rex Lee in Provo, UT. He deserves that.
  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to Rex E. Lee, 
a man whose legacy we recognize today by renaming the post office in 
Provo, UT in his honor. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Conner 
captured my own feelings about Rex when she said:

       Knowing him [Rex] was one of the greatest privileges of my 
     life. Remembering him will be one of the easiest.

  Graduating first in his class from the University of Chicago Law 
School in 1963, Rex went on to serve as a law clerk for Byron White on 
the U.S. Supreme Court. Then, just 4 years out of law school, Rex 
argued his first case before the Supreme Court in 1967, and went on in 
1972 to become the Founding Dean of the J. Reuben Clark Law School at 
Brigham Young University.

[[Page S11300]]

  In addition to serving as an Assistant Attorney General in charge of 
the Civil Division at the Department of Justice in the middle of the 
1970s, Rex served as the Solicitor General of the United States from 
1981 to 1985. In fact, over the span of his life, Rex argued 59 cases 
before the Supreme Court of the United States and his record as the 
Solicitor General is impressive. Never one to rest, Rex was then named 
as the 10th president of Brigham Young University in 1989, where he 
served thousands of students, faculty, and administrators faithfully 
for over 6 years. As a man, Rex is someone I respected; as a dedicated 
husband, father, and friend, Rex is someone who is deeply missed.
  Anyone who had the privilege of knowing Rex, as I did, well remembers 
his stellar service to his community, our State, and to the Nation as a 
whole. Long after his passing, his influence still lingers and is 
keenly felt everywhere from the classrooms at BYU to the corridors of 
our government's most revered institutions. Renaming the Provo Post 
Office in Rex's honor befits a public servant of his stature, and I am 
pleased to support this legislation in the Senate to honor Rex's 
legacy.
  In short, Rex Lee was a great man and I am proud to see the Provo 
Post Office named after him. There are thousands of Utahns throughout 
the State who join me in celebrating this man's great life with this 
fitting tribute.
  Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that the bills be read the third 
time and passed en bloc; that the motions to reconsider be laid upon 
the table en bloc; and that any statements related to these bills be 
printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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