[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 169 (Monday, November 16, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H12978-H12979]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. POST OFFICE

  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (S. 1314) to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 630 Northeast Killingsworth Avenue in Portland, 
Oregon, as the ``Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Post Office''.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                S. 1314

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

     SECTION 1. DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. POST OFFICE.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 630 Northeast Killingsworth Avenue in 
     Portland, Oregon, shall be known and designated as the ``Dr. 
     Martin Luther King, Jr. Post Office''.
       (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. Martin Luther King, Jr. Post 
     Office''.

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


                             General Leave

  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I would 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 Oregon?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. 
Speaker, I'm pleased to present Senate bill 1314 for consideration. 
This legislation would designate the United States postal facility 
located at 630 Northeast Killingsworth Avenue in Portland as the Dr. 
Martin Luther King, Jr. Post Office. Hopefully, today we will finish an 
effort I've been involved with for the last two Congresses to 
accomplish this honor for Dr. King, but more important, for our 
community. This legislation passed last Congress, but the Senate 
somehow didn't get around to acting upon it, and we passed it again 
this Congress, September 22, by a 411-0 margin. The legislation enjoys 
the unanimous support of the entire Oregon House and Senate delegation.
  Senate bill 1314 was introduced by my friend and colleague, Senator 
Ron Wyden, last June, and passed the Senate this summer by unanimous 
consent. Mr. Speaker, I would thank the Committee on Government 
Oversight and Reform for their continued partnership in moving the 
legislation through the House and bringing us to this consideration. I 
am pleased to have worked with Senator Wyden to move his identical 
Senate version of the bill back to the House, as our legislation was 
held under a procedural hold in the Senate.
  Regardless, we have an opportunity now to be able to put a final note 
on this chapter to make this important link to a postal service in our 
community. It is appropriate as we think about the United States Postal 
Service that has been voted for five consecutive years as the most 
trusted government agency. For Americans, the Postal Service provides a 
consistent and positive connection between the government and the 
people. And it's, I think, appropriate that the genesis of this 
legislation was the result of a community-led effort that was inspired 
by two local letter carriers from my district.
  Back in 2007 Mr. Jamie Partridge and Mr. Isham Harris collected 
employees' signatures supporting the naming, as well as letters of 
support from all the surrounding neighborhood associations. These 
individuals brought the community together to honor not just Dr. King, 
but also Oregon's somewhat rocky path to racial equality and social 
justice. While our State ratified the 14th amendment expanding 
citizenship and providing equal protection under the law back in 1868, 
our State, sadly, continued to deny African Americans the right to vote 
under the terms of the original state constitution.
  This was an area of great struggle in our community. Oregon had a sad 
chapter where it had a virulent, powerful, Ku Klux Klan presence, 
electing elected officials and inspiring some really unfortunate State 
legislation. In part, inspired by this struggle, in 1914, the NAACP 
opened a chapter in Portland which continues to this day as the oldest 
continually chartered chapter of the NAACP west of the Mississippi. 
They were part of the leadership that finally amended the Oregon 
Constitution in 1927 to remove the clause denying African Americans the 
right to vote. For the next 30 years they were involved in efforts with 
leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King not just to end segregation and 
racial discrimination, but to promote equality. It was a struggle that 
we faced continuously in our community in the 1950s, such as battles 
over open housing.
  We are well familiar, all of us, with the remarkable life and legacy 
of Dr. King, who provided a face and a voice to the civil rights 
movement, one of the greatest orators in the history of the United 
States who provided national leadership and local inspiration in our 
community. I am pleased to honor this legacy with the full support of 
the Oregon congressional delegation. This post office will serve as a 
daily reminder of Dr. King's legacy and of the struggle in Oregon and 
around the country to reach our objective of individual dreams being 
fulfilled free of artificial barriers such as skin color, religious 
affiliation, gender, and sexual orientation.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting S. 1314 and achieve 
that goal.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to first commend my colleague, the gentleman from 
Oregon, for bringing this legislation to the floor today, and I rise to 
express my strong support for this bill designating the post office 
located at 630 Northeast Killingsworth Avenue in Portland, Oregon, as 
the ``Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Post Office.'' The leadership of Dr. 
Martin Luther King, Jr., during the civil rights movement helped to 
make America the country it is today. Because of Dr. King's many 
accomplishments in the pursuit of justice and liberty, he clearly 
deserves this simple honor and recognition that we can bestow on him.
  Dr. King began his career as a Baptist minister who was also the 
leading civil rights figure in this country during the 1950s and 1960s. 
Dr. King's lifelong crusade to end all forms of racial inequity and 
discrimination was instrumental in enlightening the country with regard 
to civil rights for all citizens. Dr. King led the Montgomery bus 
boycott in 1955, helped to found the Southern Christian Leadership 
Conference in 1957, and was instrumental in orchestrating the famous 
Birmingham protest.
  Dr. King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, which helped show 
the world that racial discrimination

[[Page H12979]]

could be ended through nonviolent means. He was also awarded the 
Presidential Medal of Freedom and a Congressional Gold Medal. In 
recognition of his many accomplishments for our country, in 1983 
Congress established a national holiday as a tribute to his memory. 
Later in Dr. King's life, he expanded his message of equality to apply 
to impoverished Americans of all races and cultures. Dr. King dedicated 
his life to ensuring the principles this country holds so dear, those 
of liberty and justice for all of our citizens.
  Not quite 4 years ago, Mr. Speaker, I was given the honor of being 
the grand marshal of the Martin Luther King parade in Knoxville, 
Tennessee. And I believe I have attended all but one of the many Martin 
Luther King celebrations at the Greater Warner Church in Knoxville. I'm 
also very proud of the fact that my father, who served for 6 years as 
mayor of Knoxville, led the peaceful integration of that city. And in 
1962, Look magazine awarded Knoxville an All-America City Award, 
primarily because of the peaceful integration that we accomplished in 
our city.
  I think this legislation is very fitting and appropriate, and I urge 
my colleagues to support it.
  I have no other speakers, and so I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend from Tennessee 
for his thoughtful words of support, for his concern and his adding 
historical perspective on how we're all in debt to Dr. King and how it 
has, in fact, inspired people north, east, west and south to be able to 
deal with the legacy of promoting a world hopefully free of 
discrimination. Mr. Speaker, I would hope that the House would join us 
in approving this measure to honor not just Dr. King, but, as I 
mentioned, focus on the struggle in our community to reach these 
ideals, one that continues to this day. The designation of the post 
office in honor of Dr. King will be an ongoing reminder of what we have 
to do ahead as well as the progress we've made.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, S. 1314.
  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. BLUMENAUER. 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.

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