[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 115 (Thursday, July 28, 2011)]
[House]
[Pages H5728-H5729]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  CECIL L. HEFTEL POST OFFICE BUILDING

  Mr. LANKFORD. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 2149) to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 4354 Pahoa Avenue in Honolulu, Hawaii, as the 
``Cecil L. Heftel Post Office Building''.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 2149

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

     SECTION 1. CECIL L. HEFTEL POST OFFICE BUILDING.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 4354 Pahoa Avenue in Honolulu, Hawaii, 
     shall be known and designated as the ``Cecil L. Heftel 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 ``Cecil L. Heftel Post Office Building''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Oklahoma (Mr. Lankford) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Oklahoma.


                             General Leave

  Mr. LANKFORD. I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 
legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Oklahoma?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. LANKFORD. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2149, introduced by the gentlelady by Hawaii (Ms. 
Hanabusa), would designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 4354 Pahoa Avenue in Honolulu, Hawaii, as the Cecil 
L. Heftel Post Office Building.
  This bill was introduced on June 13 and was reported from the 
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on June 22.
  Cecil L. Heftel was born September 30, 1924. He was an accomplished 
businessman and a politician who served his community for many years. 
Mr. Heftel was a well-known figure in Honolulu, Hawaii, and served five 
terms as a Member of the House of Representatives.
  In the 1960s, Mr. Heftel began his career in Hawaii when he started 
Heftel Broadcasting and took over the KGMB television station. In 1976, 
Mr. Heftel ran for Congress, won five consecutive terms and then 
resigned from Congress in 1986 to run for Governor, but was defeated in 
the primary.
  Mr. Heftel returned to the broadcasting business until 2004. He then 
returned to his community to serve as a member of the board of 
education. Cecil Heftel died February 4, 2010, at the age of 85. His 
service to the Honolulu community will never be forgotten. I urge my 
colleagues to support the passage of the bill.
  With that, I reserve the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1840

  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. It is my pleasure to yield such time as she 
might consume to the gentlewoman from Hawaii (Ms. Hanabusa), the author 
of this measure.
  Ms. HANABUSA. I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I thank the 
ranking member for affirmatively looking upon H.R. 2149.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the tremendous career of the 
late Representative Cecil L. Heftel. H.R. 2149 is a bill which 
designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 
4354 Pahoa Avenue in Honolulu, Hawaii, as the Cecil L. Heftel Post 
Office Building.
  Representative Heftel was a very unusual person and a very 
accomplished man. He was known for his prowess in building radio and 
television broadcasting stations in Hawaii. Many of us grew up in 
Hawaii with his creations, like ``Checkers and Pogo,'' which was the 
most popular children's show; J. Akuheab Pupule, one of the most 
popular radio personalities; and the legends themselves, who still rule 
our airwaves in the show of ``Perry & Price,'' Michael W. Perry and my 
good friend Coach Larry Price. They still are the first and the 
highest-ranking radio shows in Hawaii.
  Cecil Heftel was elected to the 95th Congress to represent the First 
Congressional District of Hawaii. While in Washington, Representative 
Heftel's first assignment was to the Education and Labor Committee and, 
ironically, the Post Office and Civil Service Committee. Representative 
Heftel was reelected four times, serving for a total of five terms in 
this body. During the 96th Congress, Representative Heftel was elected 
to the Ways and Means Committee where he stayed until his resignation 
in 1986 to run for Governor of our beautiful State of Hawaii.
  While in office, Representative Heftel sponsored 160 bills, and it is 
important to note this because these bills evidenced his vision and 
farsightedness. He was a champion of tax reform and energy 
independence, an issue that is very popular today, but may not have 
been as popular back then, always showing aloha for his constituency.
  In response to President Reagan's tax cut proposal, Representative 
Heftel said, ``I cannot support a tax proposal which would benefit me 
so much more than those of my constituents who earn less than $30,000 a 
year.'' Similar statements are being made today. This is what defined 
Cecil Heftel both as a Member of Congress and a person from Hawaii.
  In 1983, Representative Heftel was involved in a car crash near the 
Lincoln Memorial which left him with severe injuries. The accident 
occurred before cars were legally required to have airbags. This 
experience helped shape Representative Heftel's view of government 
regulation and the private sector. Remember where he came from, a very 
successful businessman. After the accident, Representative Heftel 
unsuccessfully filed suit against General Motors, blaming his accident 
on faulty breaks in his Oldsmobile. It is important to note that after 
the accident, he received a letter saying there may be something wrong 
with his brakes.
  Though Representative Heftel, as a businessman, probably was not in 
favor of regulations, it is important to note that in the 99th 
Congress, he introduced legislation that would provide criminal 
penalties for manufacturers who failed to notify owners of motor 
vehicle safety defects, something that we have all come to expect and 
are protected by today. This shows you who Representative Heftel was 
and the fact that he always placed the public, the people, and his 
constituents first. He went through his service here in the Congress 
displaying this kind of independence and courage, looking to these 
important issues.
  I want to say that on a personal note, I was able to meet Mr. Heftel 
in the year 2004. It was at a dinner event where, actually, I met his 
daughter Susan first. And when we spoke of her father, she told me, I 
think my dad would like to meet you. So we sat at dinner first and had 
several meetings after that. And he told me about his experiences in 
Congress.
  But more important than that, he shared with me his passion for 
education and how he believed that he still had it in him to come and 
make change in the education system in Hawaii.
  So in that same year, at the age of 80, Cecil Heftel was successfully 
elected to the State Board of Education for the Oahu-at-large seat, and 
there he served for 4 years, making an effort to leave his mark on 
education, as he did as a Member of Congress and also as the greatest 
communications person we will see in the State of Hawaii.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2149, naming the 
facility

[[Page H5729]]

of the United States Postal Service located at 4354 Pahoa Avenue in 
Honolulu, Hawaii, in honor of Cecil Heftel. I do this not only to honor 
him and to pay our respects to someone who served the State so well, 
but I do this because I want for especially the youth of today, when 
they go by that post office and they see the name Cecil L. Heftel to 
ask, Who was Cecil L. Heftel? And I believe that when they learn his 
story and they see how he served in this body and how over time his 
experiences shaped his legislation, legislation that we may not have 
thought that would be something he would have supported, and how he put 
his constituents first, and also his genius, his absolute genius in 
communications and his creation of all the legends over time, that they 
will be inspired, and that among them, one day, we may see another 
Cecil L. Heftel.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I commend the gentlelady for her 
introduction of this very thoughtful measure, I urge its passage, and 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. LANKFORD. Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support the passage 
of H.R. 2149, and I also yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. HIRONO. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of Congresswoman 
Hanabusa's bill to designate the post office in the neighborhood of 
Kahala in Honolulu as the Cecil L. Heftel Post Office Building.
  Cec Heftel, as he was known to everyone in Hawaii, is remembered for 
his keen business sense, his pursuit of excellence as a broadcaster, 
and his decade of service representing Hawaii's 1st Congressional 
District. He passed away in February 2010.
  In looking over the legislation that Congressman Heftel introduced 
during his tenure, I was interested to see that he introduced forward-
looking bills to provide incentives for renewable energy and to 
establish a comprehensive research and development program for domestic 
hydrogen fuel capability. He also introduced legislation to restore the 
wartime recognition to the Filipino veterans of World War II to entitle 
them to the benefits they earned. The Congress finally acted on this 
issue in 2009, giving these veterans a measure of long-awaited justice.
  I am sure that the naming of the post office in Cec's memory in the 
community where he lived means a great deal to his widow, Rebecca 
Heftel, his children, grandchildren, and his many friends, former 
colleagues, and employees.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Lankford) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 2149.
  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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