[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 173 (Monday, November 14, 2011)]
[House]
[Pages H7414-H7415]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TOMBALL VETERANS POST OFFICE

  Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 2660) to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 122 North Holderrieth Boulevard in Tomball, Texas, 
as the ``Tomball Veterans Post Office''.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 2660

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

     SECTION 1. TOMBALL VETERANS POST OFFICE.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 122 North Holderrieth Boulevard in 
     Tomball, Texas, shall be known and designated as the 
     ``Tomball Veterans 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 ``Tomball Veterans Post Office''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Farenthold) and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas.


                             General Leave

  Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in 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 Texas?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  H.R. 2660, introduced by the gentleman from Texas (Mr. McCaul), would 
designate the facility of the United States Postal Service at 122 North 
Holderrieth Boulevard in Tomball, Texas, as the ``Tomball Veterans Post 
Office.'' The bill is cosponsored by the entire Texas delegation,

[[Page H7415]]

and, Mr. Speaker, I am proud to be an original cosponsor myself.
  There's no way a grateful nation can adequately express our thanks to 
those who serve. However, naming this post office in Tomball after 
those who serve is a small but fitting gesture to the brave men and 
women who are the reason this country is free.
  I commend my colleague from Texas for introducing this legislation.
  With that, Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield such time as he may 
consume to my distinguished colleague and friend from the great State 
of Texas, the sponsor of this bill, Mr. McCaul.
  Mr. McCAUL. I thank my good friend and colleague from Texas (Mr. 
Farenthold) for his support of my legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of our Nation's veterans and in 
support of this legislation, which would designate the post office 
located at 122 North Holderrieth Boulevard in Tomball, Texas, as the 
``Tomball Veterans Post Office.''
  It is appropriate, Mr. Speaker, that on the first legislative day 
after Veterans Day that this House would honor its veterans for their 
sacrifice and fidelity to our country. I cannot think of a more 
deserving community than Tomball, Texas, in my district.
  Mr. Speaker, I just returned this weekend from visiting our troops in 
Iraq and Afghanistan and meeting with the President of Pakistan. I also 
visited our wounded warriors at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in 
Germany on Veterans Day.
  I'm pleased to report that our men and women in uniform are doing 
tremendous work and have made extraordinary progress in the war on 
terror. I was also humbled by our troops' sacrifice and unwavering 
commitment to our mission.
  In Afghanistan, I witnessed the fruits of our soldiers' labor. For 
the first time, women are being educated and Afghans are enjoying 
freedoms, the likes of which they could only dream about under the 
Taliban's brutal regime.
  In Iraq, where Saddam Hussein and his henchmen once brutalized the 
Iraqi people and silenced their voices, democracy is beginning to take 
shape. Today the Iraqi people are free to express their diverse points 
of view and engage in the same kind of political discourse that we are 
engaged in here right now in this very Chamber.
  It is because of our soldiers that this is possible; that the 
American people can be safe from terror and tyranny; and that others 
around the world, for the first time in their lives, experience the 
freedoms which we so often take for granted.
  I am so proud of our soldiers and what they have accomplished--
soldiers like Marine Corporal Jeffrey Johnson of Tomball, who lost his 
life in Afghanistan in 2010 defending America and what our country 
stands for in the world.
  Last year I attended Jeffrey's funeral in the small town of Tomball, 
where over 30,000 people--30,000 grateful Americans--lined up in the 
streets to show their respect for a true American hero. This 
unbelievable outpouring of support demonstrated that patriotism and 
love of country are still alive and well in America.
  It's thanks to veterans like Jeffrey Johnson and so many others from 
Texas and across this great country that this is possible; and, for 
that, we must honor our men and women who have served in uniform.
  That is also why I'm active with the Veterans History Project at the 
Library of Congress, which preserves and makes accessible the personal 
accounts of American war veterans so that future generations may hear 
directly from veterans and better understand the realities of war.
  My father, a World War II veteran who flew bombing missions over Nazi 
Germany, always reminded me that his generation, often called the 
Greatest Generation, handed down a better America to my generation.

                              {time}  1730

  That same can be said for today's veterans, such as Tomball heroes 
like Jeffery Johnson, whose sacrifices are building a better America 
today.
  And so to all of America's veterans, let me say on behalf of this 
distinguished body, thank you for your service, and I urge my 
colleagues to join me in passing this legislation.
  Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise in strong support of H.R. 2660, a bill to designate the 
facility of the United States Postal Service located at 122 North 
Holderrieth Boulevard in Tomball, Texas, as the ``Tomball Veterans Post 
Office.'' This past Friday, our Nation celebrated and honored the 
heroic service of all our Nation's veterans. Continuing that 
celebration, I urge that we enact H.R. 2660, introduced by Congressman 
Michael Grimm.
  This legislation is supported by all of the members of the Texas 
delegation, and was considered and reported favorably by the Committee 
on Oversight and Government Reform on November 3, 2011.
  According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, an estimated 1.7 
million of our Nation's 22.5 million veterans live in the State of 
Texas. The legislation before us will commemorate the service of 
veterans of Tomball, Texas, by naming their local post office in their 
honor.
  Such commemoration is but a small token of the debt our Nation owes 
its veterans. At a time when veterans returning from the wars in Iraq 
and Afghanistan face higher unemployment rates than the general 
population and when our veterans urgently need a range of services as 
they recover from both physical and psychological wounds, we must make 
it our highest priority to ensure our veterans have quick and easy 
access to all the services and benefits they have earned by the 
commitments they have made and kept to our Nation.
  That said, Mr. Speaker, let us come together in support of dedicating 
the Tomball, Texas, Post Office to its hometown veterans by passing 
H.R. 2660.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no requests for time, and I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Speaker, I join my colleagues in urging strong 
support for this bill honoring our heroic veterans. There are never 
enough ways we can thank the veterans who served so bravely this 
country.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Farenthold) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 2660.
  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. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a 
quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not 
present.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this question will be postponed.
  The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.

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