[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.
____________________