[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 190 (Monday, December 12, 2011)]
[House]
[Pages H8325-H8326]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
MASTER SERGEANT DANIEL L. FEDDER POST OFFICE
Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(H.R. 3220) to designate the facility of the United States Postal
Service located at 170 Evergreen Square SW in Pine City, Minnesota, as
the ``Master Sergeant Daniel L. Fedder Post Office''.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 3220
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. MASTER SERGEANT DANIEL L. FEDDER POST OFFICE.
(a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal
Service located at 170 Evergreen Square SW in Pine City,
Minnesota, shall be known and designated as the ``Master
Sergeant Daniel L. Fedder 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 ``Master Sergeant Daniel L. Fedder Post
Office''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
California (Mr. Issa) and the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Clay) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.
General Leave
Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have
5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from California?
There was no objection.
Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
H.R. 3220, introduced by the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Cravaack),
would designate the facility of the United States Postal Service
located at 170 Evergreen Square SW in Pine City, Minnesota, as the
Master Sergeant Daniel L. Fedder Post Office. The bill is cosponsored
by the entire Minnesota State delegation and has been favorably
reported from committee.
Master Sergeant Fedder died tragically in August of last year while
he was based out of Camp Pendleton within my district and was serving
honorably in our theater of operation.
Mr. Speaker, the postal naming is something that our committee takes
seriously. We require that all post offices have unanimous support in
order to be named. And under this year's rules, we require that it be
for individuals befitting of the honor of having a post office named
after them, and virtually every postal naming this year has been after
one of our fallen heroes.
With that, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from
Minnesota (Mr. Cravaack).
Mr. CRAVAACK. I thank Chairman Issa for the introduction.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and service of Master
Sergeant Daniel Fedder by dedicating and renaming the U.S. Postal
Office in his hometown of Pine City, Minnesota, as the Master Sergeant
Daniel L. Fedder Post Office. Master Sergeant Daniel L. Fedder, 34,
died on August 27, 2010, while supporting combat operations in Helmand
province, Afghanistan, as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.
While working as an explosive ordnance disposal technician, he was
killed by a blast of an improvised explosive device. Master Sergeant
Fedder was a 16-year veteran of the United States Marine Corps, with
completed combat deployments to Iraq in 2004 and 2006 and an overseas
deployment with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit in 2007.
He was on his first combat tour in Afghanistan but was a very
decorated marine with several military awards, including the Purple
Heart, two Navy-Marine Corps Commendation Medals, and a Joint Service
Achievement Medal. Master Sergeant Daniel Fedder was assigned to the
7th Engineer Support Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group, 1st Marine
Expeditionary Force out of Camp Pendleton, California.
Master Sergeant Daniel Fedder grew up in Pine City, Minnesota. He is
survived by his parents, Robert and Jackie McKellar, who still reside
in the area. Master Sergeant Fedder is further survived by his wife,
Diana Fedder; and former spouse, Susan Fedder; and their two children--
daughter, Danielle, and son, Strom.
A scholarship has been created in his name. It gives financial
support to graduating seniors from Pine City High School where Master
Sergeant Fedder attended.
Master Sergeant Fedder spent his career in service for his country
and ended up making the ultimate sacrifice while working to protect his
fellow Americans in Afghanistan and at home. Daniel Fedder is a true
American hero, and I am privileged--in fact, I am humbled--by the
opportunity to honor his life, sacrifice, and legacy by designating the
local post office of his hometown in his name.
It is my hope that this post office will stand as a reminder to
Daniel's family, friends, and the citizens of Pine City, Minnesota, of
my appreciation, the appreciation of his constituents of Minnesota's
8th Congressional District, and America's appreciation for Master
Sergeant Fedder and those servicemembers like him who have been killed
in combat operations while protecting our country.
Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
As a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government
Reform, I am pleased to join my colleagues in the consideration of this
bill.
H.R. 3220 designates the facility of the U.S. Postal Service located
at 170 Evergreen Square SW in Pine City, Minnesota, as the Master
Sergeant Daniel L. Fedder Post Office. The measure before us was first
introduced by my colleague, Representative Chip Cravaack of Minnesota,
on October 14, 2011.
Before serving in Afghanistan, Master Sergeant Fedder had served two
highly decorated tours in Iraq. He was a recipient of the Purple Heart,
a Navy-Marine Corps Commendation Medal, and a Joint Service Achievement
Medal, among many others.
Mr. Speaker, I ask that we recognize and honor the heroic actions and
the life of service of Master Sergeant Daniel L. Fedder and pass the
underlying bill without reservation. I urge my colleagues to join me in
supporting the passage of the bill, and I reserve the balance of my
time.
Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
In brief, no individual is to be honored more than one who knowingly
walks up to a piece of explosive that can kill them surrounded by
hostiles who can kill them. When others stand back, our EOD technicians
go forward. And no organization has paid more of a
[[Page H8326]]
price than Marine EOD and Army EOD during this conflict.
So as we honor Master Sergeant Fedder, hopefully we will recognize
that he didn't come home, many other EOD technicians didn't come home,
and many who came home came home injured because, in fact, you cannot
expect these IEDs not to be set off as you walk up to them.
{time} 1630
Only a week ago, I was at the Kennedy Center where they honored a
countless number of individuals who had been wounded warriors.
Disproportionately, I saw the badge of the EOD technician on many of
these individuals. They were operating from wheelchairs, and they were
operating with terrible, terrible scars.
The master sergeant did not come home, and that is tragic. But let's
understand this post office naming is being named after those men and
women who serve day in and day out in Iraq, Afghanistan and here at
home, to disarm explosives that most people would simply run away from.
With that, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers and want to close
by again urging adoption of this bill. H.R. 3220 renames the post
office in Pine City, Minnesota, after Master Sergeant Fedder, who gave
his life in the name of freedom and service to our country.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. ISSA. In closing, I join my colleague in this bipartisan effort
to name the post office after Master Sergeant Daniel L. Fedder, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today as a proud cosponsor of H.R.
3220, a bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal
Service located at 170 Evergreen Square SW in Pine City, MN as the
Master Sergeant Daniel L. Fedder Post Office.
A Minnesota native and sixteen year veteran of the Marine Corps,
Master Sergeant Fedder was serving his fourth tour overseas and his
first in Afghanistan when he was mortally wounded by an Improvised
Explosive Device on August 27, 2010. During his tour in Afghanistan, he
demonstrated incredible courage in disposing of more than 25 improvised
explosive devices. His actions saved the lives of countless fellow
service members and Afghan civilians. At only 34 years of age, Master
Sgt. Fedder had dedicated nearly half of his life to military service,
during which time he was cited for his professionalism and strong
leadership.
His life serves as a towering example of the courage, valor and
dedication of our servicemen and women. H.R. 3220 is an important step
to honor the memory of Master Sgt. Fedder's sacrifice.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from California (Mr. Issa) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 3220.
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. ISSA. 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, further
proceedings on this question will be postponed.
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