[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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