[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 46 (Monday, March 24, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H2569-H2570]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              CORPORAL JUSTIN D. ROSS POST OFFICE BUILDING

  Mr. FARENTHOLD. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass 
the bill (H.R. 1228) to designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 300 Packerland Drive in Green Bay, Wisconsin, 
as the ``Corporal Justin D. Ross Post Office Building'', as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1228

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

     SECTION 1. CORPORAL JUSTIN D. ROSS POST OFFICE BUILDING.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 123 South 9th Street in De Pere, 
     Wisconsin, shall be known and designated as the ``Corporal 
     Justin D. Ross 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 ``Corporal Justin D. Ross Post Office 
     Building''.

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


                             General Leave

  Mr. FARENTHOLD. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may be given 5 legislative days within 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 Texas?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. FARENTHOLD. Madam Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may 
consume.
  H.R. 1228, introduced by the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Ribble), 
would designate the facility of the United States Postal Service, 
located at 123 South 9th Street, in DePere, Wisconsin, as the Corporal 
Justin D. Ross Post Office Building.
  Army Specialist Justin Ross was killed in action while serving in 
Operation Enduring Freedom. Assigned to the 863rd Engineer Battalion, 
Army Reserve, Wausau, Wisconsin, he died on March 26 in Afghanistan. 
Justin was posthumously honored and promoted to corporal.
  Corporal Ross was wounded when his unit came under small arms fire 
from insurgents while on a route clearance mission. He was the only 
casualty and the first of the unit. Only 22 at the time of his death, 
Corporal Ross was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, 
and meritorious service medals.
  Corporal Ross was a 2007 graduate of Bay Port High School and joined 
the military in October of 2007. Those close to him understood that 
serving in the Army was a lifelong dream of Justin's. His parents knew 
that he loved being part of the mission in Afghanistan.
  His unit had high praise for their fallen brother. They said he was 
an outstanding soldier that loved being in the Army and loved working 
with his fellow soldiers. He will be remembered by his family, friends, 
church, community, and fellow soldiers as a wonderful man who was proud 
to serve his country.
  Madam Speaker, it is an honor and a privilege to stand before this 
body today and honor the memory of a true American hero. I am grateful 
for the service of Corporal Ross and for all those who serve and 
protect us each and every day. I urge all Members to join me in strong 
support of this bill.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CLAY. Madam 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 H.R. 
1228, a bill to designate the facility of the U.S. Postal Service 
located at 300 Packerland Drive, Green Bay, Wisconsin, as the Corporal 
Justin D. Ross Post Office Building.
  The measure before us was introduced on March 15, 2013, by my 
colleague, Representative Reid Ribble of Wisconsin.
  In accordance to committee requirements, the bill before us is 
cosponsored by all members of the Wisconsin delegation. H.R. 1228 was 
reported out of House Oversight and Government Reform Committee by 
unanimous consent on March 12, 2014.
  At this time, Madam Speaker, I would like to just thank the Ross 
family for their son giving the ultimate sacrifice in serving this 
country.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FARENTHOLD. Madam Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume 
to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Ribble), my friend and colleague.
  Mr. RIBBLE. Madam Speaker, I want to thank the chairman, the 
gentleman from Texas. I want to thank the gentleman from Missouri for 
letting me come down here, for recognizing the sacrifice of a family 
from Green Bay, Wisconsin.
  This is always a difficult time. I can hear the emotions of the 
voices of my colleagues as they speak about Justin and about Corporal 
Ross and his family and the sacrifice.
  I have to tell you, Madam Speaker, there is probably nothing more 
difficult to do than to try to craft some speech, some words, some 
language here today that would honor Corporal Ross and his family in a 
way that is sufficient to the sacrifice that this family had.
  You have already heard a little bit about Corporal Justin David Ross. 
He was born on September 14, 1988, and served in the Army Reserve. He 
was a member of the 863rd Engineer Battalion in Wausau, Wisconsin.
  Tragically, he was killed on March 26, 2011. The anniversary of his 
death, Madam Speaker, is just 2 days from now. That will be 3 years 
since this family lost their son and this country lost its hero.
  Corporal Ross was the first servicemember from the 8th Congressional 
District of Wisconsin killed in the line of duty after I began my first 
term in Congress in 2011. I was sworn in, in January of 2011, and 90 
days later, Justin was killed.
  He served his country honorably. He earned numerous awards for his 
service, including the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star and nine other 
meritorious service awards.
  The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform passed this bill by 
a voice vote without any objection. It is also, as was mentioned by the 
gentleman from Missouri, supported by virtually every member of the 
Wisconsin House delegation.
  So how do we go about honoring Justin Ross? How do we go about 
honoring his mom and dad, Ron and Debbie? How do we honor his brothers?
  It is almost impossible to do so because we have a tendency to almost 
falsely believe that Justin was about a chevron on a sleeve, a medal on 
his chest, or a service ribbon that he wore on his uniform.
  Those are the things that Justin did and the accomplishments that 
Justin had. They weren't really who Justin was. Justin did serve as a 
soldier in the Army, and he did die in the line of duty on behalf of 
his country, but he was more than that.
  Imagine a family back in 1988 welcoming their son to this Earth and 
picking him up and cradling him in their arms, not knowing that they 
were cradling a hero. They couldn't possibly

[[Page H2570]]

have known 22 years ago what would happen to their son. I thank them 
for their sacrifice. This means a lot to our country. It means a lot to 
this family.
  I am sorry I get choked up, but this matters to us. It matters to our 
country. The loss that was there is significant, every single one. I 
knew Justin. His dad was a pastor. His grandfather was a pastor.
  He lived under the teachings of those two men who taught him in the 
book of Thessalonians to lead a quiet life. He did that. If you listen 
to the way his friends and his family talked about him, they often 
mention how quiet, almost shy that Justin was. He did that.
  He followed the teachings of the apostle Paul. When the apostle Paul 
told us that no greater love is this than to lay down a life for a 
friend, not only did he lay down his life for his friends and his 
comrades, he was doing a clearance mission.
  Madam Speaker, he was going in front of our troops, clearing out IEDs 
and making the way safe. He gave his life so others didn't have to. He 
gave his life for people that he loved. There was no greater love than 
this, as we are taught by the apostle Paul.
  Jesus himself said to love your neighbor as yourself, and Justin did 
just that. All through his life, he lived by the teachings of his 
faith; but what his grandfather taught him, what his dad taught him, 
what his mom taught him, he lived those values out every single day.
  Now, I know that Justin would want one thing because Justin cared a 
lot about his comrades. He would be embarrassed to think that we were 
naming this post office in his name alone. There were four other 
soldiers that were killed in the 8th District of Wisconsin.
  I want to remember them today as well because it is about them, too. 
Sergeant Paul Atim from Green Bay; Staff Sergeant Matthew Hermanson 
from Appleton; Staff Sergeant Eppinger from Appleton; and Staff 
Sergeant Bear from Elton, Wisconsin, all of these soldiers gave their 
lives on behalf of this country. Their brave and selfless service 
deserves to be remembered.
  So what do we do? We take the time, and we say thank you, and then we 
blazon Justin's name on a post office, so that when the citizens of De 
Pere, Wisconsin, go into that post office, they see their hero's name 
and remember. That is what we should do today.
  I thank my colleagues for supporting this bill.
  Mr. FARENTHOLD. Madam Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. CLAY. Madam Speaker, I too am prepared to close.
  I want to urge the passage of H.R. 1228, and I yield back the balance 
of my time.
  Mr. FARENTHOLD. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I am moved by Mr. Ribble's speech. I am moved by the sacrifices that 
men and women make every day serving this country. I do think nothing 
could be more appropriate than honoring the memory of Corporal Justin 
D. Ross by naming the post office building in De Pere, Wisconsin, after 
him.
  I urge all of my colleagues to join me in voting for this bill, H.R. 
1228, and 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. 1228, as amended.
  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. FARENTHOLD. Madam 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 motion will be postponed.

                          ____________________