[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.
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