[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 94 (Tuesday, June 17, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H5375-H5376]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SERGEANT BRETT E. GORNEWICZ MEMORIAL POST OFFICE
Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 3472) to designate the facility of the United States Postal
Service located at 13127 Broadway Street in Alden, New York, as the
``Sergeant Brett E. Gornewicz Memorial Post Office''.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 3472
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SERGEANT BRETT E. GORNEWICZ MEMORIAL POST OFFICE.
(a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal
Service located at 13127 Broadway Street in Alden, New York,
shall be known and designated as the ``Sergeant Brett E.
Gornewicz Memorial 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 ``Sergeant Brett E. Gornewicz Memorial
Post Office''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
North Carolina (Mr. Meadows) and the gentleman from Vermont (Mr. Welch)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from North Carolina.
General Leave
Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks
and to include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from North Carolina?
There was no objection.
Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I rise in support of H.R. 3472, introduced by Representative Collins
of New York, which would designate the postal facility located at 13127
Broadway Street in Alden, New York, as the Sergeant Brett E. Gornewicz
Memorial Post Office.
Army Sergeant Brett Gornewicz was killed on November 3, 2012, in
Paktia province, Afghanistan, when an improvised explosive device
detonated nearby. He was killed in the same incident as Specialist Ryan
Jayne--whom we are also honoring here today--and Staff Sergeant Dain
Taylor Venne, another upstate New Yorker for whom the Oversight and
Government Reform Committee has reported a postal-naming bill.
A native of Alden, New York, Sergeant Gornewicz was born in Buffalo
on January 6, 1985. After graduating from Alden High School, he earned
a degree in mechanical engineering from Buffalo State College.
Sergeant Gornewicz was a man of great humility. So great, in fact,
that prior to his death, his family did not know that he had been
awarded the Bronze Star with Valor for saving a life during a firefight
earlier that year. He was a brave man, serving a tour in Iraq in
addition to his deployment to Afghanistan, and performing the highly
dangerous job of clearing roadsides of IEDs. Mr. Speaker, his example
of courage and strength of character is one that we should strive to
follow.
Sergeant Brett Gornewicz is rightly remembered as a hero. At only 27
years old, he made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.
I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of H.R. 3472, and I reserve the
balance of my time.
Mr. WELCH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I am pleased to join my colleagues in the consideration of H.R. 3472,
which would designate the United States postal facility located in
Alden, New York, as the Sergeant Brett E. Gornewicz Memorial Post
Office.
Once again, we are hearing a story of an extraordinary American, and
all of us are proud to be associated with memorializing that.
I reserve the balance of my time and look forward to hearing from the
sponsor, Mr. Collins.
Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to
the gentleman from New York (Mr. Collins), my distinguished colleague.
Mr. COLLINS of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R.
3472, a bill to rename the U.S. post office in Alden, New York, as the
Sergeant Brett E. Gornewicz Memorial Post Office.
It is an honor to sponsor legislation naming a post office in my
district after a hometown hero who gave his life serving our country.
I also want to take a moment and thank Senator Gillibrand and her
staff for their work introducing S. 2056, corresponding Senate
legislation to rename the post office.
Naming a postal facility honoring Sergeant Gornewicz is just a small
token of our country's appreciation for a soldier who made the ultimate
sacrifice to defend our freedom.
In 2006, after being deeply affected by the attacks of 9/11, Sergeant
Gornewicz enlisted in the Army Reserves following graduation from Alden
High School. From 2007 to 2008, he deployed to Iraq on his first tour
and courageously served our country.
Upon his return home to the United States, Sergeant Gornewicz
enrolled at Buffalo State College and obtained his degree in mechanical
engineering. He was working as a computer-aided designer and mechanical
designer for a Tonawanda, New York, company when he again answered the
call of duty, returning to Afghanistan for his second tour.
Sergeant Gornewicz is described by many friends and family as a
humble leader who always put the needs of others before his own. During
his deployment, he displayed this selflessness when he risked his own
life to save a fellow soldier during a firefight. He was awarded a
Bronze Star with Valor for his actions.
Tragically, during Sergeant Gornewicz's second tour in 2012, his unit
was hit by an IED in Afghanistan. The lives of Specialist Ryan Jayne of
Corning, New York; Staff Sergeant Dain T. Venne of Port Henry, New
York; and Sergeant Gornewicz were lost. At the time of the attack,
Sergeant Gornewicz was assigned to the 444th Engineer Company. The
company's primary mission was to clear roads of improvised explosive
devices.
Sergeant Gornewicz was proud of the small town he came from: Alden,
New York. It is my hope that this post office will allow the people of
Alden, and those throughout the 27th District, to continue to honor the
memory of Sergeant Gornewicz and ensure that his legacy of service and
sacrifice lives on.
Renaming a post office is but a small step in recognizing this
soldier's bravery and ultimate sacrifice for our Nation. Passage of
this bill will exemplify
[[Page H5376]]
our admiration for our country's Armed Forces, and will honor one of
the many heroes who have sacrificed their lives in the name of freedom.
I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3472.
Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York for his
leadership, not just on this, but for those in Alden and throughout his
district.
I urge all Members to support H.R. 3472, and I yield back the balance
of my time.
Mr. WELCH. Mr. Speaker, I join Mr. Meadows in urging all of my
colleagues to support the passage of this bill.
Just to comment, listening to Mr. Collins and to his predecessors--
and we are going to have a few more--it is so amazing to think about
these people that live in all of our districts, and what they did
quietly with no expectation that anyone would notice or a post office
would be named.
The thing I find inspiring, as I am listening to my colleagues, is
that it is all really rooted in their local community. We are naming
post offices, which is the center of activity for a lot of us, to
recognize the everyday accomplishments of people who consider
themselves to be everyday Americans, but who are quite extraordinary.
So I thank Mr. Meadows and Mr. Collins, and I yield back the balance
of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Meadows) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3472.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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