[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 138 (Thursday, September 24, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H6197-H6198]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
JACOB TRIEBER FEDERAL BUILDING, UNITED STATES POST OFFICE, AND UNITED
STATES COURT HOUSE
Mr. CRAWFORD. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (S. 1707) to designate the Federal building located at 617 Walnut
Street in Helena, Arkansas, as the ``Jacob Trieber Federal Building,
United States Post Office, and United States Court House''.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
S. 1707
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. JACOB TRIEBER FEDERAL BUILDING, UNITED STATES POST
OFFICE, AND UNITED STATES COURT HOUSE.
(a) Designation.--The Federal building located at 617
Walnut Street in Helena, Arkansas, shall be known and
designated as the ``Jacob Trieber Federal Building, United
States Post Office, and United States Court House''.
(b) References.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation,
document, paper, or other record of the United States to the
Federal building referred to in subsection (a) shall be
deemed to be a reference to the ``Jacob Trieber Federal
Building, United States Post Office, and United States Court
House''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Arkansas (Mr. Crawford) and the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Brown)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arkansas.
General Leave
Mr. CRAWFORD. I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5
legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous material on S. 1707.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Arkansas?
There was no objection.
Mr. CRAWFORD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, S. 1707 would designate the Federal building located at
617 Walnut Street in Helena, Arkansas, as the Jacob Trieber Federal
Building, United States Post Office, and United States Court House.
Judge Trieber, a Prussian immigrant, eventually became the first
Jewish Federal judge in our Nation's history. Settling in Helena,
Arkansas, Judge Trieber issued rulings to protect against racial
discrimination more than six decades before the Supreme Court would.
For his unmatched dedication to justice, a lifetime of service, and his
many landmark rulings, we seek support in renaming the Federal building
in his honor.
Appointed to the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of Arkansas by President McKinley in 1900, he served for 27
years and became one of the country's most distinguished jurists and
renowned constitutional scholars. Working simultaneously on more than
1,000 cases each year, Judge Trieber issued nationally important
rulings on controversies that included antitrust cases, railroad
litigation, prohibition cases, and mail fraud. Several of his rulings,
especially the ones regarding civil rights and wildlife conservation,
still have implications today.
Judge Trieber took an early interest in civil rights, especially
after seeing how discrimination against Jews consumed his home country
of Prussia. After the move to his new home in the United States,
Arkansas became very dear to him, but the blatant racism he saw
firsthand affected his outlook on life and his work even more than what
he had encountered in Prussia. Judge Trieber ``sought to communicate--
through his own life and deeds and his commitment to equal justice--
that racism was detrimental to the people of Arkansas'' and that only
until the State's race relations problem was solved could the ``State's
great potential be achieved.''
Since Arkansas' judicial system alone could not prevent the
commonplace violence and racism, Judge Trieber took it upon himself to
fight against injustice through several landmark rulings, two of which
dealt with employment discrimination. He also fought against unfair
election laws, which he correctly believed were unfair to women and
Blacks.
Going against conventional thought and even at risk to himself, Judge
Trieber ruled against local hate groups, writing that ``the rights to
lease lands and to accept employment for hire are fundamental rights,
inherent in every free citizen.''
Although he was overruled in 1906 by the Supreme Court, the Civil
Rights Act of 1964 had finally granted the comprehensive protection
against racial discrimination that Judge Trieber had long sought. In
1968, the Supreme Court overturned their original ruling against Judge
Trieber's interpretation, saying that his interpretation of the law was
at last vindicated.
In 1927, Judge Trieber departed this life and was buried in Little
Rock at Oakland Cemetery. He would never live to see the changes he
fought so hard for, but by renaming the Federal building in the town he
loved, we preserve his memory and acknowledge his very early role in
the most important civil rights movement our Nation has ever seen.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I agree with my colleague's endorsement of Judge
Trieber's legacy as a trailblazer and champion of civil rights for all
Americans.
Judge Jacob Trieber was a highly respected Federal judge in the
Eastern District of Arkansas who served with distinction for 27 years.
Judge Trieber
[[Page H6198]]
was one of the first Federal judges to embrace international treaties
as a basis for Federal policy to trump State regulation with respect to
pollution control, endangered species preservation, and wetlands
conservation.
Judge Trieber also famously ruled that a local group of White
citizens could not compel a sawmill to fire its Black workers. Judge
Trieber's original decision was later cited as a foresighted ruling
that had correctly interpreted the 13th Amendment.
Because of Judge Trieber's long history of public service and
outstanding judicial service, it is appropriate to name the U.S.
Federal building in Helena, Arkansas, as the Jacob Trieber Federal
Building, United States Post Office, and United States Court House.
Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers. I support the bill.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. CRAWFORD. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her eloquent
comments, and I urge my colleagues to support S. 1707.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Crawford) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, S. 1707.
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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