[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 81 (Monday, May 23, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H2923-H2925]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
MAJOR GREGORY E. BARNEY POST OFFICE BUILDING
Mr. WALKER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 4747) to designate the facility of the United States Postal
Service located at 6691 Church Street in Riverdale, Georgia, as the
``Major Gregory E. Barney Post Office Building''.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 4747
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. MAJOR GREGORY E. BARNEY POST OFFICE BUILDING.
(a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal
Service located at 6691 Church Street in Riverdale, Georgia,
shall be known and designated as the ``Major Gregory E.
Barney 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 ``Major Gregory E. Barney Post Office
Building''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
North Carolina (Mr. Walker) and the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs.
Lawrence) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from North Carolina.
General Leave
Mr. WALKER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks
and to include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from North Carolina?
[[Page H2924]]
There was no objection.
Mr. WALKER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I rise in support of H.R. 4747, introduced by Congressman David Scott
of Georgia. H.R. 4747 designates the post office located at 6691 Church
Street, in Riverdale, Georgia, as the Major Gregory E. Barney Post
Office Building.
Major Greg Barney was a Riverdale police officer for 26 years before
he was tragically shot and killed in the line of duty earlier this
year. Major Barney was a United States Navy veteran, and we are
thankful for his service to our country and to his community.
I will soon yield to my colleagues to tell us more about Major
Barney's life and sacrifice. For now, I urge Members to support this
bill to name a post office after Major Greg Barney in honor of his
valiant service.
I reserve the balance of my time.
{time} 1745
Mrs. LAWRENCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to
the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. David Scott), the sponsor of the bill.
Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, first of all, let me thank
Chairman Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the Oversight and Government
Reform Committee, for helping me, for working with me, and for taking
time with me in getting this bill through the Oversight and Government
Reform Committee and here on the House floor for a vote before we break
for the Memorial Day holiday observance.
Chairman Chaffetz and I had a wonderful conversation, and we both
agreed that we wanted to get this bill out before the Memorial Day
observance because this bill represents a most appropriate way for us
to begin the observance of Memorial Day.
I thank Ranking Member Elijah Cummings. I want to thank, also, the
committee members of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee. I
want to thank Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Speaker Paul Ryan for
their help in moving expeditiously with this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I want to tell you that the idea for this bill came to
me directly from the heart and the soul of the wonderful people of
Riverdale, Georgia, who truly love and endear Major Barney.
Riverdale, Georgia, is an extraordinary city with a rich history. It
is led by Mayor Evelyn Wynn-Dixon, Police Chief Todd Spivey, council
members Cynthia Stamps-Jones, An'Cel Davis, Wanda Wallace, and Kenny
Ruffin. As a matter of fact, Mr. Speaker, council members Stamps-Jones
and An'Cel Davis stopped by my office in Jonesboro and presented this
idea to me.
I want to thank my chief of staff, Michael Andel, and my senior
staffer here in Washington, William Burriss, for their tremendous work
in helping. I also thank my district director, Chandra Harris, and
deputy district director, Isaac DoDoo, for working with us in Georgia.
Now I want to say the other important thing about this bill. This is
truly a bipartisan bill. This bill honoring Major Barney is cosponsored
by all 14 members of the Georgia congressional delegation, Democrats
and Republicans, and by both of our United States Senators, Johnny
Isakson and David Perdue, who will handle this in the Senate.
I want to thank, as I look over and I see some of my Republican
friends and colleagues on the floor, Tom Price, Lynn Westmoreland, and
Jody Hice for joining us here for this important bill.
Now, Mr. Speaker, why we are here?
On February 11, 2016, Major Gregory E. Barney, who also, notably, was
the very first African American interim police chief in the history of
Riverdale, Georgia, was fatally shot in the line of duty while he was
serving a warrant for the arrest of a drug dealer, the dregs of our
community right now. Major Barney stepped up and responded. He was
working with a detail of the Clayton County Police, their narcotics
unit and their SWAT team; and they were there to put forward this
warrant for this arrest, and the drug dealer shot Mr. Barney.
Now, the day of this tragic death, also, Mr. Speaker, the 11th of
February, there was something else significant. It also marked the
anniversary of his 25-year career. Major Barney was shot on the 25th
anniversary of his 25 years of service to the Clayton County and
Riverdale police forces.
So I know, with a heavy heart and deep condolences, that each of us
in this United States Congress takes this moment to extend our
heartfelt condolences to the family of Major Barney: his lovely wife,
Lisa, and his two sons, Gregory and Robert. Mr. Speaker, these were
twin boys who have lost their father.
It is most fitting, also, Mr. Speaker, that the post office that we
are naming for Major Barney is located directly across the street from
the Riverdale Police Department headquarters now. Mr. Speaker, it is
also within the view of the apartment complex where the drug raid took
place where Major Barney lost his life.
Mr. Speaker, Major Barney became the first police officer in
Riverdale, Georgia, to be slain in the line of duty.
Mr. Speaker, as we are here and we look forward to that day when we
name this post office, we hope that in some small way that, to the
family, to his children, to the people of Riverdale, Georgia, and the
people of this Nation, when they pass by this post office, they will be
able to pass by with a sense of great pride, great respect, and great
gratitude for Major Barney, who was truly a Georgia hero.
Not only was Major Barney a Georgia hero, he was an American hero.
For, as you and I and all of us here in Congress know, when we
recognize Major Barney, we are recognizing so many of our brave men and
women who put their lives on the line every single day to protect us in
law enforcement and in the military.
Mr. Speaker, Jesus Christ, just a few hours before he was crucified,
said to his disciples: This is my commandment: that you love one
another as I loved you.
And then Jesus said: Greater love hath no man than this, that a man
lay down his life for his friend.
Mr. Speaker, such a man was Major Gregory E. Barney.
I ask this House for a unanimous ``yes'' vote.
God bless you.
Mr. WALKER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Georgia (Mr. Tom Price).
Mr. TOM PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I am so pleased to join my
colleagues today to honor Major Greg Barney, who was tragically shot
and killed, as has been defined, in the line of duty on February 11,
this year, while serving in the city of Riverdale, Georgia.
Major Barney was a United States Navy veteran and had served with the
Riverdale Police Department for over 25 years, including as a school
resource officer at Riverdale High School. We all know what a selfless
role that is, a true labor of love. Major Barney embodied the kind of
courageous and valiant men and women we all want on our police forces.
Mr. Speaker, on behalf of Georgia's Sixth District, I offer our
deepest condolences to his wife, Lisa, and their 15-year-old twin boys,
Robert and Greg, and their family and friends. I offer our heartfelt
gratitude for his service and sacrifice. It is because of his type of
heroism that we all feel protected in our communities.
So this is a fitting tribute, Mr. Speaker, and I ask my colleagues to
join us in support of H.R. 4747, to designate the facility of the
United States Postal Service located on Church Street in Riverdale,
Georgia, as the Major Gregory E. Barney Post Office Building.
My colleague David Scott has worked tirelessly on this bill, and I am
proud to be a cosponsor. I thank Congressman Scott for his efforts and
this House for your support.
Mrs. LAWRENCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
I am pleased to join my colleagues in the consideration of H.R. 4747,
a bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service
located in Riverdale, Georgia, as the Major Gregory E. Barney Post
Office Building.
Mr. Speaker, we should pass this bill to honor Major Gregory Barney's
25 years of service to his community, in addition to his service to his
country and to commemorate the life that he led. I urge its passage.
I reserve the balance of my time.
[[Page H2925]]
Mr. WALKER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Jody B. Hice).
Mr. JODY B. HICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from
North Carolina for yielding.
I also rise in support of H.R. 4747, to designate the U.S. post
office in honor of Riverdale Police Major Gregory E. Barney.
I also sincerely want to thank Congressman David Scott from Georgia's
13th District for his great leadership on this bill.
As has been spoken already, Major Barney led a life of service both
to his community and of devotion to his family. Starting his career as
a firefighter and then later serving in an ambulance squad, Major
Barney joined the Riverdale Police Department in 1990. There he served
for the next 25 years, as has already been mentioned, serving,
ultimately, as the first African American chief of police in Riverdale.
Tragically, as we have heard tonight, his life ended in a shooting
while trying to execute a no-knock warrant. On that tragic night of
February 11, he gave his life trying to bring drug dealers to justice.
Although I did not know him personally, from all accounts, Major Greg
Barney died just as he lived: going above and beyond the call of duty
to make his community a better place.
It is fitting that the Riverdale Post Office that we are discussing
is directly across the street from the Riverdale Police Department. It
will serve as a daily reminder to all who enter those buildings of
Major Barney's dedication to the community and of his valor in the line
of duty.
Also, as has been mentioned, I would like for us to remember his
loving wife, Lisa, and twin teenage boys, Robert and Greg, in our
thoughts and prayers while they continue to mourn his passing.
I urge our colleagues to support H.R. 4747.
Mrs. LAWRENCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. WALKER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Georgia (Mr. Westmoreland).
Mr. WESTMORELAND. Mr. Speaker, I am honored today that my colleague,
Congressman David Scott, asked me to participate in this.
My father was a firefighter for 26 years in the city of Atlanta, and
he died answering an alarm in 1972. So I understand the heartache of a
family when a loved one goes to do their job, to be that first
responder, that first person on the scene, and does not come back.
{time} 1800
I think it is particularly interesting that, in this case, this
officer and his colleagues were serving a no-knock warrant. No-knock
warrants are issued by a judge because they are basically the most
protective type of warrant for a police officer because they go in, and
they know there is criminal activity or there are drug sales, gambling,
or whatever the circumstance is, that they can go in.
Major Barney was out in the field and happened to give chase to a
gentleman who ran out the back door. A lot of times when these first
responders put their lives on the line, I don't think people understand
that they have got a wife, such as he had, Lisa, sons, Robert and Greg,
who he wanted to go home to that night. Those boys wanted their daddy
to come home, and that wife wanted her husband to come home. He was out
serving the community.
I think that is one of the great attributes that, if you look at
Major Barney and how other people looked at him, it is what he did for
his family, what he did for his community and all the different
services that have already been mentioned here tonight. A lot of times,
for some reason, the public does not want to understand that these law
enforcement officers, these first responders, these medics who go out
and do this, they do this for the protection of all of us--at the risk
of their lives. Major Barney gave the ultimate sacrifice.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Bost). The time of the gentleman has
expired.
Mr. WALKER. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the
gentleman from Georgia.
Mr. WESTMORELAND. Mr. Speaker, I think, as we remember his family and
the other families tonight, we should remember them for a while and
thank them.
We have just recently had another officer who was killed. We have to
remember these people and their families and not only pray for the
protection of the public servant, but pray for those families that,
when that loved one leaves their house, like in my case, and you don't
know whether your loved one is coming back, pray for them that they
would have that strength and that encouragement and that love to let
that loved one go do their job.
How appropriate, as has been mentioned, that this post office is
right across the street from the Riverdale Police Department. A post
office is somewhere where the community comes and gathers and talks. I
don't think there is any more honorable tribute. I have lived in
Riverdale. I know that area. I know that post office. I know how the
community respects that, so there could be no greater tribute than to
have a post office named after you.
I want to encourage all my colleagues to help us send a great message
to this hero's family and support H.R. 4747.
Again, I thank the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. David Scott), my
friend, for letting me participate in this.
Mr. WALKER. Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the bill.
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. Walker) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4747.
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.
____________________