[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 142 (Tuesday, September 20, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H5678-H5679]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ABNER J. MIKVA POST OFFICE BUILDING
Mr. JODY B. HICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules
and pass the bill (H.R. 5798) to designate the facility of the United
States Postal Service located at 1101 Davis Street in Evanston,
Illinois, as the ``Abner J. Mikva Post Office Building''.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 5798
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. ABNER J. MIKVA POST OFFICE BUILDING.
(a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal
Service located at 1101 Davis Street in Evanston, Illinois,
shall be known and designated as the ``Abner J. Mikva 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 ``Abner J. Mikva Post Office Building''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Georgia (Mr. Jody B. Hice) and the gentlewoman from the District of
Columbia (Ms. Norton) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Georgia.
General Leave
Mr. JODY B. HICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, 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 the bill under
consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Georgia?
There was no objection.
Mr. JODY B. HICE of Georgia. I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5798, introduced by
Representative Schakowsky, to designate a post office located in
Evanston, Illinois, as the Abner J. Mikva Post Office Building.
The Honorable Abner Mikva dedicated his life to public service. He
served in all three branches of the Federal Government, serving in the
U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
District of Columbia, and in the White House as counsel to President
Bill Clinton.
I look forward to learning more about the Honorable Abner Mikva from
the sponsor of the bill, Representative Schakowsky.
I urge Members to support this bill.
I reserve the balance of my time.
{time} 1630
Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to support H.R.
5798, a bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal
Service located at 1101 Davis Street in Evanston, Illinois, as the
Abner J. Mikva Post Office Building.
I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Illinois
(Ms. Schakowsky), the author of this bill.
Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for yielding, and I
thank my colleague across the aisle for his support of this
legislation. I also thank all of my colleagues in the Illinois
delegation for cosponsoring this legislation to name a post office for
Abner J. Mikva.
Ab, as my colleague mentioned, is one of the few Americans to hold
the distinction of serving in all three branches of the Federal
Government. When Abner Mikva was a young man, he went to the office of
a Chicago ward committeeman and asked to volunteer. His offer was
rebuffed with the remark: ``We don't want nobody nobody sent.''
Unswayed, Abner Mikva devoted his life to public service and to
politics.
Abner Mikva was born in 1926 in Milwaukee. He enrolled in the Army
Air Corps in 1944 and served as a navigator in the Army Air Corps
during World War II. In 1951, he received a law degree from the
University of Chicago and, after graduation, served as a clerk to
Associate Justice Sherman Minton on the Supreme Court.
In 1956, Abner Mikva was elected to the Illinois General Assembly,
where he served for five consecutive terms. He was then elected to the
United States House of Representatives in 1968, where he represented
the south side, Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago. That is Barack
Obama's neighborhood. After redistricting in 1971, Abner Mikva moved to
Evanston. In 1974, he won the election to represent Illinois' 10th
Congressional District, which was based, at that time, in Evanston, my
hometown. Abner Mikva was elected in three consecutive elections to
represent the people of Evanston and the surrounding north shore
communities in the United States House.
His campaigns were notable for their involvement of thousands of
young people in his robust grassroots election efforts. Eighteen-year-
olds had recently been granted the constitutional right to vote, and he
had recruited and enlisted many of them. Many of these young people
became effective political organizers, transforming the nature of
political campaigns over the last four decades.
Abner Mikva was nominated in his third term as an appointee to the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, where he served
alongside Jurists Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia, and Ruth Bader
Ginsburg. During his final 4 years on the D.C. Circuit Court, Abner
Mikva served as chief judge. He was then selected by President Bill
Clinton in 1994 to be White House Counsel. After a year as White House
Counsel, Abner Mikva returned to the Chicago area and taught at
Northwestern University in Evanston.
In 1997, Abner Mikva and his beloved wife and partner, Zoe, started
what they called the Mikva Challenge--his effort to engage young people
in civic leadership. Each year, the Mikva Challenge engages 7,000 young
people--students--in programs across the Chicagoland area. These are
high school kids. Students volunteer on the campaigns of both parties,
serve as election judges, intern in legislative offices, and learn how
to be effective advocates on issues they care the most about.
In 2014, President Obama recognized Abner Mikva's service to this
country with the Presidential Medal of Freedom--our highest civilian
honor.
When honoring Abner Mikva, President Obama said: ``Ab transcends any
single moment in recent political history, but he had a hand in shaping
some of the best of it.''
Abner Mikva said that receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom
from his friend Barack Obama was ``the greatest thing that ever
happened to me.''
Abner Mikva remains a revered fighter in Illinois and a favorite son
of Evanston's--remembered for his enduring wit, humanity, and the
ongoing legacy of the Mikva Challenge.
Let me just say, personally, on July 4, 2016, while America lost a
great patriot, I also lost a very precious friend and mentor. I am so
happy that we are going to pay an appropriate tribute to his great
memory and his legacy.
Mr. JODY B. HICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my
time.
Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I endorse the words of the gentlewoman from
Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky), and I urge the passage of H.R. 5798, a bill
to honor the legacy of Abner Mikva and to commemorate his exemplary
life of public service across all branches of our Federal Government.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. JODY B. HICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I urge the passage of this
bill.
I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Jody
[[Page H5679]]
B. Hice) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 5798.
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. HUELSKAMP. Mr. 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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