[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 170 (Tuesday, November 29, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H6321-H6322]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
FRED D. THOMPSON FEDERAL BUILDING AND UNITED STATES COURTHOUSE
Mr. DENHAM. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 6135) to designate the Federal building and United States
courthouse located at 719 Church Street in Nashville, Tennessee, as the
``Fred D. Thompson Federal Building and United States Courthouse''.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 6135
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. DESIGNATION.
The Federal building and United States courthouse located
at 719 Church Street in Nashville, Tennessee, shall be known
and designated as the ``Fred D. Thompson Federal Building and
United States Courthouse''.
SEC. 2. REFERENCES.
Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper,
or other record of the United States to the Federal building
and United States courthouse referred to in section 1 shall
be deemed to be a reference to the ``Fred D. Thompson Federal
Building and United States Courthouse''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
California (Mr. Denham) and the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr.
Capuano) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.
General Leave
Mr. DENHAM. 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 materials on H.R. 6135.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from California?
There was no objection.
Mr. DENHAM. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 6135 would designate the Federal building and
United States courthouse at 719 Church Street in Nashville, Tennessee,
as the Fred D. Thompson Federal Building and United States Courthouse.
I would like to thank the gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn)
for her leadership on this legislation.
Senator Thompson was an accomplished lawyer, actor, U.S. Senator, and
a great friend. We spent numerous occasions together here in the
Washington, D.C., area as he got to know new Members when we came in
2010. I have appreciated his counsel, his friendship, and I look
forward to seeing this bill passed.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. CAPUANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Cohen).
Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, it is my honor to rise on this occasion to
have the courthouse in Nashville named for a distinguished American, a
friend of mine, Senator Fred Thompson, who is the only University of
Memphis graduate to serve in the United States Senate.
Fred was an outstanding attorney and Federal employee. He made
Tennessee proud when he was counsel to the Watergate Committee. In a
phenomenal fashion, he gave people a good feeling about bipartisanship
when a Republican such as Fred Thompson stood up and raised the
questions that needed to be raised to end the illegal and crime-ridden
episodes of Richard Nixon that were exposed in Watergate.
Despite the fact that Richard Nixon was a Republican, Fred Thompson
saw to it that when the President acted in an untowardly fashion,
diminishing the Constitution, diminishing our government, all Americans
should stand up and oppose such. Fred did it in an admiral way, and
Richard Nixon resigned eventually, and Gerald Ford helped save our
country. Vice Presidents can do that.
Fred served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney. He was a mentee of Senator
Howard Baker, a great Member of the United States Senate and a great
American. He was also a private-practicing attorney who had a case
concerning pardons. It was a Democrat was doing things that were
illegal. Ray Blanton from Tennessee was giving pardons that were
improper. Marie Ragghianti stepped forward.
Fred Thompson wrote a book about Marie exposing illegal pardons.
Somebody who did the script thought Fred could make a good actor. And
Fred made a good actor. He did a lot of TV series and movies and had
another career besides politician and lawyer: actor.
He came to Memphis one time, I remember specifically, to speak to the
Chamber. And he had a droll way about him. He said--and I guess he said
it other places, as well--sometimes when I am in Washington, I miss the
reality and the sincerity of Hollywood. Well, I laughed when Fred said
it. I think about it often here.
When he ran for office, Fred took a little red truck and used it to
campaign. He drove that truck around the State. People identified with
it. He was ahead of his time. It was kind of like Donald Trump eating
McDonald's, I think. He related to the common man with that truck.
I thought about Fred as I was flying up here. I just did get here in
time. I was on one of the last of those regional jets, which was kind
of like Fred's truck with wings on it. But we made it.
I want to thank Fred Thompson for all he did as an attorney, as an
actor, and as a friend to me. He was bipartisan. He was always friendly
to me. He was a courteous gentleman.
I came here when Fred won the National Conference of State
Legislatures Award for looking out for States' rights. He was the only
member of the Senate to vote on a bill that the NCSL was in favor of.
And he was right. There was a province that belonged to the States that
the Federal Government usurped because it was so wonderful to do and
sets good brownie points back home. But Fred didn't do that. He stayed
with his position that States' rights should be first and those areas
of tort liability should have remained with the States. I came to see
Fred get that award.
Fred had a wonderful wife and a wonderful family. One of his sons was
a good friend of my mine. He still is. I am honored to be a sponsor of
this bill. I am sorry that Fred left us, succumbing to cancer last
year, but it is appropriate that we name the U.S. courthouse and
Federal building in Nashville after this great American.
Mr. DENHAM. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the
gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn).
Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from
California for his work in moving this legislation forward and also my
colleague from Tennessee for joining me on this bill. It is such an
honor to bring it forward and to push for the naming of the Federal
courthouse in Nashville as the Fred D. Thompson Federal Building and
United States Courthouse.
You know, it is so interesting. Fred learned a lot about life and
about the law working in the current Federal building. As that building
has been outgrown and the need for a new one is in the works, it is so
exciting to know that Fred's name will be emblazoned on that building.
It is exciting for all of the residents of Lawrence County, Tennessee.
That is where Fred grew up.
[[Page H6322]]
That is in the Seventh Congressional District.
Then, as Fred decided to go to law school and came back to Nashville,
he settled in Williamson County, right there in Franklin and Brentwood
in suburban Nashville. And that is where I got to know the Thompson
family.
{time} 1530
I know this is a very exciting day for them, to know that this is
actually taking place, that the House is completing their work and we
are sending this on to the Senate for Senators Corker and Alexander to
do their part of the work on this building.
Many people did know Fred Thompson as an actor, and one of the things
you would hear people talk about is Fred was a ``character actor.'' But
that unassuming manner, the way he valued and embodied integrity, that
was just Fred. That was how he lived his life, and he was a great
``character actor'' because he really played himself.
Whether it was ``Marie,'' whether it was the ``Hunt for Red
October,'' whether you were watching him on the small screen or the big
screen, he was exactly who he appeared to be, very unassuming, very
dedicated, very smart, and a wonderful attorney.
Of course, his public service did start as an Assistant U.S. Attorney
in Nashville in the old Federal courthouse, and that did grow. The
Watergate Committee, as Congressman Cohen has mentioned, was where Fred
really made a mark and where he became extremely close to Senator
Howard Baker, who was such a role model for so many generations of
Tennesseans and Americans. How exciting it would be for Senator Baker
to be here to know Fred's name was going to be on that courthouse in
Nashville.
This is the right move for the right person. I encourage all of my
colleagues to join in passage of this legislation.
Mr. CAPUANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. DENHAM. Mr. Speaker, given Senator Thompson's dedication to the
law and public service, I believe it is more than fitting to name this
courthouse and Federal building in Nashville after him.
I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from California (Mr. Denham) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 6135.
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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