[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 187 (Wednesday, November 15, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H9292-H9293]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TILDEN VETERANS POST OFFICE

  Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 1207) to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 306 River Street in Tilden, Texas, as the ``Tilden 
Veterans Post Office''.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1207

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SPECIALIST TILDEN VETERANS POST OFFICE.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 306 River Street in Tilden, Texas, shall 
     be known and designated as the ``Tilden Veterans 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 ``Tilden Veterans Post Office''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Farenthold) and the gentlewoman from New Jersey (Mrs. Watson 
Coleman) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas.


                             General Leave

  Mr. FARENTHOLD. 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 Texas?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I am here today to support H.R. 1207, introduced by the 
gentleman from south Texas (Mr. Cuellar).
  H.R. 1207 honors the veterans of Tilden, Texas, for their service to 
this great Nation by naming the United States Post Office at 306 River 
Street in Tilden, Texas, as the Tilden Veterans Post Office.
  This bill is particularly timely, as we just celebrated Veterans Day 
this past Saturday. I look forward to hearing more about this bill from 
my friend and colleague from Laredo, Mr. Cuellar.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve 
the balance of my time.
  Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join my colleagues in consideration of 
H.R. 1207, a bill to designate the facility of the United States Post 
Office located at 306 River Street in Tilden, Texas, as the Tilden 
Veterans Post Office.
  Military men and women sacrifice their time, energy, and lives for 
our country every day. Whether serving in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, 
Air Force, or Coast Guard, these brave individuals risk their lives to 
protect others and demonstrate an unmatched level of selflessness, 
courage, and dedication.
  While this bill will name the post office in Tilden, Texas, in honor 
of all veterans who have served, I would like to specifically recognize 
the service of Mr. Anselmo Villarreal.
  Drafted into the Army in March of 1968, he served in Vietnam until 
1970, and he continues to serve his fellow veterans through volunteer 
work at his local veterans service organization.
  His story is not unlike other servicemembers who give their time at 
home and abroad to protect and improve their communities in so many 
ways. In recognizing his contributions, we recognize the contributions 
of veterans throughout Texas and the United States, and we thank them 
for their work.
  Mr. Speaker, we should pass this bill to celebrate the lives of 
American veterans and commemorate the sacrifices that each have made 
for the good of our Nation.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge the passage of H.R. 1207, and I reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume 
to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Cuellar).
  Mr. CUELLAR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from New Jersey for 
yielding and for her kind words about the Tilden Veterans Post Office. 
I also want to thank my friend from Corpus Christi, Texas, for his kind 
words on the naming of this post office.
  Mr. Speaker, today I rise to support and present H.R. 1207, which 
will name the post office facility in my district as the Tilden 
Veterans Post Office.
  Across my district, there are many examples of fine men and women who 
have honorably served our country. It is imperative that we honor their 
service and dedication to our Nation.
  Dedicating this post office to our veterans will serve as a constant 
reminder of the sacrifices that our friends, neighbors, and families 
made while serving their country. These are individuals who put country 
ahead of self and for whom I am proud to recognize with the dedicating 
of the post office facility.
  For example, as the gentlewoman from New Jersey said, Anselmo 
Villarreal of Tilden, Texas, was drafted in the Army in 1968. He served 
in Vietnam. After his service, Mr. Villarreal

[[Page H9293]]

returned to Tilden and worked in a local plant for 28 years before 
retiring.
  This veteran also continues to serve his community by volunteering 
for local veterans service organizations. We owe our freedom to 
veterans like Mr. Villarreal and others, which is why I am recognizing 
him and the other veterans with the dedication of this post office. He 
is one example of many veterans who have made countless sacrifices for 
our country in the face of danger.
  The courage and dedication of our veterans toward our Nation 
demonstrates what it really means to be an American--the essence of 
being an American.
  I also thank the veterans from Tilden and McMullen County for their 
service and sacrifice for our country. I also thank the veterans 
organizations throughout my district for their tireless work in 
providing the care our veterans need. There are many local 
organizations like the veterans service offices in McMullen County that 
provide essential care to those who have returned home from service.
  Let us remember and express gratitude to these brave people: the 
veterans, their families, as well as the care providers.
  In the words of President John F. Kennedy: ``As we express our 
gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to 
utter words, but to live by them.''

                              {time}  1515

  Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Cuellar for introducing this bill.
  For those of you not from Texas who don't know where Tilden, Texas, 
is, if you know about where San Antonio is, you go down south about a 
quarter of the way to the Rio Grande Valley and you are going to pass 
through Tilden. It is kind of northwest of my hometown of Corpus 
Christi.
  I can tell you, having represented a lot of the area in south Texas, 
as does Mr. Cuellar, that this region is a region of the State that 
really does thank and appreciate the veterans who have sacrificed so 
much to serve for this country and for their families. I think it is 
entirely proper and absolutely a great idea to be naming this post 
office after our veterans, and I urge my colleagues to support it.
  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 Texas (Mr. Farenthold) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 1207.
  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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