[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 38 (Monday, March 5, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H1348-H1349]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TUSKEGEE AIRMAN POST OFFICE BUILDING
Mr. PALMER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 4406) to designate the facility of the United States Postal
Service located at 99 Macombs Place in New York, New York, as the
``Tuskegee Airman Post Office Building'', as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 4406
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. TUSKEGEE AIRMEN POST OFFICE BUILDING.
(a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal
Service located at 99 Macombs Place in New York, New York,
shall be known and designated as the ``Tuskegee Airmen 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 ``Tuskegee Airmen Post Office Building''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Alabama (Mr. Palmer) and the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Clay) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Alabama.
General Leave
Mr. PALMER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days in 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 Alabama?
There was no objection.
Mr. PALMER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4406, introduced by the
gentleman from New York (Mr. Espaillat).
H.R. 4406 names the U.S. Post Office at 99 Macombs Place, New York,
New York, after the Tuskegee Airmen. The Tuskegee Airmen were a
squadron of skilled pilots in World War II who were the first African-
American military aviators in the U.S. Armed Forces. This bill honors
their skill and service to the Nation.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I
reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. CLAY. 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. 4406, as amended, to designate the facility of the U.S. Postal
Service located at 99 Macombs Place in New York City as the Tuskegee
Airmen Post Office Building.
As we know, the Tuskegee Airmen had an impeccable record of saving
American lives during World War II.
Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman
from New York (Mr. Espaillat) to tell us the history of the esteemed
Tuskegee Airmen.
{time} 1715
Mr. ESPAILLAT. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Lacy Clay for
[[Page H1349]]
yielding time, as well as Ranking Member Elijah Cummings and Chairman
Trey Gowdy for their support in bringing this bill to the floor.
I rise today in strong support of H.R. 4406, my bill to designate the
post office located at 99 Macombs Place in New York, New York, as the
Tuskegee Airmen Post Office Building.
The Tuskegee Airmen hold a historic significance as the first Black
military aviators to serve in the U.S. Army Air Corps during the peak
of World War II. At the time, racial segregation remained in the U.S.
Armed Forces as well as much of the country. These men were treated as
second-class citizens, and much of the military establishment believed
back then that Black soldiers were inferior to White soldiers. The
Tuskegee Airmen proved them wrong.
Collectively, they earned more than 150 Distinguished Flying Crosses,
and they flew missions in secondhand P-40 planes, which were slower and
more difficult to maneuver. Yet, in their more than 200 escort
missions, the Tuskegee Airmen had a better success rate than any other
escort groups of the 15th Air Force.
The Tuskegee Airmen were active in fighting against Jim Crow laws in
the South, and their success and bravery encouraged the eventual
integration of the U.S. Armed Forces. Many of the men who served in
this squadron dedicated their lives to fighting for racial equality and
civil rights.
Among the Tuskegee Airmen was a 26-year-old second lieutenant of
Dominican heritage named Esteban Hotesse. Mr. Hotesse immigrated to the
United States through Ellis Island at the age of 4 with his mother. He
went on to serve as a pilot for 3 years with the Tuskegee Airmen before
being killed during a military exercise in 1945.
Naming this post office after the Tuskegee Airmen is a fitting
tribute to honor their memory and contributions to this country. I am
proud to have sponsored this bill and look forward to the Tuskegee
Airmen's legacy living on in my district for many, many years to come.
Mr. PALMER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York for
bringing up this bill.
The State of Alabama takes immense pride in the Tuskegee Airmen for
their skill and courage.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to make the gentleman from Missouri aware
that I have no further speakers, and I am prepared to close.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I urge the
passage of this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. PALMER. Mr. Speaker, I urge the adoption of the bill, and I yield
back the balance of my time.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R.
4406, which designates the facility of the United States Postal Service
located at 99 Macombs Place in New York, New York, as the ``Tuskegee
Airmen Post Office Building.''
H.R. 4406 is a fitting tribute to the African American men who fought
heroically and against great odds and personal hardships, in World War
II and is long overdue.
The 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th, Bombardment Group of the
United States Army Air Forces, which will be forever known as the
``Tuskegee Airmen,'' were instrumental in the Allied Powers victory in
World War II, and is by any standard American heroes.
For these reasons it is a fitting tribute that we honor these men by
naming the Post Office at 99 Macombs Place, in Harlem, New York after
them.
A few years ago about this time, I was honored to join my colleagues,
Congressman John Lewis and Congressman Charles Rangel, a Korean War
veteran, in paying tribute to surviving members of the Tuskegee Airmen
and the 555th Parachute Infantry, the famed ``Triple Nickels'' at a
moving ceremony sponsored by the U.S. Army commemorating the 50th
Anniversary of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
The success of the Tuskegee Airmen in escorting bombers during World
War II--achieving one of the lowest loss records of all the escort
fighter groups, and being in constant demand for their services by the
allied bomber units--is a record unmatched by any other fighter group.
So impressive and astounding were the feats of the Tuskegee Airmen
that in 1948, it helped persuade President Harry Truman to issue his
famous Executive Order No. 9981, which directed equality of treatment
and opportunity in all of the United States Armed Forces and led to the
end of racial segregation in the U.S. military forces.
It is a source of enormous and enduring pride that my father-in-law,
Phillip Ferguson Lee, was one of the Tuskegee Airmen.
Clearly, what began as an experiment to determine whether ``colored''
soldiers were capable of operating expensive and complex combat
aircraft ended as an unqualified success based on the experience of the
Tuskegee Airmen, whose record included 261 aircraft destroyed, 148
aircraft damaged, 15,553 combat sorties and 1,578 missions over Italy
and North Africa.
These outstanding African American men defied all odds and became
military pilots when the United States was still subject to Jim Crow
Laws and the American military was still segregated.
Not only were these men exceptional soldiers who fearlessly defended
this nation, but they were torchbearers who illuminated a path for
countless African Americans to follow.
The Tuskegee Airmen proved that the antidote to racism is excellence
in performance.
This bill would honor the unsung heroes of World War II who valiantly
fought to defend this nation and pioneered a movement that led to the
desegregation of the American military.
For these reasons, I am proud to support, H.R. 4406; and I ask my
colleagues to join me in voting to pass this fitting tribute to
American heroes.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Palmer) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 4406, as amended.
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. PALMER. 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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