[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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