[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 119 (Monday, July 16, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H6202-H6203]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
WAYNE K. CURRY POST OFFICE BUILDING
Mr. WALKER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 4890) to designate the facility of the United States Postal
Service located at 9801 Apollo Drive in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, as
the ``Wayne K. Curry Post Office Building''.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 4890
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. WAYNE K. CURRY POST OFFICE BUILDING.
(a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal
Service located at 9801 Apollo Drive in Upper Marlboro,
Maryland, shall be known and designated as the ``Wayne K.
Curry 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 ``Wayne K. Curry Post Office Building''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
North Carolina (Mr. Walker) and the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands
(Ms. Plaskett) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from North Carolina.
General Leave
Mr. WALKER. 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 North Carolina?
There was no objection.
Mr. WALKER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4890, a bill to name the post
office at 9801 Apollo Drive in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, after Wayne K.
Curry.
Mr. Curry was born in Brooklyn in 1951, but grew up in Cheverly,
Maryland. After graduating from Western Maryland College, now McDaniel
College, Curry began working for Prince George's County while earning
his law degree at night. In 1944, Wayne Curry ran and was elected to
the position of county executive.
Curry passed away from lung cancer on July 2, 2014, at the age of 63.
He was a dedicated public servant, and we honor him today by naming a
post office after him in the county in which he served.
Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this bill, and I
reserve the balance of my time.
[[Page H6203]]
Ms. PLASKETT. 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. 4890 to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service
located at 9801 Apollo Drive in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, as the Wayne
K. Curry Post Office Building.
Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman
from Maryland (Mr. Brown) to tell us more about Mr. Curry.
Mr. BROWN of Maryland. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from the
Virgin Islands for yielding time.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the committee for its
consideration in support of H.R. 4890 as well as thank all the members
of the Maryland delegation for their steadfast support.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4890, which designates the
post office at 9801 Apollo Drive in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, in
Maryland's Fourth Congressional District the Wayne K. Curry Post Office
in honor of our late county executive.
Wayne Keith Curry was born in Brooklyn, New York, and grew up in a
racially segregated neighborhood in Cheverly, Maryland. His family was
among the first non-White families to integrate the community in the
early 1950s. He and his older brother were the first African American
students to integrate Cheverly Tuxedo Elementary School and then
Bladensburg High School.
Wayne began his career in public service in the administration of
Prince George's County Executive Winfield Kelly, Jr., from 1975 to
1978. Through his vision, devotion, and tireless work ethic to make a
better Prince George's County, he quickly rose through the ranks of
county government.
He went on to serve in various roles, including community affairs
assistant, administrative assistant to the county's chief
administrative officer, and senior assistant to the executive.
Mr. Curry commuted nightly to Baltimore, eventually graduating with
honors from the University of Maryland Law School, receiving his juris
doctorate in 1980.
From 1980 until 1983, Wayne worked as counsel for a large real estate
development company in Prince George's County, and later decided to
start his own law practice in 1984. During this time, he served as
general counsel for Dimensions Health Corporation, among other high-
profile clients.
Although he was a partner at a lucrative law firm, public service had
a strong grasp on his heart. He served as chairman of the United Way
Campaign of Prince George's County, president of the Prince George's
County Chamber of Commerce, chairman of the School Superintendent's
Advisory Committee on Black Male Achievement, and chairman of the
Prince George's County Substance Abuse Advisory Board.
When the opportunity presented itself, he ran for Prince George's
County executive in 1994. Running as the underdog, he ultimately
prevailed. He made history when he became the first African American to
serve in the county's highest elected office.
He brought a renewed vitality to the office and focused his
administration on the economic empowerment of his constituents.
The transformation of Prince George's Count reflected Wayne Curry's
own life from a sleepy southern hollow that was rural and all White to
a large African American majority and increasingly cosmopolitan.
County Executive Curry presided over a period of unprecedented
population growth, development, and modernization of Prince George's
County and making it the national standard of African American success
in local governance. Under Wayne's leadership, Prince George's County
became the first county in our history where education and income
levels rose as it transitioned from majority White to majority African
American.
His business-friendly approach led Prince George's County through a
severe financial crisis, the end of court-mandated bussing, the
construction of 26 new schools and a new stadium for the Washington
Redskins.
He saw the county go from a deficit of $108 million to enjoying a
$120 million surplus, protecting the county's AAA bond rating.
County Executive Wayne K. Curry passed away on July 2, 2014, at the
age of 63 after losing his battle to lung cancer. He is survived by his
wife, Sheila Curry; his son, Julian Curry; and daughter, Taylor Curry.
Wayne Curry never sought to make history, but simply to serve the
community and the people and to better their lives. He was always about
the future and getting it right.
Wayne K. Curry will live on through his historical impact on the
people that I represent, and this bill will honor the vision,
contribution, and legacy of the iconic Wayne K. Curry and will be a
daily remainder in the heart of the county he cared so deeply about.
Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers at this time.
I urge passage of H.R. 4890, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. WALKER. Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the bill, and I yield
back the balance of my time.
Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R.
4890, a bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal
Service located at 9801 Apollo Drive in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, as
the ``Wayne K. Curry Post Office Building.'' I thank my colleague from
Maryland, Congressman Anthony Brown, for his leadership in introducing
this bill, which I am proud to co-sponsor.
Wayne Curry was an exceptional leader whose vision and commitment led
to many of the groundbreaking developments that have helped make Prince
George's County such a vibrant and dynamic county today. He was also a
trailblazer committed to opening the doors of opportunity for African
Americans in business and government.
Mr. Curry was a graduate of Western Maryland College and of the
University of Maryland Law School in Baltimore. He worked for many
years in commercial real estate and then eventually led the Prince
George's Chamber of Commerce. Early in his career, he served as an aide
to former County Executive Winfield M. Kelly.
Mr. Curry was elected the County Executive of Prince George's County
in 1994--one of the first African Americans to be elected to lead a
county in the nation--and was re-elected in 1998. As County Executive,
he was a fierce advocate for Prince George's County and for its
residents, and fought to increase funding for public schools, to ensure
that economic development in the county benefited all residents, and to
ensure that minority contractors had a fair chance to compete for
government-funded contracts.
The Washington Post wrote that Mr. Curry was ``A champion of black
affluence'' who ``believed that economic power was the last milestone
of the civil rights struggle.''
We are blessed to have the memory and example of Wayne Curry to help
lead us as we continue to fight to reach that last milestone and
achieve the equality of economic opportunity that is essential to
making the American dream a reality for minorities across this nation.
I urge all Members to support H.R. 4890 and again thank Congressman
Brown for his work on this measure.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Walker) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4890.
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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