[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 123 (Monday, July 23, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1045]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                  MAJOR ROBERT ODELL OWENS POST OFFICE

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 16, 2018

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 5238, 
to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located 
at 1234 Saint Johns Place in Brooklyn, New York, as the ``Major Robert 
Odell Owens Post Office.''
  Mr. Speaker, this bill is an opportunity for us all to pay tribute to 
a great American, a fighter for justice and equality, one of the most 
passionate advocates for educational opportunity, and a man who served 
in this body with distinction, Major Owens of New York.
  Major Owens was born June 28, 1936, in Collierville, Tennessee.
  He was educated at Morehouse College, from which he received his 
baccalaureate degree, and Atlanta University from which he earned a 
Master of Science degree.
  Major Owens later moved to New York where he worked as a librarian 
before accepting an appointment from Mayor John V. Lindsay to serve as 
Director of the New York City Community Development Agency.
  He also served as a faculty member in the Department of Public 
Administration at Medgar Evers College.
  In 1974, Major Owens was elected to the New York State Senate and was 
reelected to serve a second term in 1978.
  In 1982, Major Owens won a competitive primary to fill the seat of 
retiring Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, the first African American 
woman elected to the House of Representatives and the first woman ever 
to seek the Democratic nomination for President of the United States.
  As the Member of Congress for the 11th Congressional District of New 
York, Major Owens represented a diverse district centered in Brooklyn, 
including low income areas of Brownsville and parts of Bedford-
Stuyvestant, the large Hasidic community of Crown Heights, the heavily 
Caribbean areas of Flatbush and East Flatbush, and the more affluent 
neighborhoods of Park Slope and Prospect Park.
  Affectionately known as the ``Education Congressman'' by his 
constituents, Major Owens fought tirelessly throughout his twelve terms 
in Congress to protect and expand educational opportunity for all 
Americans, especially those from economically and socially 
disadvantaged backgrounds.
  As he often reminded his colleagues in the House, education was ``the 
kingpin issue.''
  In an article he published in Black Issues in Higher Education, he 
wrote: ``We have to believe that all power and progress really begins 
with education.''
  Major Owens served on the House Committee on Government Reform and 
the Committee on Education and the Workforce.
  As the Ranking Member on the Education and Workforce Subcommittee for 
Workforce Protections, Congressman Owens helped lead the fight for 
minimum wage increases, blocked the attempt to eliminate cash payments 
for overtime, fought against efforts to roll back or repeal Davis-
Bacon, and to weaken the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
  As Chairman of the Education Subcommittee on Select Education and 
Civil Rights (1988 to '94), Congressman Owens was one of the earliest 
and strongest supporters of the Americans With Disabilities Act, which 
was enacted into law in 1991.
  In recognition for his work to pass the ADA, Major Owens was awarded 
an honorary degree by Galludet University, the world's premier higher 
education institution serving deaf an hard of hearing people.
  Major Owens loved serving in this body and he was a valued member of 
the Congressional Progressive Caucus and the Congressional Black 
Caucus.
  As Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus Task Force on Haiti, he 
led the successful three-year fight which restored the democratically 
elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
  Mr. Speaker, Congressman Owens was a legislator's legislator.
  Major Owens touched so many lives in so many helpful ways that he 
will always be remembered by people he served so ably and selfless for 
more than thirty years.
  H.R. 5238 will honor the memory of this great man by enshrining his 
legacy on a public building in his district.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 5238, to designate 
the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1234 Saint 
Johns Place in Brooklyn, New York, as the ``Major Robert Odell Owens 
Post Office.''

                          ____________________