[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 24 (Wednesday, February 5, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H828-H829]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           MOTHER FRANCES XAVIER CABRINI POST OFFICE BUILDING

  Mrs. LAWRENCE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 4794) to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 8320 13th Avenue in Brooklyn, New York, as the 
``Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini Post Office Building''.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 4794

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

     SECTION 1. MOTHER FRANCES XAVIER CABRINI POST OFFICE 
                   BUILDING.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 8320 13th Avenue in Brooklyn, New York, 
     shall be known and designated as the ``Mother Frances Xavier 
     Cabrini 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 ``Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini Post 
     Office Building''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Michigan (Mrs. Lawrence) and the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. 
Meadows) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Michigan.


                             General Leave

  Mrs. LAWRENCE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on this measure.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Michigan?

[[Page H829]]

  There was no objection.
  Mrs. LAWRENCE. 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. 4794, to designate the facilities of the United States Postal 
Service located at 8320 13th Avenue in Brooklyn, New York, as the 
Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini Post Office.
  I want to thank Representative Max Rose, a fellow Member, for 
introducing this bill honoring, literally, a saint. In November of 
1880, Mother Cabrini, along with six other women, took religious vows 
and founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The 
purpose of the missionary was to care and educate orphans.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman 
from New York (Mr. Rose).
  Mr. ROSE of New York. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Lawrence for 
that kind introduction, and the gentlewoman is an honorary fellow New 
Yorker.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise to support my bill, H.R. 4794, to rename the post 
office in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn as the Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini 
Post Office. Mother Cabrini was a great New Yorker and a great American 
who devoted her life to helping the poor and underserved to include 
immigrants throughout New York City.
  Mother Cabrini is famous across the United States for her work 
providing education in underserved communities. She began her work 
organizing classes for Italian immigrants and orphans through the city. 
She helped found Columbus Hospital in New York City's Lower East Side, 
which is now a part of the world-renowned Memorial Sloan Kettering 
Cancer Center.
  After her success in New York, she was called upon to open up schools 
all around the world; not only across the United States, but also in 
Europe, and Central and South America.
  Mother Cabrini is not just a New York icon, although she is that. Her 
name is affixed to buildings in Chicago, Seattle, New Orleans, Denver, 
Los Angeles, and Philadelphia.
  Cabrini was naturalized as a U.S. citizen in 1909 and canonized as 
Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini on July 7, 1946 by Pope Pius XII as the 
patron saint of immigrants.
  I am proud to have the support of my colleagues from the New York 
delegation, both Democrats and Republicans, who have come together in 
recognition that the time has come to give Mother Cabrini her due 
recognition.
  Mother Cabrini will always be a shining example of our country's 
commitment to the less fortunate, particularly immigrants in our 
country. She also serves as a testament for the power of education, the 
power of education to relieve poverty and empower communities, 
regardless of their background.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this bill.
  Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4794. I 
appreciate Representative Rose's willingness to acknowledge the great 
work of Mother Cabrini and so much has been said already about her 
accomplishments.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that my colleagues support this legislation, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mrs. LAWRENCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. Lawrence) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4794.
  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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