[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 158 (Monday, September 14, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H4357-H4358]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 PETTY OFFICER 2ND CLASS (SEAL) MATTHEW G. AXELSON POST OFFICE BUILDING

  Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend 
the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4672) to designate the facility of 
the United States Postal Service located at 21701 Stevens Creek 
Boulevard in Cupertino, California, as the ``Petty Officer 2nd Class 
(SEAL) Matthew G. Axelson Post Office Building''.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 4672

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

     SECTION 1. PETTY OFFICER 2ND CLASS (SEAL) MATTHEW G. AXELSON 
                   POST OFFICE BUILDING.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 21701 Stevens Creek Boulevard in 
     Cupertino, California, shall be known and designated as the 
     ``Petty Officer 2nd Class (SEAL) Matthew G. Axelson 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 ``Petty Officer 2nd Class (SEAL) Matthew 
     G. Axelson Post Office Building''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
New York (Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. 
Cloud) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from New York.


                             General Leave

  Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. 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.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. 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. 4672 to designate the facility of the U.S. Postal Service located 
at 21701 Stevens Creek Boulevard in Cupertino, California, as the Petty 
Officer 2nd Class (SEAL) Matthew G. Axelson Post Office Building.
  Petty Officer Axelson was born June 25, 1976, in Cupertino, 
California. He was raised locally and graduated from Monta Vista High 
School in 1994.
  Petty Officer Axelson attended California State University at Chico 
and graduated with a degree in political science. He joined the Navy in 
2000 and went on to earn a position as a member of its elite special 
warfare team, the SEALs.
  Only a few short months after he was deployed to Afghanistan, Petty 
Officer Axelson and two other members of his unit were ambushed and 
killed by enemy forces in June of 2005. The surviving member of his 
team would go on to write the book ``Lone Survivor'' that depicts the 
courageous actions of the four SEALs on that day.
  Petty Officer Axelson was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross, the

[[Page H4358]]

second highest military award for valor in the United States. Naming a 
post office in his honor will serve as a tribute to a true American 
hero taken from us far too soon.
  I would like to thank Representative Khanna, a distinguished member 
of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, for this legislation to honor 
this American hero.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CLOUD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4672 which would name a 
Cupertino, California, post office after Petty Officer 2nd Class 
Matthew Axelson, a Navy SEAL.
  Petty Officer Axelson was born and raised in Cupertino. After 
graduating from college, he joined the U.S. Navy, eventually earning a 
spot as an elite Navy SEAL serving on SEAL Team 10.
  He was deployed to Afghanistan in 2005 and served as part of a four-
man special reconnaissance element that participated in Operation Red 
Wings, a mission to counter fundamentalist forces in the Kunar province 
of Afghanistan.
  On June 28, 2005, Petty Officer Axelson's unit was assigned to kill 
or capture Ahmad Shah, a high-ranking Taliban leader in the Hindu Kush 
mountains. He and two other team members were killed in action as part 
of an ambush by enemy forces, but not until after the four-man group 
fought ferociously back against a significantly larger force. Axelson 
continued to fight alongside his teammates after being wounded in the 
head and chest, but he ultimately succumbed to his wounds. Axelson was 
posthumously awarded the Navy Cross, the second highest military award 
for valor.
  The sole remaining survivor of the team wrote a book about the 
courageous actions of these men called ``Lone Survivor'' which was 
later turned into a movie of the same name.
  Mr. Speaker, Petty Officer Axelson's actions are a profile in 
courage. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield 
back the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1545

  Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I have no further 
speakers, and I now close urging passage of H.R. 4672.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4672.
  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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