[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 34 (Tuesday, February 23, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H554-H555]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
JIM RAMSTAD POST OFFICE
Mr. MFUME. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 772) to designate the facility of the United States Postal
Service located at 229 Minnetonka Avenue South
[[Page H555]]
in Wayzata, Minnesota, as the ``Jim Ramstad Post Office''.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 772
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. JIM RAMSTAD POST OFFICE.
(a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal
Service located at 229 Minnetonka Avenue South in Wayzata,
Minnesota, shall be known and designated as the ``Jim Ramstad
Post Office''.
(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 ``Jim Ramstad Post Office''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Maryland (Mr. Mfume) and the gentlewoman from South Carolina (Ms. Mace)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Maryland.
General Leave
Mr. MFUME. Madam 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 this measure.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Maryland?
There was no objection.
Mr. MFUME. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I am pleased to join my colleagues in consideration of
H.R. 772 to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service
located at 229 Minnetonka Avenue South in Wayzata, Minnesota, and I
hope I am pronouncing that correctly, as the Jim Ramstad Post Office.
Jim Ramstad was born in Jamestown, North Dakota, on May 6, 1946. He
was a graduate of the University of Minnesota and the George Washington
University Law School, as well as a member of the Army Reserve from
1968 until 1974.
Jim became a State senator in 1981. There, he began shaping his
personal and political life around the principles of recovery, honesty,
resilience, transparency, and accountability.
Jim Ramstad would then go on to serve in the Minnesota State Senate
for 10 years before ultimately becoming a Member of this body, the
United States House of Representatives, representing Minnesota's Third
District.
In the Congress, he was a consensus builder, championing the
bipartisan policies needed to reduce discrimination against those
suffering from mental health and addiction problems.
His signature legislation, the Paul Wellstone Mental Health Treatment
Act, was enacted in 2008 just before Jim retired from Congress. After
retiring, he served as a fellow at Harvard University and as an adviser
to Minnesota's Hazelden treatment center.
Representative Ramstad lived the final 39 years of his life in
absolute and complete sobriety. His story is the story of recovery,
impacted in a way that many of us will not understand, but impacting
the lives of Minnesotans and Americans. He died November 5, 2020, after
battling Parkinson's disease for some time.
Naming a post office for Jim Ramstad is an entirely appropriate
measure, given his distinguished political career and contributions to
his State and to his country.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. MACE. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 772, a bill that would name
a Minnesota post office after Jim Ramstad.
From 1968 to 1974, Jim Ramstad served as a member of the Army
Reserve. In 1981, he was elected to the Minnesota State Senate, where
he would go on to serve for 10 years. He was then elected to the U.S.
House of Representatives, where he represented Minnesota's Third
Congressional District.
During his time in Congress, he strove to reduce discrimination
against those suffering from mental health and addiction problems. He
retired from Congress in 2009 and went on to serve as a fellow at
Harvard University and as an adviser to Minnesota's Hazelden treatment
center.
I urge my colleagues to support this bill honoring an inspiring
American leader that proves that everyone deserves a second chance.
Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield back the
balance of my time.
Mr. MFUME. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
distinguished gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Phillips).
Mr. PHILLIPS. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill, H.R.
772, to designate the post office in Wayzata, Minnesota, on the shores
of Lake Minnetonka as the Jim Ramstad Post Office.
Congressman Ramstad spent 10 years representing the 45th District in
the Minnesota Legislature and 18 years representing Minnesota's Third
District in this Chamber. As the current Representative for Minnesota's
Third, I am humbled to have followed in the footsteps of such a
gentleman, public servant, and statesman.
Throughout his life in public service and throughout his entire life,
Jim led with principle, with compassion, and with grace. His battle
with and recovery from alcoholism gave voice to millions of Americans
facing the very same challenge and illuminated every aspect of his life
and his service.
From the statehouse to this House, Jim embodied the spirit of
honesty, resilience, transparency, and accountability. He was a noted
consensus seeker and a champion of bipartisan policies to reduce
discrimination against those suffering from mental health challenges
and addiction. His signature legislation, the Paul Wellstone Mental
Health Treatment Act, was enacted in 2008 just before his retirement
from Congress.
{time} 1630
Congressman Ramstad will go on to continue his service as a fellow at
Harvard University, and as adviser to Minnesota's Hazelden treatment
center. He lived the final 39 years of his life in sobriety.
Congressman Ramstad passed away on November 5, 2020, after a battle
with Parkinson's disease.
Naming a post office in Wayzata is a small gesture to commemorate the
passing of a giant of Minnesota politics. But as former Minnesota State
Senator and Jim's former district director, Paul Anderson, told me:
``Jim loved Wayzata, and Wayzata always loved Jim back.''
So I send my love to Jim's wife, Kathryn, and to all of his family
and friends and colleagues who continue to mourn his loss.
May his memory be for a blessing. May his spirit and legacy of
bipartisanship--and I note that Jim was a Republican and I am a
Democrat--inspire this Congress. May his name grace the post office in
the town he loved and the town that loved him back for generations to
come.
Mr. MFUME. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr.
Phillips) for his leadership on this effort, for his leadership in the
House, and for reminding me, especially, that the post office will
reside in Wayzata, appropriately.
Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers on this side. I urge
passage of this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Mfume) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 772.
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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