[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 184 (Wednesday, October 20, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H5692-H5693]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              OFFICER ERIC H. TALLEY POST OFFICE BUILDING

  Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend 
the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3210) to designate the facility of 
the United States Postal Service located at 1905 15th Street in 
Boulder, Colorado, as the ``Officer Eric H. Talley Post Office 
Building''.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 3210

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

     SECTION 1. OFFICER ERIC H. TALLEY POST OFFICE BUILDING.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 1905 15th Street in Boulder, Colorado, 
     shall be known and designated as the ``Officer Eric H. Talley 
     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 ``Officer Eric H. Talley Post Office 
     Building''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
New York (Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney) and the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. 
LaTurner) 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 have 5 legislative days in which to revise and 
extend their remarks and include materials on this measure.
  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 rise today in support of H.R. 3210 to designate the 
facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1905 15th 
Street in Boulder, Colorado, as the ``Officer Eric H. Talley Post 
Office Building''.
  Officer Talley joined the Boulder Police Department in 2010 and 
served the community for 11 years before being tragically shot and 
killed at a Boulder King Soopers grocery store on March 22, 2021, at 
the age of 51.
  Officer Talley was the first officer to arrive at the scene and was 
one of ten individuals who were killed that day. He gave his life 
protecting others and his sacrifice and intervention undoubtedly saved 
lives during that horrible tragedy.
  Officer Talley was recently posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor 
by the Boulder Police Department, the department's highest honor, for 
his heroic actions and sacrifice.
  He was born in Houston, Texas, graduated high school in Albuquerque, 
New Mexico, and earned a master's degree in computer science from Ball 
State University in Indiana.
  Before joining the Boulder Police Department, Officer Talley worked 
in information technology, but at the age of 40 he felt a higher 
calling to switch career paths and join law enforcement after the 
tragic death of a friend.
  In 2013, while serving as a police officer, he made local news when 
he waded into a drainage ditch to rescue a mother duck and her 
ducklings that were trapped in the ditch. Officer Talley was one of the 
first officers to join the Boulder Police Department's drone team in 
2017 where he worked with new technologies to find ways to improve 
public safety and keep police officers safe.
  His colleagues, friends, and family describe Officer Talley as a man 
who worked as hard as he could to make a difference in the lives of 
others every single day. He exemplified selflessness in life and in his 
final act.
  A beloved husband and father of seven, Officer Talley was known for 
his kindness, compassion, and love for his family. He enjoyed board 
games, fly fishing, golfing, and had a black belt in karate.
  Naming a post office for Officer Eric Talley is an appropriate way to 
honor his distinguished career and contributions to his State and 
country.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this bill, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LaTURNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bill to name a post office in 
Boulder, Colorado after Officer Eric Talley. Officer Talley served as a 
police officer in Boulder for 11 years before being killed during a 
mass shooting at a local grocery store, King Soopers, in Boulder, 
Colorado, on March 25, 2021.
  Officer Talley was the first police officer to arrive at the scene, 
and one of ten individuals who would be killed that day. He left behind 
a wife and seven children, who our hearts go out to.
  Mr. Speaker, I support this bill in honor of an American hero, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, because of time 
constraints and scheduling problems, the gentleman from New York has a 
bill coming up but he must get to a vote and other things, so he has 
asked to speak now.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman 
from New York (Mr. Sean Patrick Maloney), distinguished chair of the 
Congressional LGBTQ plus Equality Caucus.
  Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend 
and colleague from New York for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak on my bill, H.R. 767. It honors the life 
of the late Congressman Benjamin A. Gilman. It enshrines his storied 
career in public service at the Fulton Street Post Office in 
Middletown, New York. Ben Gilman was a true statesman and a tireless 
representative to the people of the Hudson Valley.
  Mr. Speaker, when I was first elected, I was told I should try to be 
like Ben, to try to fill the shoes of this giant and

[[Page H5693]]

carry on his great tradition of public service and delivering results.
  Ben was nothing less than an American patriot. He was born in 
Poughkeepsie in 1922. He served in the Army Air Corps in World War II. 
He flew 35 combat missions over Japan and earned the Distinguished 
Flying Cross. After the war, he graduated from the Wharton School and 
from New York Law School. He went on to be an assistant New York 
attorney general in the 1950s, a lawyer in private practice, and then 
found a calling in public service as a New York assemblyman from 1966 
to 1972, and, of course, became my community's representative in 
Congress for the next 30 years after that.
  He was often called ``Gentle Ben'' because of his remarkable 
humility. And because he elevated constituent service to an art form, 
Ben was beloved throughout my district, never missing a pancake 
breakfast with farmers or firefighters. But as chairman of the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs, he was known on the world stage and 
deeply respected by allies and adversaries alike.
  He was called a moderate then, but that just meant he rose above the 
fray and political parties and did the right thing, always putting his 
people first. Above all, of course, he was a father and a husband, and 
he loved his family. We pray for his widow, Georgia, even as we honor 
his public career in this House.
  Mr. Speaker, on behalf of a distinguished veteran, a congressional 
ambassador, larger-than-life figure, and fellow New Yorker, I urge my 
colleagues to support and pass H.R. 767 to immortalize Ben Gilman's 
legacy at the Fulton Street Post Office in his home of Middletown, New 
York.

                              {time}  1245

  Mr. LaTURNER. Mr. Speaker, I support this bill in honor of an 
American hero, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of 
H.R. 3210, and 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. 3210.
  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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