[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 84 (Tuesday, May 17, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H5089-H5091]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 JOSEPH WOODROW HATCHETT UNITED STATES COURTHOUSE AND FEDERAL BUILDING

  Mr. CARBAJAL. Madam Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 1119, I 
call up the bill (S. 2938) to designate the United States Courthouse 
and Federal Building located at 111 North Adams Street in Tallahassee, 
Florida, as the ``Joseph Woodrow Hatchett United States Courthouse and 
Federal Building'', and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate 
consideration in the House.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 1119, an 
amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the text of Rules 
Committee Print 117-45 is adopted and the bill, as amended, is 
considered read.
  The text of the bill, as amended, is as follows:

                                S. 2938

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

     SECTION 1. JOSEPH WOODROW HATCHETT UNITED STATES COURTHOUSE 
                   AND FEDERAL BUILDING.

       (a) Designation.--The United States Courthouse and Federal 
     Building located at 111 North Adams Street in Tallahassee, 
     Florida, shall be known and designated as the ``Joseph 
     Woodrow Hatchett United States Courthouse and Federal 
     Building''.
       (b) References.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation, 
     document, paper, or other record of the United States to the 
     United States Courthouse and Federal Building referred to in 
     subsection (a) shall be deemed to be a reference to the 
     ``Joseph Woodrow Hatchett United States Courthouse and 
     Federal Building''.

     SEC. 2. LYNN C. WOOLSEY POST OFFICE BUILDING.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 120 4th Street in Petaluma, California, 
     shall be known and designated as the ``Lynn C. Woolsey 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 ``Lynn C. Woolsey Post Office Building''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The bill, as amended, shall be debatable for 
1 hour, equally divided among and controlled by the chair and ranking 
minority member of the Committees on Oversight and Reform and 
Transportation and Infrastructure or their respective designees.
  The gentleman from California (Mr. Carbajal) and the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Webster) each will control 30 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.


                             General Leave

  Mr. CARBAJAL. 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 S. 2938.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.

                              {time}  2110

  Mr. CARBAJAL. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.

[[Page H5090]]

  Madam Speaker, I rise in support of S. 2938 which designates the 
Federal building at 111 North Adams Street in Tallahassee, Florida, as 
the Joseph Woodrow Hatchett United States Courthouse and Federal 
Building, and the United States Postal Service facility located at 120 
4th Street in Petaluma, California, as the Lynn C. Woolsey Post Office 
Building.
  Born during the days of segregation, Judge Hatchett grew up in 
Clearwater, Florida. He graduated from Florida A&M University in 1954 
and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Army. 
He entered Howard University School of Law in 1956, and when he took 
the Florida bar exam in 1959, Jim Crow regulations prevented him from 
staying in the hotel where the test was being administered.
  After admission to the Florida bar, Judge Hatchett entered private 
practice in Daytona Beach, practicing criminal, civil, administrative, 
and civil rights law in State and Federal courts.
  A series of judicial appointments that began in 1971 ultimately led 
to his placement on the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals by 
President Jimmy Carter in 1979, making Judge Hatchett the first Black 
man appointed to a Federal appeals court in the Deep South. Judge 
Hatchett retired from the bench in 1999 and passed away in April 2021 
at the age of 88.
  Former Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey brought her unique voice and 
experience to the House of Representatives when she won her seat in 
1993. Earlier in her life, a divorce had left her supporting three 
young children, and she worked at low-paying jobs and received various 
forms of public assistance.
  Describing herself as the first former welfare mom to serve in 
Congress, Woolsey advocated for expanding school breakfast programs; 
encouraged girls to study math, science, and engineering; fought 
attempts to reduce welfare benefits; sponsored legislation that 
required the Internal Revenue Service to help enforce child support 
payments; and secured job-protected family leave for family members of 
injured soldiers. Woolsey retired from Congress in 2013 after serving 
20 years.
  Madam Speaker, I support S. 2938, which recognizes two great 
Americans: Judge Joseph Hatchett and Representative Lynn Woolsey, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WEBSTER of Florida. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Madam Speaker, S. 2938, as amended by the Rules Committee, designates 
the Federal building and United States Courthouse in Tallahassee, 
Florida, as the Joseph Woodrow Hatchett United States Courthouse and 
Federal Building, and for other purposes which are outside the scope of 
the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's purview.
  Judge Joseph Hatchett served as the first African-American justice in 
the Florida Supreme Court. Judge Hatchett served for 20 years as a 
Federal circuit court judge. He was appointed by Jimmy Carter to the 
United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and did that with honor.
  I knew Judge Hatchett. He was a good man and a fair judge. He applied 
the law equally.
  This bill was introduced in the Senate by Marco Rubio and Rick Scott 
both, and it passed December 29, 2021. However, it didn't meet the 
suspension rules threshold here in the House and today comes before us 
under a rule, and that is why we are considering it.
  I reserve the balance of my time, Madam Speaker.
  Mr. CARBAJAL. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman 
from Florida (Ms. Castor).
  Ms. CASTOR of Florida. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlemen for 
yielding time, and I thank my colleague and friend from Florida as 
well.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of S. 2938 to name the 
Federal courthouse in Tallahassee, Florida, for Judge Joseph Woodrow 
Hatchett. It is so appropriate for us to honor his life and legacy by 
naming the Federal courthouse in Florida's capital city for Judge 
Hatchett as he was a champion for fairness and justice.
  He did have a hardscrabble background, being born to a maid and a 
fruit picker in the Tampa Bay area. He grew up in Pinellas County, but 
he was the pride of his family and his community through his graduation 
from Florida A&M University and with a law degree from Howard 
University. He served in the Army.
  He was one of the first African-American Federal prosecutors--I 
believe the first in the Middle District of Florida. He was a Federal 
magistrate and served with distinction. Then he was tapped as the first 
African-American supreme court justice in the history of the State of 
Florida, and then on the circuit court of appeals, where he then served 
as chief judge.
  Here is how various commentators, former clerks, and colleagues 
describe Judge Hatchett: he was unbelievably smart, he was a pioneer, a 
man of utmost integrity, a fine and decent judge who stood for racial 
justice and fairness, and a lifetime of work for ethics in government 
and justice in the courts.
  One of his colleagues who served with him said that his external 
gentleness and calmness was wrapped around a steel core of dedication 
to equality and justice. His contribution to both of those ideals in 
Florida and this country throughout his life are immeasurable.
  Madam Speaker, my Republican colleagues here who oppose the naming of 
the courthouse for Judge Hatchett now have an opportunity to do right 
by him.
  One commentator described the changing of votes on the floor of the 
House that day and the votes against this honorable man as a new 
perigee of political pettiness, folks who wanted to reinforce their 
image as political heirs to this sort of mean-spirited and backward 
thinking that the South sent to Washington in a long-gone era.
  So let's rise up against this thinking of us versus them, this 
capitulation to a MAGA mom. We are better than this in this House of 
Representatives, and it is time to honor this outstanding gentleman, 
Judge Joseph Woodrow Hatchett, for his life of integrity, fairness, and 
honor. He deserves so much more. But I hope we can all come together in 
a unanimous vote for this outstanding American.

  Mr. WEBSTER of Florida. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. CARBAJAL. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Huffman).
  Mr. HUFFMAN. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in support of this bill, and I thank my 
colleagues for their kind remarks about our friend and my predecessor, 
former Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey.
  Lynn was a one-of-a-kind, barrier-breaking trailblazer and a lifelong 
advocate for women and working families. In her 20 years of service in 
this body, she was a passionate voice for progressive values, 
unflinching in her convictions and ahead of her time in so many ways. 
Speaker Pelosi often called Lynn the conscience of the Congress.
  People who speak truth to power are often met with opposition and 
misunderstanding. Clearly, there are some Members of this body who 
don't share Lynn Woolsey's progressive values, and they tried to block 
efforts to recognize her work a few weeks ago. Today, we have a chance 
to right that wrong.
  When this bill was first on the floor, my colleagues and I thoroughly 
covered Congresswoman Woolsey's extensive public service career and her 
many personal obstacles that she overcame to get to Congress where she 
became one of the leading progressive voices in either Chamber. She was 
co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, was chair of the 
Workforce Protections Subcommittee, wrote historic legislation to 
expand paid family leave, and fought tirelessly to end the wars in Iraq 
and Afghanistan.
  Lynn's work in Congress was all about fighting for children and 
families, and nothing made her prouder than her own children and 
family. Anyone who knows Lynn knows that she considers them her 
greatest achievement of all: her son Joe Critchett and his wife Kim; 
her son Ed, his wife Lisa and their children Teddy and Julia; her 
daughter Amy Critchett, Amy's husband Mark Pauline and their son Jake 
Eddie; and her son Michael Woolsey, his wife Sarah Grossi and their 
children Carlo and Luka.
  My bill had widespread bipartisan support, including every Republican

[[Page H5091]]

Member from California. Let's move past partisan pettiness tonight. I 
would ask my colleagues to please join me in honoring Congresswoman 
Lynn Woolsey's unique and exemplary career in public service by voting 
``yes'' on this bill.

                              {time}  2120

  Mr. WEBSTER of Florida. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. CARBAJAL. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Lawson).
  Mr. LAWSON of Florida. Madam Speaker, it is a real honor for me to be 
able to say a few words about Judge Hatchett. I heard my good friend 
and person I served with for many years, Congressman Webster, say how 
well he knew Judge Hatchett and the honorable man that Judge Hatchett 
was and all the things that he did for the State of Florida.
  I can tell you, instead of going back to what some of the people 
said, the Federal courthouse is about a block from my business office 
that I pass by almost every day. When this bill was defeated on the 
House floor, people from all over the State of Florida, Democrats, 
Republicans, Independents, none of them understood what really 
happened, as much as they loved Judge Joseph Hatchett and the things 
that he meant to Florida and to this country; not because of his 
military background or because of the way he was treated because of Jim 
Crow and other things, but because of his leadership and the way that 
he was fair and the way that he loved people and the way that we wanted 
to have judges like Judge Hatchett serve on the bench.
  When asked why my colleagues across the aisle voted against this 
measure, many of them were clueless. That should never happen on the 
floor of the House. Or rather they were ill-advised, when a 1990s 
ruling by Judge Hatchett began circulating which detailed opposition 
toward prayer at a public high school graduation, when Judge Hatchett 
simply followed the precedent of the U.S. Supreme Court.
  It is very bad here in Congress, or anyplace, for those of us who 
have served in public office, not only in the State, but here in 
Congress, for someone not to tell everybody exactly what you are 
talking about. Many will get confused. When I called some of my 
colleagues, they didn't know what I was talking about. It was 
embarrassing to our two Senators, Rubio and Scott. It was embarrassing 
to them, because it was passed unanimously out of the Senate, to be 
blindsided because they didn't know what had happened.
  We are talking about an individual that gave his career in public 
service to protect people's rights, to stand for those who are less 
fortunate, a person that cared not because of the color of an 
individual but because of the individual themself.
  Throughout the State of Florida, people constantly call and ask why 
would this happen to such a hero, a Florida's son, one that sacrificed 
his life? I cannot tell you all of the things that he had to go 
through. You have heard most of them. But he was an honorable man.
  And one great President said: People will little note, nor long 
remember what we say here, but they will never forget what we did here.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. CARBAJAL. Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 2 minutes to the 
gentleman from Florida.
  Mr. LAWSON of Florida. Madam Speaker, they will never forget what we 
did here. No one in the State of Florida, whether Democrats or 
Republicans, will ever forget what Judge Hatchett did for the State of 
Florida and for this Nation.
  Mr. WEBSTER of Florida. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I voted for Judge Hatchett when the issue was on the 
floor. But it failed. It failed because it didn't have an extraordinary 
vote. It did have a majority vote, but it didn't have an extraordinary 
vote. I believe anything that is dealing with the naming of a building 
that will stay forever needs an extraordinary set of votes and 
circumstances in order to be qualified. I don't think a majority is 
enough to say we should name something after somebody else. That hurts 
me, but I think it is the only thing to do.
  Therefore, because of that, and because of the process that is here 
and this bill is being combined with another person, those two reasons, 
I would have to oppose this bill.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. CARBAJAL. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support S. 2938, 
which recognizes the tremendous contributions of Judge Hatchett and 
Representative Woolsey. I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. All time for debate has expired.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 1119, the 
previous question is ordered on the bill, as amended.
  The question is on the third reading of the bill.
  The bill was ordered to be read a third time, and was read the third 
time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on passage of the bill.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. ROY. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to section 3(s) of House Resolution 
8, the yeas and nays are ordered.
  Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings are postponed.

                          ____________________