[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.
____________________