[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 114 (Tuesday, July 12, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H5963-H5964]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   THELMA HARPER POST OFFICE BUILDING

  Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend 
the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5271) to designate the facility of 
the United States Postal Service located at 2245 Rosa L Parks Boulevard 
in Nashville, Tennessee, as the ``Thelma Harper Post Office Building''.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 5271

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

     SECTION 1. THELMA HARPER POST OFFICE BUILDING.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 2245 Rosa L Parks Boulevard in Nashville, 
     Tennessee, shall be known and designated as the ``Thelma 
     Harper 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 ``Thelma Harper Post Office Building''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
New York (Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney) and the gentleman from Pennsylvania 
(Mr. Keller) 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 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. 5271, a bill to honor 
Thelma Harper.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. 
Cooper), the chairman of the Committee on Armed Services' Subcommittee 
on Strategic Forces.
  Mr. COOPER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask support for H.R. 5271, my bill to 
name this Nashville Post Office for a great friend of mine and a great 
friend of all Tennesseans, the late State Senator Thelma Harper.
  Thelma was many things. She was a beloved public servant. She was the 
first African American to be elected to the Tennessee State senate, and 
she was the first female African American to be elected to the 
Tennessee Senate. She was the longest-serving female State senator in 
all of Tennessee history.
  Her nearly four decades of public service were marked by her tireless 
service on behalf of her constituents. She started in the city council, 
and she helped fight a toxic landfill in her community of Bordeaux.
  She then moved to the State senate, and she continued to fight for 
average people in Nashville, Tennessee. She served in the State senate 
until 2018, and she had a hand in many of Nashville's greatest 
projects: for example, bringing the Tennessee Titans to our city, the 
development of Nashville's Music City Center, the downtown public 
library, and for the National Museum of African American Music.
  Thelma Harper was a proud member of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority, 
and she served as chair of the Tennessee Commemorative Women's Suffrage 
Commission.
  She is fondly remembered by many for her annual Kids' Are Special Too 
community Easter egg hunts, which kids delighted in, and which I 
personally participated in for many years. Those were held continuously 
and are continued by her family since Thelma passed away in May of 
2021.
  Most importantly, Thelma was a dear friend who was kind enough to 
include me in her family. She was a member of

[[Page H5964]]

many organizations in Nashville, a mentor, a teacher, and a friend. She 
taught me how to find common ground, even with some tough political 
adversaries. She saw the best in everyone.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 5271.
  Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5271, which honors former 
Tennessee State Senator Thelma Harper. Senator Harper was the first 
African-American female elected to the State senate and the longest-
serving female State senator in Tennessee history.
  Prior to this, she served as the grand jury foreman for the Davidson 
County Fifth Circuit Court as a representative of the Metropolitan 
Nashville Council.
  Throughout her time in public service, Senator Harper championed 
children's issues and has been recognized with numerous awards for her 
public service.
  She worked to create a safe haven law to save abandoned babies and 
establish a fee waiver to provide low-income students with school 
supplies and lunches.
  Senator Harper was a dedicated public servant, and I encourage my 
colleagues to support this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of 
H.R. 5271, 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. 5271.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. FULCHER. Mr. 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 on this motion 
are postponed.

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