[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 192 (Monday, December 12, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H9669-H9670]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          U.S. MARINE CORPORAL RONALD R. PAYNE JR. POST OFFICE

  Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend 
the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 7638) to designate the facility of 
the United States Postal Service located at 6000 South Florida Avenue 
in Lakeland, Florida, as the ``U.S. Marine Corporal Ronald R. Payne Jr. 
Post Office''.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 7638

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

     SECTION 1. U.S. MARINE CORPORAL RONALD R. PAYNE JR. POST 
                   OFFICE.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 6000 South Florida Avenue in Lakeland, 
     Florida, shall be known and designated as the ``U.S. Marine 
     Corporal Ronald R. Payne Jr. 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 ``U.S. Marine Corporal Ronald R. Payne Jr. 
     Post Office''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
New York (Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney) and the gentlewoman from New Mexico 
(Ms. Herrell) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from New York.


                             General Leave

  Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. 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 
gentlewoman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Madam Speaker, I yield myself 
such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 7638 to designate the 
facility of the United States Postal Service located at 6000 South 
Florida Avenue in Lakeland, Florida, as the U.S. Marine Corporal Ronald 
R. Payne Jr. Post Office.
  Corporal Payne was born on December 31, 1980, in Lakeland, Florida. 
Upon graduating high school, he joined the Marine Corps. Corporal Payne 
was deployed to Iraq, as part of the initial phase of the war, where 
his battalion ran reconnaissance for the First Regimental Combat Team.
  After returning from Iraq, he was deployed to Afghanistan 6 months 
later as a chief scout section leader. Corporal Payne was known as the 
gentle giant among his men.
  On the night of his death, Corporal Payne was running a mission to 
confirm a Taliban and al-Qaida operative was meeting in a village with 
Taliban lieutenants when his unit came under fire. For his bravery, he 
earned a Bronze Star with combat valor.
  Madam Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to join me in honoring the 
sacrifice of Corporal Payne by naming a post office in Lakeland, 
Florida, after him, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. HERRELL. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 7638, which names a 
Florida post office for Marine Corporal Ronald R. Payne, Jr.
  Upon graduating from Mulberry High School in Florida in 1999, 
Corporal Payne joined the Marine Corps and

[[Page H9670]]

completed boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina.
  He was deployed to Iraq where his unit, the 2nd Light Armored 
Reconnaissance Battalion, engaged in the initial invasion of the Iraq 
war.
  Corporal Payne returned home from Iraq and only a few months later 
was deployed to Afghanistan to help with the country's elections. His 
mission changed when Afghanistan's elections were postponed.
  On May 7, 2004, he ran a mission with his reconnaissance team to 
confirm that an al-Qaida operative was meeting in a village with 
Taliban lieutenants.
  Corporal Payne was shot in the chest when he exposed himself to enemy 
fire to lay down suppressive fire, allowing a critically wounded fellow 
team member to drag himself behind cover.
  Minutes later, Payne was mortally wounded by shrapnel from a rocket-
propelled grenade.
  For his selfless acts of heroism, after his death, Payne was awarded 
the Bronze Star medal with combat distinguishing device, in addition to 
a Purple Heart.
  Corporal Payne's bravery, concern for his fellow marines, and desire 
to serve America embody the ethos of the Marine Corps. I encourage my 
colleagues to support this bill honoring an American war hero who made 
the ultimate sacrifice.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Madam Speaker, I urge passage of 
H.R. 7638, 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. 7638.
  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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