[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 78 (Monday, May 6, 2024)]
[House]
[Page H2855]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       SECRETARY OF STATE MADELEINE ALBRIGHT POST OFFICE BUILDING

  Mr. LaTURNER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 3354) to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 220 North Hatcher Avenue in Purcellville, Virginia, 
as the ``Secretary of State Madeleine Albright Post Office Building''.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 3354

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

     SECTION 1. SECRETARY OF STATE MADELEINE ALBRIGHT POST OFFICE 
                   BUILDING.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 220 North Hatcher Avenue in Purcellville, 
     Virginia, shall be known and designated as the ``Secretary of 
     State Madeleine Albright 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 ``Secretary of State Madeleine Albright 
     Post Office Building''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Kansas (Mr. LaTurner) and the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia 
(Ms. Norton) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Kansas.


                             General Leave

  Mr. LaTURNER. 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 the measure.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Kansas?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. LaTURNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bill, which would name a post 
office in Purcellville, Virginia, for former Secretary of State 
Madeleine Albright.
  Secretary Albright was born in Prague in 1937 and immigrated to the 
United States with her family in 1948.
  In 1993, President Clinton appointed her Ambassador to the United 
Nations, a position in which she served until her appointment as 
Secretary of State in 1996, the first woman to be appointed to that 
position and the highest ranking woman in the history of the U.S. 
Government at that time.
  For 50 years, Secretary Albright resided in Loudoun County, where 
this post office is located.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve 
the balance of my time.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3354 to designate the 
facility of the United States Postal Service located at 220 North 
Hatcher Avenue in Purcellville, Virginia, as the Secretary of State 
Madeleine Albright Post Office Building.
  This legislation, introduced by my tremendous colleague, 
Representative Jennifer Wexton of Virginia, would designate a post 
office after former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
  Secretary Albright fled Communist rule under Czechoslovakia and 
immigrated to Denver, Colorado, in 1948. She committed herself to a 
life of public service, including working for the U.S. Senate under 
then-Senator Edmund Muskie, and later served the Carter administration 
as a White House staff member and a staffer of the National Security 
Council.
  Secretary Albright was appointed by President Clinton as Ambassador 
to the United Nations in 1993 and was a critical force behind the 
expansion of NATO ``to build, for the very first time, a peaceful, 
democratic, and undivided transatlantic community.'' She was committed 
to the democratization and security of European nations that escaped 
Soviet rule.
  Secretary Albright is remembered as an important force behind the 
global fight against climate change, including by supporting the 
ratification of the Kyoto Protocol, an international treaty to fight 
global climate change. This protocol was eventually adopted in 1997.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman 
from Virginia (Ms. Wexton).
  Ms. WEXTON. Mr. Speaker, last year, I was diagnosed with progressive 
supranuclear palsy, or PSP. PSP makes it very difficult for me to 
speak, and I use an assistive app so that you and our colleagues can 
understand me.
  I am proud to be here today speaking in support of my bill to rename 
the Purcellville, Virginia, post office in honor of my former 
constituent, the late Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who chose 
not to have her mail delivered to her rural western Loudoun County farm 
but instead became a fixture at the post office that will bear her 
name.
  Secretary Albright was a fearless trailblazer for women and a devoted 
public servant who touched the lives of so many whom she taught, 
mentored, and worked with, including me. Her relentless defense of 
democracy and advocacy for human rights, inspired by her own lived 
experience fleeing Nazi persecution, made her an icon here at home and 
around the globe.
  It is my honor to lead this legislation to celebrate her historic 
life and legacy here in Virginia's 10th Congressional District, where 
her farm is located and where she spent as much time as she was able.
  Secretary Albright once said the greatest honor of her life was 
representing the United States of America, a sentiment I am sure we all 
share as Members of the House of Representatives.
  Throughout her life, Secretary Albright received numerous accolades 
and awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012. I am 
honored that the Virginia delegation and I can bestow this posthumous 
honor on Secretary Albright and her family and help ensure that her 
legacy continues to live on in Virginia for generations to come.
  I urge my colleagues to vote for this measure.
  Mr. LaTURNER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I urge Members to support this bill, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. LaTURNER. Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this 
bill honoring an American leader. I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Kansas (Mr. LaTurner) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 3354.
  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. LaTURNER. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

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