[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 94 (Monday, June 3, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H3557-H3558]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         CORPORAL MICHAEL D. ANDERSON JR. POST OFFICE BUILDING

  Mr. GROTHMAN. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 1555) to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 2300 Sylvan Avenue in Modesto, California, as the 
``Corporal Michael D. Anderson Jr. Post Office Building''.

[[Page H3558]]

  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1555

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

     SECTION 1. CORPORAL MICHAEL D. ANDERSON JR. POST OFFICE 
                   BUILDING.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 2300 Sylvan Avenue in Modesto, California, 
     shall be known and designated as the ``Corporal Michael D. 
     Anderson Jr. 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 ``Corporal Michael D. Anderson Jr. Post 
     Office Building''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Wisconsin (Mr. Grothman) and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Raskin) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Wisconsin.


                             General Leave

  Mr. GROTHMAN. 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 
gentleman from Wisconsin?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. GROTHMAN. Madam Speaker, I yield 6 minutes to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. McClintock).
  Mr. McCLINTOCK. Madam Speaker, I am proud to present H.R. 1555 for 
consideration today. This measure names the post office in Modesto, 
California, in honor and memory of Corporal Michael D. Anderson, Jr.
  This bill has the unanimous support of the Modesto City Council, the 
Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors, the entire California 
congressional delegation, and the House Oversight Committee.
  There are those who scoff at post office naming bills like this. Such 
smug critics simply either don't appreciate or don't understand the 
sacrifices that these bills recognize and the heroism behind the events 
that give rise to them.
  Let me tell you a little bit about the young man this bill honors 
today. Mike Anderson was a kid who grew up in Modesto, a farm town in 
California's Central Valley that has always maintained the values and 
traditions of middle America.
  Mike reflected that in every way. He loved skateboarding, 
snowboarding, and motorcycles. He loved tinkering with cars and going 
camping. Most importantly, he loved his family, his friends, and, above 
all, his country.
  As he graduated from Johansen High School, he could look forward to a 
long and happy lifetime ahead of him. However, in September of that 
year, America was attacked. Without hesitation, he stepped forward to 
defend his country and all that it stands for--the simple freedoms and 
uniquely American values that produce model towns like Modesto and 
model citizens like Mike Anderson.
  He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, where he quickly 
distinguished himself. He became a member of the Fleet Antiterrorism 
Security Teams, or FAST company, an elite Marine Corps team designed to 
fight terror around the world. In that capacity, he received a letter 
of commendation from U.S. Ambassador James Foley for defending the U.S. 
Embassy during riots that were directed at it.
  In September 2004, Corporal Anderson deployed to Iraq to participate 
in Operation Iraqi Freedom, where he was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 
5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division of the First Marine 
Expeditionary Force.
  The Modesto community rallied around Mike and raised money to ensure 
that he had the best equipment available, including three different 
sets of protective goggles.
  Eleven days before Christmas, on December 14, 2004, Corporal Anderson 
was leading marines and Iraqi soldiers in urban clearing operations of 
the insurgent-occupied buildings in the city of Fallujah. He was the 
first into a stronghold, and there, he was tragically killed in action. 
He was 21 years old.
  Corporal Anderson had been scheduled to leave Iraq just a few months 
later to return to his family, where they had already planned a joyous 
family reunion and vacation.
  Corporal Anderson showed tremendous bravery and incredible courage 
throughout his service and especially on that day, his last day, in 
Fallujah, as is reflected in his military decorations, including two 
Purple Hearts, the Marine Corps Achievement Medal with the ``V'' 
attachment for valor, as well as the Combat Action Ribbon.
  What stands out the most in the memories of his comrades in arms were 
his self-sacrifice and concern for the marines in his squad. His father 
remembers: ``He was more worried about telling me about one of the guys 
in his unit first before telling me about what happened to him. He felt 
that since he was a squad leader, he had to take care of his men 
first.''
  James Michener's haunting question echoes on such exploits: ``Where 
do we get such men?''
  We get them from little towns like Modesto, and we get them from 
loving families like the Andersons, decent young men and women with 
promising futures who are willing to leave the safety and comfort of 
hearth and home when their country needs them and to step into harm's 
way to protect their families, their neighbors, their countrymen, and, 
above all, the cause of freedom.
  A more important question is: What would we do without them?
  A few feet from here in the Capitol rotunda is a fresco titled: ``The 
Apotheosis of Washington.'' It depicts General Washington, in uniform, 
ascending to the heavens, flanked by victory and freedom and surrounded 
by the essence and fruits of our free Nation.

  In that depiction, Washington beckons. From little towns like 
Modesto, California, decent young men and women with happy lives and 
promising futures, like Mike Anderson, Jr., have answered his call.
  I don't know how their families can bear it, but I do know what we 
owe them. I do know that we can never repay that debt except to honor 
their memory and keep their sacrifice always in mind.
  That is what bills like this are all about: to honor and remember 
those among us who gave up everything to proclaim liberty throughout 
all the land and unto all the inhabitants thereof.
  Madam Speaker, the people of Modesto, California, and the family of 
Corporal Anderson, his parents, Angie and Michael Sr., as well as his 
two little sisters, Callie and Allie, and a grateful nation ask that 
the post office of his hometown be named to honor and memorialize the 
life, service, patriotism, heroism, and ultimate sacrifice of Corporal 
Michael D. Anderson, Jr., United States Marine Corps.
  Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise in very strong support of H.R. 1555 and thank the gentleman 
from California for his thoughtful remarks.
  Michael Anderson grew up in Modesto and enlisted in the Marine Corps 
in 2001. Corporal Anderson deployed to Iraq in September 2004, and he 
fought in the second battle of Fallujah. On December 14, 2003, he was 
killed in action while leading an operation clearing insurgent-occupied 
buildings.
  I encourage all of our colleagues to join us in honoring the life of 
Corporal Anderson by naming a post office in Modesto after him.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. GROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, I encourage my House colleagues to support 
this bill honoring an American war hero, and I yield back the balance 
of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Fry). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Grothman) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1555.
  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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