[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 186 (Monday, December 16, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H7214-H7215]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           1ST LIEUTENANT ANDRES ZERMENO POST OFFICE BUILDING

  Mr. BURLISON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 6244) to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 1535 East Los Ebanos Boulevard in Brownsville, 
Texas, as the ``1st Lieutenant Andres Zermeno Post Office Building''.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 6244

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

     SECTION 1. 1ST LIEUTENANT ANDRES ZERMENO POST OFFICE 
                   BUILDING.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 1535 East Los Ebanos Boulevard in 
     Brownsville, Texas, shall be known and designated as the 
     ``1st Lieutenant Andres Zermeno 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 ``1st Lieutenant Andres Zermeno Post 
     Office Building''.

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


                             General Leave

  Mr. BURLISON. 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 
gentleman from Missouri?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BURLISON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bill, which would rename a 
post office in Texas after 1st Lieutenant Andres Zermeno. I reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise in support of H.R. 6244, introduced by Congressman Vicente 
Gonzalez of Texas, which would honor the impressive legacy and the 
sacrifice of 1st Lieutenant Zermeno by naming a post office after him 
in Brownsville.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Vicente Gonzalez).
  Mr. VICENTE GONZALEZ of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support 
of my bill, H.R. 6244, to rename the post office located at 1535 East 
Los Ebanos Boulevard in Brownsville, Texas, after 1st Lieutenant Andres 
Zermeno.
  Mr. Speaker, 1st Lieutenant Zermeno was born November 30, 1984, in 
Brownsville, Texas. He went on to graduate from St. Mary's University 
in San Antonio. While a student at St. Mary's, he participated in the 
university's ROTC program and enlisted in the Texas National Guard.
  After graduating from St. Mary's, he was commissioned into the United 
States Army as a first lieutenant. On September 25, 2011, while serving 
in a combat operation known as Operation Enduring Freedom in 
Afghanistan, while on patrol, 1st Lieutenant Zermeno was sadly killed 
in action by a rocket-propelled grenade.
  Lieutenant Zermeno is a hero who laid down his life to protect our 
freedoms, leaving his loving wife and two children behind.
  By passing H.R. 6244, we as a nation will honor 1st Lieutenant 
Zermeno and the sacrifice he made on behalf of our great Nation. I urge 
my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me in honoring the 
life and legacy of an American hero.
  Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his compelling 
remarks, and I support passage of H.R. 6244. I yield back the balance 
of my time.
  Mr. BURLISON. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill 
to designate a post office for 1st Lieutenant Zermeno, an American war 
hero who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to his country.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Burlison) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 6244.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the

[[Page H7215]]

rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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