[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 16]
[House]
[Pages 22973-22975]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



             GEORGE E. BROWN, JR. UNITED STATES COURTHOUSE

  Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 5110) to designate the United States courthouse located at 
3470 12th Street in Riverside, California, as the ``George E. Brown, 
Jr. United States Courthouse''.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 5110

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

     SECTION 1. DESIGNATION.

       The United States courthouse located at 3470 12th Street in 
     Riverside, California, shall be known and designated as the 
     ``George E. Brown, Jr. United States Courthouse''.

     SEC. 2. REFERENCES.

       Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper, 
     or other record of the United States to the United States 
     courthouse referred to in section 1 shall be deemed to be a 
     reference to the ``George E. Brown, Jr. United States 
     Courthouse''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Shuster) and the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. 
Shows) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Shuster).
  Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, George Brown is one of the most highly 
regarded Members of this Congress. And for so many years and while on 
the other side of the aisle, I don't know of a single instance in which 
he put partisan politics ahead of what he believed to be best for this 
country. And so it is with a great sense of opportunity that I lay 
before us today the opportunity to recognize a very distinguished 
American.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5110 designates the United States courthouse in 
Riverside, California as the ``George E. Brown Jr. United States 
Courthouse.'' George Edward Brown Jr. was born in Holtville, California 
on March 6, 1920. He attended public schools in Holtville and graduated 
from El Centro Junior College and the University of California at Los 
Angeles.
  Congressman Brown spent a lifetime in public service working for the 
betterment of this country. His life work started in the 1930's 
fighting color barriers and integrating housing at UCLA, and continued 
through the 1990's when he was working toward improving the environment 
and expanding economic opportunity for all citizens.
  Although he first registered as a conscientious objector to the war, 
Congressman Brown went on to serve as a Second Lieutenant in the Army 
during World War II. He returned from the war and began his career with 
the civil service department of the City of Los Angeles. In 1954 he was 
elected mayor of Monterey Park an LA suburb, in 1958 he was elected to 
the California State Assembly and served in the assembly until 1962. 
While in the assembly he introduced a bill to ban the use of lead in 
gasoline.
  In 1962 he was elected to the United States House of Representatives. 
He served for four terms and was an ardent fighter for civil rights 
legislation in 1964. In 1970 he ran for the U.S. Senate and was 
defeated. He returned to the House with a successful election in 1972 
and served in the House for the next 13 succeeding Congresses.
  Having his degree in Industrial Physics, Congressman Brown was a 
strong advocate for the advancement of sound science and technology 
policy. He was the Chairman of the Science Committee for the 102nd and 
103rd Congresses. He also worked on policies for energy and resource 
conservation, sustainable agriculture, national information systems, 
and the integration of technology in education.
  Congressman Brown died in his 18th term at the age of 79, on July 14, 
1999. This is a fitting tribute to a dedicated public servant. I 
support this measure, and urge my colleagues to support it as well.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SHOWS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5110, a bill to designate the 
United States Courthouse located at 3470, 12th Street, Riverside, 
California, as the ``George E. Brown, Jr. Courthouse.''
  Mr. Brown was born on March 6, 1920, in Holtville, California. He 
attended the University of California at Los Angeles, where he helped 
create some of the first cooperative student housing units. While 
attending the university, he worked tirelessly to break racial barriers 
by organizing the first integrated campus housing in the late 1930s.
  After graduation in 1940, Brown began his public service in the civil 
service department of the City of Los Angeles. When World War II began, 
he publicly opposed incarceration of Japanese Americans, a position 
that later blocked his career path.
  During the war, he served as a second lieutenant in the Army. After 
the war, he returned to Los Angeles and resumed his career with the 
city and began to organize city workers and veterans' housing projects.
  In 1954, Brown won his first election to the Los Angeles City 
Council; and in 1955, he was elected mayor. From 1958 to 1962, he 
served in the California Assembly. In 1962, he was elected to Congress.

[[Page 22974]]

  While in Congress, George Brown was a champion of the landmark 1964 
civil rights legislation. Brown was an outspoken critic of the Vietnam 
War and voted against every defense-spending bill during the Vietnam 
era.
  In 1970, Congressman Brown made a run for the U.S. Senate against the 
more moderate Congressman, John Tunney. Although he lost the primary 
race, the current California political party is replete with people who 
worked on Brown's primary campaign.
  In 1972, George Brown returned to the House and represented the 42nd 
district until the time of his death. As the chairman of the Committee 
on Science, he became recognized as the architect in forming the 
institutional framework for science and technology in the Federal 
Government. He vigorously supported the National Science Foundation, 
and he was instrumental in forming the permanent science advisory 
committee in the Executive Office of the President.
  George Brown led the early warnings on the dangers of burning fossil 
fuels and the dangerous effects of freon.
  He worked hard for his 42nd district, ensuring his local schools had 
the benefit of new educational technology and scientific advances. He 
was instrumental in the Norton Air Base conversion in San Bernardino.
  George Brown truly believed in the powers of persuasion to settle 
differences and developed a polite and courtly style of argument. He 
was a gentleman with impeccable manners and was always known as a 
straight shooter. He was the longest serving Member from California.
  It is both fitting and proper to honor the great, significant 
contributions of our former colleague, George E. Brown, with this 
designation. I urge support for H.R. 5110.
  I thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Calvert) for introducing 
this legislation. I also would like to recognize the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Baca) for his steadfast support of this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield such time as he may 
consume to the distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. Calvert), 
the driving force behind this legislation.
  Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise to offer H.R. 5110 that would 
designate the United States courthouse located in Riverside, 
California, as the ``George E. Brown, Jr. United States Courthouse.''
  I was happy to sponsor this bill along with the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Jerry Lewis), the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Packard), the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Bono), the gentleman 
from California (Mr. Gary Miller), and the gentleman from California 
(Mr. Baca).
  I could not have brought this bill forward as quickly as we have 
without the help of the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Chairman Shuster), 
and I certainly appreciate his help and consideration in this matter 
and certainly the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar), the ranking 
member, for working to help our former colleague, Mr. George Brown, in 
his memory today.
  I met George Brown with my father when I was 12 years old. From the 
start and throughout his career in Congress, George was really known as 
one of the last honest liberals, always voting his convictions and 
conscious.
  In the House of Representatives, George served 18 terms as an 
unselfish public servant. He was the longest serving Member of the 
House or Senate in the history of California. I should know, he was my 
member of Congress when I was in high school.
  Although George and I have may have disagreed on some things, on 
differing political philosophies and governing philosophy, my respects 
and admiration, as I know everyone here, ran deep. George was someone 
that really had strong convictions and was very certain to let us know 
what those convictions were. On many occasions he would do exactly 
that. We worked very closely together on issues that affected our area, 
the Inland Empire of California, which now is populated by over 3 
million people; and George did that very ably.
  So renaming this courthouse in my district, once in George's district 
by the way, he represented it for many years as he represented many 
years in the State of California as his district was moved around 
California, is more than deserving.
  It is a small recognition for his leadership and his lifetime quest 
for social justice in our society. It will ensure that George will be 
remembered in the community that he loved and he worked for for so 
long.
  So I know his widow, Marta, I am sure will be watching today and is 
grateful that this recognition is taking place. I am certainly grateful 
to my colleagues. And I know that my colleagues throughout the House 
today will stand with me in honor and remember George's work for the 
Inland Empire of California and the whole Nation.
  Mr. SHOWS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar).
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me the 
time.
  Mr. Speaker, it says as much about the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Calvert) as it does about the gentleman we honor today that this bill 
comes forward to the House floor. It is an extraordinary reaching 
across the political aisles and across the generations for the 
gentleman to not only sponsor this legislation but actually vigorously 
advocate for it and to ensure that it made its way through the 
committee process and to the House floor, and of course to the chairman 
of our full committee, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Shuster), 
who has been very forthright and vigorous in urging us to move this 
legislation forward.

                              {time}  1615

  As I look back over the Members of this body that I have known over 
the years I have served as staff and as a Member, George Brown is one 
of my favorites. Avuncular comes to mind, a kindly, gentle smile, 
thoughtful, quizzical look on his face at times; withholding words 
until just the right ones came forward to fit the situation, whether he 
was speaking on the floor or in our Democratic Caucus; and principled 
also comes to mind to characterize George Brown. Whether it was as a 
young person in the 1930s on housing and fighting segregation or as a 
Member of Congress supporting the Civil Rights Act, opposing the 
Vietnam War, standing up for the space flight program, which he thought 
was important not only for the future of America but for the future of 
basic science research, he was a true advocate for the science 
community and for that which is so difficult to do in this body: to 
invest in basic research, which does not have an immediate outlet. We 
do not see its results today; but if we do not do the research today, a 
decade from now we will be in deficit.
  George understood that and was an advocate for it, and that advocacy 
characterizes his whole service in this body. He has done all of us a 
great service. We honor his memory, perpetrate his integrity, his 
honesty, his vision, his love of public service and his view that 
public service should do some good for all people when we designate 
this courthouse.
  I would also like to take this opportunity, while the gentleman from 
Tennessee (Mr. Duncan) is still on the floor, to offer my tribute and 
great appreciation for the work that the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. 
Duncan) has done as chair of the Subcommittee on Aviation.
  When the organizational work was underway for the 104th Congress, and 
it was clear the majority had shifted, the gentleman from Tennessee 
(Mr. Duncan) and I had a very long breakfast session, about 2\1/2\ 
hours, to discuss aviation. It was his intention to bid for the 
chairmanship of that subcommittee. I was impressed by the student in 
the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Duncan) asking good questions, taking 
notes, making mental notes, wanting to do the best thing and the right 
thing, asking questions, what are the tough policy issues; and he has 
addressed those issues during his tenure.

[[Page 22975]]

  There are many subcommittees on the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure, but I confess to loving aviation a little more than the 
others. For that, I have true affection, as well as great professional 
respect and admiration, for the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Duncan), 
for keeping the aviation agenda on a very high note of integrity, 
professionalism, looking to the future, dealing with the present, 
addressing the fundamental issues of aviation, assuring always that we 
do the right thing for America's leadership in the world in the field 
of aviation.
  The tenure of the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Duncan) will long 
stand as a tribute to aviation, a tribute to his judicial bearing, to 
his equanimity, his fairness and his concern for safety, security, 
sound investment, airport expansion, international trade in passengers 
and cargo, and for keeping America the leader that it is in aviation. 
That will be his mark of service as chair of the Subcommittee on 
Aviation.
  Mr. SHOWS. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Pease). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Shuster) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 5110.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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