[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 17]
[House]
[Pages 25061-25063]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                 RONALD W. REAGAN POST OFFICE BUILDING

  Mr. McHUGH. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 5309) to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 2305 Minton Road in West Melbourne, Florida, as the 
``Ronald W. Reagan Post Office Building.''
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 5309

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

     SECTION 1. RONALD W. REAGAN POST OFFICE BUILDING.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 2305 Minton Road in West Melbourne, 
     Florida,

[[Page 25062]]

     shall be known and designated as the ``Ronald W. Reagan 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 Ronald W. Reagan Post Office Building.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. McHugh) and the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Brown) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York (Mr. McHugh).


                             General Leave

  Mr. McHUGH. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
on H.R. 5309.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. McHUGH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I have had the honor of speaking on dozens of these 
initiatives over the past year, and each one has been an honor, and 
each designee, I think, brings a special quality and a special 
attribute before us that we can all admire.
  This first bill, the Ronald Reagan Post Office, obviously seeks to 
honor an individual that presents a challenge in that regard. It would 
be impossible, certainly, for me to fully describe, even adequately 
describe, the contributions, the remarkable life that this man brought 
and even to this day offers to each and every one of us as an example 
of the American way, from his time overcoming what I think most people 
would fairly describe as a challenging family background, to become the 
first graduate of college in his family, through his remarkable 
contributions to sports fans across this country and his days as a 
sports broadcaster, to his very illustrative and, I think, very 
entertaining time in the movie industry, and thereafter, of course, in 
his remarkable contributions in the public sector as the Governor and 
as the President of the United States.
  I think I would simply say that, even at this moment in his lifetime, 
Ronald Reagan is a story that we can all learn from and we can all 
build upon.
  As our President, he came into office at a time of some 
disillusionment, a time when I think many Americans were questioning, 
not just themselves, but the role of this great country. He gave us 
hope and he gave us confidence in ourselves and in this Nation once 
more.
  The power of his words, the power of his leadership were felt 
virtually every day in which he resided in the White House. It would be 
impossible as well to describe in detail the achievements that he put 
forward, the crushing of Communism, the tearing down of the Berlin 
Wall, and so much more.
  I think for my part in this, Mr. Speaker, I would simply say that, in 
1994, after several years of riding and traveling in silence, at that 
time, former President Reagan, who was known as a great communicator, 
wrote a handwritten letter informing this Nation that he had the early 
stages of Alzheimer's disease.
  Perhaps the essence of President Reagan's life is captured in his own 
words. I would simply read them to my colleagues: ``In this land of 
dreams fulfilled, where greater dreams may be imagined, nothing is 
impossible. No victory is beyond our reach. No glory will ever be too 
great. The world's hopes rest with America's future. Our work will pale 
before the greatness of American champions in the 21st century.''
  Those lines written by the Great Communicator himself, I think, 
encapsulizes so very well the dream that he helped us to rediscover.
  I want to thank the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Weldon), who worked 
with the entire Florida delegation in bringing their cosponsorship to 
this naming.
  I would add as a final word a conversation that I had with the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Weldon) just prior to coming to the floor 
about why he chose and decided to pursue a naming of a postal facility 
in the State of Florida.
  He said to me, ``There are going to be a lot of children in the years 
ahead that will look on that building and ask the question, who is 
Ronald Reagan? And I want them to know who this great American was.''
  I cannot think of a better reason or a better tribute to honor this 
great man. Our congratulations, of course, go to him and our support 
and best wishes to his family, particularly his lovely wife, Nancy.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5309, which names a post office after ``Ronald W. 
Reagan'', was introduced on September 26, 2000, by Representative Dave 
Weldon (R-FL).
  Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States. He 
served as President from January, 1981 to January, 1989. At 73, he was 
the oldest man ever elected president. He was well known as ``Dutch'', 
``The Gipper'', and the ``The Great Communicator.''
  An actor by profession, President Reagan served as Governor of 
California from 1966 to 1974. During his presidency, his economic 
policies came to be known as ``Reaganomics''.
  In November of 1994, former President Reagan announced that he was 
afflicted with Alzheimer's.
  Although a number of facilities have been named after the former 
president--schools, streets, highways, and even the Washington Airport, 
a crowning achievement was when President Clinton dedicated the Ronald 
Reagan Building here in Washington, DC, in 1998. That building houses 
an international trade center, international cultural activities, the 
Agency for International Development, and many others.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge the swift passage of this bill.
  Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for 
time, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. McHUGH. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Weldon). As I mentioned earlier, the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Weldon) was owed the thanks, I think, of 
this entire body for taking the initiative in bringing this bill to the 
floor here tonight. I commend him for that.

                              {time}  2145

  Mr. WELDON of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. McHugh) for yielding me this time.
  Mr. Speaker, today we have the opportunity to honor a man who made us 
proud again to be Americans. H.R. 5309 designates the Post Office at 
230 Minton Road in West Melbourne as the Ronald W. Reagan Post Office 
Building. This post office is in Florida's 15th Congressional District, 
and I am pleased that every Member of the Florida delegation has signed 
on as a cosponsor of this bill.
  Former President Ronald Reagan is a true American hero and naming the 
U.S. post office after him is a fitting way to honor him.
  Ronald Reagan was born on February 6, 1911, in Tampico, Illinois. He 
was a man with many ambitions, growing up a Midwestern boy in hard 
economic times. He worked his way through Eureka College. He started 
his career as a radio announcer and, in 1937, went to Hollywood, where 
he appeared in more than 50 movies.
  He became president of the Screen Actors Guild and was involved in 
fighting Communist influences in Hollywood. In 1966, he was elected the 
Governor of the State of California by a margin of more than 1 million 
votes and was reelected again in 1970.
  In 1980, Ronald Reagan was elected to serve as the 40th President of 
the United States. Ronald Reagan set our Nation on a path to 
prosperity. He was a strong moral leader and made Americans proud. The 
economic policies he pursued in the 1980s set a firm foundation for the 
economic prosperity that we are experiencing today.
  President Ronald Reagan reinvigorated the American people through 
smaller government, putting a lid on inflation, and strengthening our 
national defenses. President Reagan's persistence in achieving peace 
through strength carried our Nation to its longest recorded period of 
peacetime prosperity. President Reagan negotiated a

[[Page 25063]]

treaty with the Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, to eliminate medium-
range nuclear missiles. Mr. Reagan went to Berlin and challenged Mr. 
Gorbachev to ``Tear down this wall.'' His 8 years of persistence paid 
off, and the Iron Curtain fell shortly after he left office.
  President Reagan certainly followed through with his 1980 campaign 
pledge to ``Restore the great, confident roar of American progress and 
growth and optimism.''
  I am happy that we are considering this legislation today, and I 
encourage all my colleagues to support this effort to name this post 
office in my congressional district after Ronald Reagan.
  Mr. McHUGH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume to 
say once again that I thank the gentleman from Florida and the 
gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Brown), a member of the Florida 
delegation, for their efforts in this regard. I urge all of our 
colleagues to join us in final passage of the bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Thune). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from New York (Mr. McHugh) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 5309.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of 
those present have voted in the affirmative.
  Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground 
that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum 
is not present.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8, rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.
  The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.

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