[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 1]
[House]
[Pages 1404-1406]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



        RONALD W. REAGAN POST OFFICE OF WEST MELBOURNE, FLORIDA

  Mr. PLATTS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 395) 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 of West Melbourne, Florida.''
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                H.R. 395

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

     SECTION 1. DESIGNATION.

       The facility of the United States Postal Service located at 
     2305 Minton Road in West Melbourne, Florida, shall be known 
     and designated as the ``Ronald W. Reagan Post Office of West 
     Melbourne, Florida''.

     SEC. 2. REFERENCES.

       Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper, 
     or other record of the United States to the facility referred 
     to in section 1 shall be deemed to be a reference to the 
     Ronald W. Reagan Post Office of West Melbourne, Florida.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Platts) and the gentlewoman from California (Ms. 
Sanchez) each will control 20 minutes.

[[Page 1405]]

  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Platts).


                             General Leave

  Mr. PLATTS. 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. 395.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. PLATTS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, this legislation, introduced by the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Weldon) is supported by the House delegation from the 
State of Florida and it is fitting and appropriate that we bring this 
legislation to the floor today to commemorate the 90th birthday of our 
great leader.
  There has been much written and known about former President Reagan, 
and everybody has a favorite story or anecdote. We will, however, be 
unable to capture all facets of his life during our allotted time.
  Mr. Reagan, our 40th President, won a landslide victory in 1980 and 
was easily reelected 4 years later. Ronald Wilson Reagan came from 
humble beginnings. He was born in Tampico, Illinois, son of a salesman 
with a mother who was a devout member of the Disciples of Christ 
Church.
  After moving to various locations, the family settled in Dixon, 
Illinois, where his father became part owner of a shoe store and his 
mother did occasional work to supplement the family's meager income.
  Young Ronald Reagan excelled in sports and received a scholarship to 
attend Eureka College. Even with a scholarship, he had to work hard to 
stay in college. He graduated with a B.A. in economics and sociology, 
the first person in his family to attend and graduate from college.
  He showed an early interest in politics, but did not participate. He 
did, however, show interest in some form of show business. ``Dutch'' 
Reagan, as he was known, became a very popular sportscaster in Iowa. 
Soon thereafter, he went to Hollywood where he was offered a 7-year 
contract with Warner Brothers for $200 a week, an offer he could not 
turn down. He then brought his parents to live with him in California; 
and although not an instant star, he was a steady worker.
  Mr. Speaker, Ronald Reagan became President of the Screen Actors 
Guild in 1947; and several years thereafter, his activities with the 
Screen Actors Guild aroused his latent interest in politics. 
Thereafter, when his longstanding friend, Barry Goldwater, won the 
Republican nomination for President, Mr. Reagan helped with the 
campaign. Soon after, he was persuaded to run for governor of 
California, a race he won by a landslide over a popular incumbent. He 
won reelection in 1970.
  Ronald Reagan was nominated for President in 1980, supporting the 
issues of family, work, neighborhood, peace, and freedom. He became the 
oldest President to be elected in our Nation's history. Two months 
after his election, he was the victim of an assassination attempt, but 
made a remarkable recovery.
  He served the Nation as President for 8 years and now resides in 
California. In 1994, after several years of writing, traveling, and 
silence, former President Reagan, who was known as the Great 
Communicator, wrote a handwritten letter informing the Nation he had 
the early stages of Alzheimer's disease.
  Perhaps the essence of President Reagan's life is captured in his own 
words. He wrote: ``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 America's champions in 
the 21st Century.''
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support H.R. 395.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 395, which names a Post Office after Ronald W. 
Reagan, was introduced today by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. 
Weldon). This measure is identical to H.R. 5309 introduced last year by 
the gentleman and which was passed by the House on October 27 of the 
year 2000.
  Ronald Wilson Reagan, known as ``Dutch,'' ``The Gipper'' and ``The 
Great Communicator,'' 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 to the Presidency. And, as remarked 
earlier, today marks his 90th birthday.
  He was an actor by profession, but he also served as the Governor of 
my State of California from 1966 to 1979. 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 D.C. 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.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. PLATTS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Weldon).
  Mr. WELDON of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Platts) for yielding me this time.
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud to stand on the floor of the House today to 
honor our former President, Ronald Reagan. Today is an appropriate day 
to consider this bill, because it is President Reagan's 90th birthday.
  Today, we wish him the very best. We have the opportunity to honor a 
man who made us proud again to be Americans. As was stated, I have 
introduced this legislation to designate this Post Office at 2305 
Minton Road in West Melbourne, Florida, as the ``Ronald W. Reagan Post 
Office of West Melbourne.'' This Post Office is in Florida's 15th 
Congressional District, and I am pleased that every member of the 
Florida Congressional Delegation has signed on as a cosponsor of this 
bill.
  Last year, I introduced similar legislation and it passed the House 
on October 27. Due to time constraints, the Senate was unable to give 
final approval to the bill prior to its adjournment. However, now it is 
more appropriate than ever for this House to pass this bill again.
  Former President Reagan is a true American hero, and naming this U.S. 
Post Office after him is a fitting way to honor his legacy.
  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 then was elected governor 
again in 1970 to another 4-year term.
  In 1980, Reagan was elected to serve as our 40th President. Ronald 
Reagan set our Nation on a path to prosperity. He was a strong moral 
leader and made Americans proud to be Americans. The economic policies 
he pursued in the 1980s set a firm foundation for the economic 
prosperity that we have experienced over the last decade as well.
  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 treaty with Soviet leader Mikhail 
Gorbachev

[[Page 1406]]

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 as a result of his tireless fight for 
freedom, 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 of my colleagues to support this effort to name this post 
office in my congressional district in Ronald Reagan's honor.
  Mr. PLATTS. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Platts) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 395.
  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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