[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 6]
[House]
[Page 7534]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       JAMES R. MERRY POST OFFICE

  Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 981) to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 141 Erie Street in Linesville, Pennsylvania, as the 
``James R. Merry Post Office.''
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                H.R. 981

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

     SECTION 1. JAMES R. MERRY POST OFFICE.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 141 Erie Street in Linesville, 
     Pennsylvania, shall be known and designated as the ``James R. 
     Merry Post Office''.
       (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 James R. Merry Post Office.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Connecticut (Mr. Shays) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Shays).


                             General Leave

  Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Connecticut?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 981 was introduced by the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. English). It designates the facility of the United 
States Postal Service located at 141 Erie Street in Linesville, 
Pennsylvania, as the James R. Merry Post Office. The entire House 
delegation from the State of Pennsylvania has signed on as cosponsors 
to this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, former State representative Jim Merry was a devoted 
public servant who worked in the State legislature for the people of 
Pennsylvania for 16 years. He was known to be well liked by 
Representatives on both sides of the aisle, and he capitalized on his 
good relations with colleagues to pass many meaningful pieces of 
legislation for his district.
  Beyond his political career, Jim Merry was remarkably involved in his 
hometown of Linesville, where he owned for 25 years a successful 
automotive shop, the Linesville Western Auto Store. In addition, he 
served as a borough councilman and was active in the local chapters of 
the American Legion, Rotary Club, and other service organizations.
  Sadly, Representative Merry passed away on February 1, 2001. Since 
James R. Merry was a lifelong resident of the town of Linesville, it 
would be extremely appropriate if this House would act to rename this 
post office building in his hometown after one of Linesville's most 
venerated citizens.
  I urge Members to support adoption of H.R. 981. I thank the gentleman 
from Pennsylvania (Mr. English) for introducing this important measure.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 981, which designates a postal facility located at 
141 Erie Street in Linesville, Pennsylvania, after James R. Merry was 
introduced by the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. English) on February 
27, 2003.
  Mr. Merry was a former Pennsylvania State representative who 
represented his constituents in the legislature for 16 years, from 1980 
to 1996. A graduate of Linesville School, Mr. Merry went on to operate 
a successful business in town and remained very active in local 
affairs, serving as a borough councilman and later as president of the 
local chamber of commerce. As a man dedicated to his community and its 
residents, it is truly an honor to name a postal facility after the 
late James R. Merry, who passed away on February 1, 2001. I join 
Members in support of this measure and urge its swift passage.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. English), the sponsor of this bill.
  Mr. ENGLISH. Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege to be here, and I 
particularly want to thank the chairman and thank the committee for 
having moved this resolution forward so quickly.
  It is a real honor to be able to participate in an action which would 
recognize the value of the long public service that Jim Merry provided 
as a community leader and as a member of the State legislature, serving 
in his last 2 years as chairman of the local government committee and 
also my colleague at the same time that I was serving in Congress.
  This was a great experience for me because during my career as a 
staffer in the State legislature, I had an opportunity to work with Jim 
Merry in that capacity, and I saw him from a number of different 
angles. Jim Merry was the kind of legislator that I think Mr. Jefferson 
had in mind when he considered that our legislatures would be populated 
with individuals who were citizen politicians. Jim Merry came by his 
interest naturally. His father had been a State representative in 
Crawford County during the 1950s and early 1960s, and Jim had been a 
borough councilman, had been head of the chamber of commerce, and was 
enormously active in his community.
  When the seat came into play in 1980, Jim ran and in something of an 
upset won the seat and quickly made it his own. It was a seat that 
straddled the Erie and Crawford County lines, and a lot of diverse 
communities; but he reached out everywhere he went. He was a fine 
legislator, an active community member. He was a great gentleman. The 
thing that I think is his greatest legacy is, although he was a man of 
his party, he was a very active Republican. At no time did I ever see 
him become rancorous about his politics. He worked well with people on 
both sides of the aisle. He was always committed to finding a way of 
getting things done and putting that over party politics. Particularly 
important, he always treated every individual with a great deal of 
deference.
  As someone who learned a lot from Jim Merry, it is a real privilege 
to be able to play a role in honoring him by renaming the post office 
in the community that he long represented, Linesville, Pennsylvania, 
where his family still is, where he was a lifelong resident, after him 
in recognition of that great community contribution.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the Members, and ask for a ``yea'' vote.
  Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Speaker, I have no other requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Shays) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 981.
  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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