[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 7] [House] [Pages 9724-9726] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]ROBERT M. La FOLLETTE, SR. POST OFFICE BUILDING Mrs. MILLER of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1760) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 215 Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard in Madison, Wisconsin, as the ``Robert M. La Follette, Sr. Post Office Building''. The Clerk read as follows: H.R. 1760 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. ROBERT M. LAFOLLETTE, SR. POST OFFICE BUILDING. (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal Service located at 215 Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard in Madison, Wisconsin, shall be known and designated as the ``Robert M. LaFollette, Sr. 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 ``Robert M. LaFollette, Sr. Post Office Building''. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. Miller) and the gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Baldwin) each will control 20 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. Miller). [[Page 9725]] General Leave Mrs. MILLER of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentlewoman from Michigan? There was no objection. Mrs. MILLER of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. This important legislation, introduced by the distinguished gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Baldwin), names a Post Office in Madison, Wisconsin as the ``Robert M. La Follette, Sr. Post Office Building.'' Robert La Follette, Sr. was a giant in Wisconsin and American politics around the turn of the 20th century. He served the people of the Badger State as a Congressman, a Senator, a Governor, and even ran and finished third in the 1924 presidential election, falling to incumbent President Calvin Coolidge. His passion and his rousing speaking style earned him the nickname ``Fighting Bob.'' As a member of this body, he was chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of Agriculture in the 51st Congress, after which he lost a reelection bid in 1890. He returned home to a law career in Madison that began before his first stint in Congress. Sixteen years after his defeat in 1906, he was elected to return to Washington, this time as a United States Senator. He was reelected three times before he died in office in 1925, shortly after his bid for the presidency ended the previous year. His legacy was further enhanced when his son actually succeeded him as a Senator and went on to a significant political career of his own. Another son also held up the family name by becoming Governor of Wisconsin in 1931. Mr. Speaker, all seven members of the Wisconsin delegation have joined Congresswoman Baldwin as cosponsors of H.R. 1760 to prove the stature of Robert La Follette in Wisconsin political history. This Post Office in Madison will be an appropriate memorial to his legacy. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. Ms. BALDWIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in support of this bill, and I would first like to thank my colleagues from the Wisconsin delegation, Representatives Obey, Sensenbrenner, Petri, Moore, Kind, Green and Ryan, who have joined me as original cosponsors of this bipartisan resolution to designate the Post Office at 215 Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard in Madison, Wisconsin as the ``Robert M. La Follette, Sr. Post Office Building.'' Mr. Speaker, Robert, otherwise known as ``Fighting Bob'' La Follette, is a true Wisconsin hero and a leader of the progressive movement. He was born on a farm in Primrose, Wisconsin on June 14, 1855. This would have been the 150th year of his birth. La Follette was elected to this body at the young age of 29 and served three terms as a Republican from 1885 to 1891. It is such a privilege to hold his congressional seat over 100 years later. After losing his seat, La Follette returned to Wisconsin to practice law in Madison. It was at that point that La Follette reached a turning point in his political career, when he felt that a party stalwart was trying to bribe him to fix a court case. La Follette decided that it was time to challenge corruption in politics. He did so by taking his ideas directly to the people. La Follette went on speaking tours at county fairs and as a Chautauqua lecturer. He spoke about his commitment to eliminating the corruption in government and in corporations, the railroads, and banks. He was elected Governor of Wisconsin in 1900, as a Republican, and during his tenure La Follette was able to pass and implement many progressive reforms and anti-corruption measures, including instituting the direct primary election in Wisconsin. La Follette was elected by the Wisconsin State Legislature to the U.S. Senate in 1905, over 100 years ago, and he was elected while he was still serving as Governor of the State. He resigned as Governor in 1906 to once again return to Washington to represent the people of Wisconsin. In the Senate, he fought against corruption and led the investigation into the infamous Teapot Dome scandal that revealed the oil lease scandals of the Harding administration. His principled work in the Senate was so highly regarded that a mural of La Follette was placed in the Senate Reception Room in 1959 as part of a collection of five outstanding Senators. La Follette ran for President on the Progressive ticket in 1922. The Progressive Party championed a populist agenda, which included reforms to outlaw child labor, allow workers to organize, increase protection of civil liberties, and end discrimination on the basis of race, class, and creed. Just outside the House chamber doors, you can visit a statue of ``Fighting Bob'' La Follette. Wisconsin chose La Follette as one of two State heroes to be included in the U.S. Capitol's National Statuary Hall collection. {time} 1430 Mr. Speaker, this weekend I had the privilege of addressing graduating students as a commencement speaker at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. In that speech, I spoke to the graduates about the obligation to carry one of Fighting Bob's legacies forward, the Wisconsin Idea. The Wisconsin Idea is the notion that government should collaborate with the State's public universities to address serious social and economic problems. In simple terms, the Wisconsin Idea is often expressed by saying that the boundaries of the university are the boundaries of the State. I would also like to share with you one other of my personal heroes, La Follette's wife, Belle Case La Follette, who La Follette regarded as an equal partner in life. Belle Case La Follette was the first woman to graduate from the University of Wisconsin law school. She was a woman before her time, supporting women's suffrage and advocating civil rights legislation for ethnic and racial minorities. La Follette referred to her as my wisest and best counselor. Mr. Speaker, I would like to close with how appropriate the location of the Madison Capitol Station Post Office is in honoring La Follette. This post office is in the shadow of the Wisconsin State capitol, where La Follette developed many of his progressive ideas and support for farmers and the working person, opposition to monopolies and corruption in politics, and his belief that a strong democracy requires fair distribution of both wealth and power. This summer, on June 14, Fighting Bob's greatest supporters will come to Madison for his 150th birthday celebration. And I am particularly grateful that this bill has been brought to the floor for a vote in time for this celebration. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. Mrs. MILLER of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to my distinguished colleague, the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Petri). Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, it is an honor to speak in support of H.R. 1760, a bill to designate a post office in Madison, Wisconsin, as the Robert M. La Follette, Sr. Post Office Building. Fighting Bob La Follette was a strong progressive Republican voice for the people in the late 19th and early 20th century. During his political career as a district attorney, and especially as a Congressman, Governor and Senator, Bob La Follette fought to improve the lot of farmers, workers, children and women, and battled against corruption in politics. As Governor of Wisconsin, he proposed and implemented the Wisconsin Idea, a philosophy that public leadership, in combination with academic expertise, will improve the performance of government. This philosophy was the driving force in the progressive movement, and here in Washington led to the creation of, among other things, the Congressional Research Service. Bob La Follette believed that the government should be more directly in [[Page 9726]] the hands of the people. Therefore, he pursued policies, such as the establishment of direct primary nomination. Under his leadership, Wisconsin became one of the first States to adopt child labor laws and pass a women's suffrage amendment. As a Congressman and Senator, he brought his progressive Republican politics to the national stage by playing a major role in bringing about the direct election of Senators and spearheading an investigation into the Teapot Dome scandal. And you can imagine how popular he was when elected to the United States Senate and stood up and asked for a roll call vote over and over and over again, for the first time in a generation putting his colleagues on the record as to whether they were voting for or against railroad legislation and a variety of other things. And the public record, combined with direct election of Senators, revolutionized the United States Senate and American politics from the Mississippi west in our country, in particular. Bob La Follette was the kind of American that all of us, regardless of party, can be proud of. Accordingly, I urge support of H.R. 1760. Ms. BALDWIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to my friend, the gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Moore). Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, it is with such great pride and pleasure that I stand here in support of H.R. 1760, to name a post office after Fighting Bob La Follette. You have heard from my other colleagues from Wisconsin about the institutions that this man has built and the impact that this one man has made on not only the institutions in Wisconsin, developing a civil service system, that has had an impact throughout our country, establishing the Congressional Research Service, which really put us on par with the K Street lobbyists in terms of having information and knowledge about the initiatives that take place here. But Fighting Bob La Follette has put us on the map internationally, as Wisconsin has been a leader in the world, training people in democratic institutions. Fighting Bob La Follette is a hero to me. He was a powerful voice, a Lincoln Republican. He was a powerful voice with the underrepresented, outspoken for their issues no matter how unpopular or controversial. He denounced any discrimination based on race, creed, class, during the era, for example, of the Ku Klux Klan resurgence. He called for investigations of World War I profiteers and defended antiwar activists that were sent to jail. One of the favorite quotes of Bob La Follette that I think is apropos for where we are today was a quote that he made arguing on the United States Senate floor, and I would like to end my remarks with that quote: ``We should not seek to inflame the mind of our people by half truths into the frenzy of war. The poor, who are always the ones called upon to rot in the trenches, at some time will be heard. There will come an awakening. They will have their day, and they will be heard.'' Ms. BALDWIN. Mr. Speaker, I have no more requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time. Mrs. MILLER of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I would urge all of my colleagues to support this bill. Mr. KIND. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 1760, to designate the post office located at 215 Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard in Madison, Wisconsin, as the ``Robert M. La Follette, Sr. Post Office Building.'' ``Fighting Bob'' La Follette was one of our great American leaders. He spearheaded political reform in both Wisconsin and the Nation, laying the framework for the progressive movement. As governor of Wisconsin, he gained the respect of local farmers, small business owners, and intellectuals with his pledge to break the power of the private monopoly system over the economic life of the American people. La Follette consistently championed the rights of women, minorities, the working class, and the poor. He called for reform of a tax system that disproportionately burdened middle and lower income Americans, and he campaigned for agricultural reform to relieve the distress of farmers. La Follette's progressive party also called for government control of railroads, the outlawing of child labor, the right of workers to organize unions, and increased protection of civil liberties. ``Fighting Bob'' La Follette was a man fierce in his convictions and steeped in the ideals of Lincoln and Jefferson. In 1957, the Senate voted him one of the five most outstanding Senators of all time. Mr. Speaker, I fully support H.R. 1760 to rename a post office in Madison, Wisconsin in honor of this extraordinary American, Robert La Follette. Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1760 to designate the postal facility at 215 Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard in Madison, Wisconsin, as the ``Robert M. La Follette, Sr. Post Office Building.'' A man of the people, Bob La Follette captured the hearts and minds of Wisconsin's citizens and rose to a place of distinction in the history of my State and this Nation. His storied political career began as a Republican when he was elected District Attorney of Dane County in 1880. ``Fighting Bob,'' as he would become known, served right here in the House of Representatives from 1885 to 1891. Although he was defeated for re-election in 1890, Fighting Bob returned to his law practice and demonstrated the resilience for which he developed a sterling reputation. After two failed attempts for the Governorship, La Follette was elected Wisconsin's twentieth Governor in 1990. During his three terms as Governor in the early 1900's, La Follette led the State out of debt and earned a reputation as a skilled orator and a champion of the people. Fighting Bob returned to Washington in 1906 following his election to the U.S. Senate, where he served until his death in 1925 at 70 years of age. It is no accident that one of my State's two statues prominently displayed in Statuary Hall is dedicated to ``Fighting Bob'' La Follette. He served Wisconsin and the United States honorably. I urge my colleagues to join me in honoring Bob La Follette by supporting this resolution. Mrs. MILLER of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time. The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Daniel E. Lungren of California). The question is on the motion offered by the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. Miller) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1760. 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. ____________________