[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 2]
[House]
[Pages 2782-2783]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     DEWEY F. BARTLETT POST OFFICE

  Mr. DENT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 4054) to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 6110 East 51st Place in Tulsa, Oklahoma, as the 
``Dewey F. Bartlett Post Office''.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 4054

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

     SECTION 1. DEWEY F. BARTLETT POST OFFICE.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 6110 East 51st Place in Tulsa, Oklahoma, 
     shall be known and designated as the ``Dewey F. Bartlett 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 ``Dewey F. Bartlett Post Office''.

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


                             General Leave

  Mr. DENT. 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 
gentleman from Pennsylvania?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. DENT. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4054, offered by the 
distinguished gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Sullivan). This bill would 
designate the post office in Tulsa, Oklahoma, as the Dewey F. Bartlett 
Post Office Building.
  Dewey Bartlett was born in Marietta, Ohio, on March 28, 1919. He was 
educated in the Marietta public school system and later went on to 
attend Princeton University. While in college, he returned home during 
his summers to work in the Oklahoma oil fields. In 1945, after serving 
in the military during World War II, he moved to Tulsa to assume a 
managing role in his family's business.
  Dewey Bartlett's political career started in 1963, when he became an 
Oklahoma State senator. He then ran successfully for Governor of 
Oklahoma and served in this capacity for 5 years. Finally, in 1972, he 
was elected to the United States Senate, where he served until 1979.
  During his service in government, Bartlett was dedicated to a strong 
national defense. He also fought for a lean government, with limited 
layers of bureaucracy, which he felt was important to protect the 
constitutional guarantees of individual liberty, freedom, and justice.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to come together to honor a man who 
promoted excellence in government by passing H.R. 4054.
  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, as a member of the Government Reform Committee, I am 
pleased to join my colleague in consideration of H.R. 4054, legislation 
naming a postal facility in Tulsa, Oklahoma, after Dewey F. Bartlett. 
This measure was sponsored by Representative John Sullivan of Oklahoma 
on October 7, 2005, and unanimously reported by our committee on 
February 1, 2006. The bill has the support and cosponsorship of the 
entire Oklahoma delegation.
  Dewey Bartlett was born and raised in Marietta, Ohio. He later 
attended Lawrenceville Preparatory School in New Jersey and graduated 
from Princeton University. During World War II, he served in the U.S. 
Marine Corps as a dive-bomber pilot in the South Pacific. After the 
war, Dewey Bartlett moved to Oklahoma, working as a farmer, rancher, 
and independent oil producer.
  Politics called and Mr. Bartlett was elected to the State senate in 
1962. Four years later, he made a successful run for Governor. He was 
recognized for his efforts in economic development, which benefited all 
Oklahomans, and for working in a bipartisan manner.
  In 1972, Governor Bartlett was elected to the U.S. Senate, where he 
served

[[Page 2783]]

 from 1973 to 1979. He did not seek reelection because he was battling 
lung cancer. Sadly, he passed away in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on March 1, 
1979.
  Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleague for seeking to honor the legacy 
of Senator Dewey F. Bartlett by naming a postal facility in his 
hometown, and I urge swift passage of this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. DENT. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to my 
distinguished colleague from the State of Oklahoma (Mr. Sullivan).
  Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in proud support of my bill, 
H.R. 4054, which will designate the 6110 East 51st Place post office in 
Tulsa, Oklahoma, as the Dewey F. Bartlett Post Office.
  Dewey F. Bartlett was a strong advocate for conservative values. A 
war veteran and public servant for Oklahoma and the Nation, he served 
as the second Republican Governor of Oklahoma and is a distinguished 
alumnus of the United States Senate.

                              {time}  1430

  He was a true representative of Oklahoma values, leadership and 
drive. I am pleased that we are able to honor him in this way.
  After graduating from Princeton University in 1942, Dewey Bartlett 
served in the Marine Corps as a combat dive-bomber during World War II. 
As a result of his courageous efforts in the South Pacific theater, he 
was awarded the Air Medal.
  After the war, he moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, and became a farmer, 
rancher and oil man. He was a partner in Keener Oil Company, one of the 
oldest independent oil companies. In 1963, Bartlett began his career in 
public service by joining the State senate, and in 1967 he became 
Oklahoma's 19th Governor. One of his priorities while in office was 
increasing industry in Oklahoma. As Governor, the results of his hard 
work helped to produce a record $148.4 million in new industries or 
improvements on existing facilities and create an additional 7,500 jobs 
for Oklahomans.
  From 1972 to 1978, Bartlett served as a Member of the United States 
Senate. During his tenure, this proud Oklahoman maintained a strong and 
consistent stance of limiting government bureaucracy, reducing 
burdensome taxes, and maintaining fiscal responsibility. I am proud to 
share Dewey Bartlett's vision of conservatism, and work daily towards 
the goal of promoting commonsense Oklahoma values in Congress.
  I encourage my colleagues to join me in support of this legislation. 
By designating the Dewey F. Bartlett Post Office in Tulsa, we are 
commemorating an exceptional citizen who embodied the Oklahoma spirit.
  Mr. COLE of Oklahoma. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support the Dewey 
F. Bartlett Post Office Designation Act and urge my colleagues to do 
the same.
  Mr. Speaker, Dewey Bartlett served our country in the Marine Corps 
during World War II and, when he came to Oklahoma after the war, he 
began to serve the State. He was first a member of the Oklahoma Senate, 
then Oklahoma's 19th Governor, and finally a United States Senator. It 
is no exaggeration to say that he is one of the most consequential 
public figures in Oklahoma history.
  During his term as Governor, his goal was to meet his campaign 
promises, the first of which was to strengthen the State's economy. The 
numbers during the Bartlett administration are impressive. Two years 
into his term, Oklahomans spent $148 million building new industries or 
improving existing capital. In 1969, the State had 1 million jobs for 
the first time in its history. He journeyed widely to bring outside 
businesses into the State. In 1968 alone, he traveled 100,000 miles on 
behalf of the State, some of it at his own expense.
  Bartlett's time in the Senate was equally remarkable. He wrote about 
NATO and the Soviet Union and collaborated with Senators across the 
aisle. Whether visiting chambers of commerce or the White House, 
Oklahoma's military installations or villages in Somalia, Senator 
Bartlett held the conviction that Oklahomans and Americans were special 
and could contribute something to the rest of the world.
  Mr. Speaker, Governor Dewey Bartlett was rightfully important to us 
Oklahomans, and, I believe, his example can say something important to 
the rest of the country today. Partisanship was strong during the 
Bartlett administration, not unlike partisanship that develops when the 
clash of ideas is strong. During his watch in the late 1960s, there 
were questions about State funding authority and disputes over sex 
education policy. Some of his actions to address student unrest at the 
University of Oklahoma were unpopular. And though he was the first 
Governor of Oklahoma eligible to be reelected, he lost in an election 
that was so close that the National Guard had to be deployed to protect 
ballot boxes.
  Mr. Speaker, despite the acrimony, Bartlett was optimistic. He opened 
his final State of the State Address with these words: ``Most of you 
looked for solutions to State problems through a Democratic point of 
view; I from a Republican viewpoint.'' But, he continued, ``this 
competitive difference, I believe, brought out the best in each of 
us.'' Differences of opinion, in short, were not reasons to condemn or 
deride one another. Rather, they were the building blocks upon which 
the future of the State depended.
  Granted, the party meant something to Bartlett, but the State was 
more important. Even in the end, just a few months before he died, 
Senator Bartlett retired early so that his successor, David Boren, 
could have additional seniority to benefit Oklahoma. This country, and 
this Congress, would do well to build upon Bartlett's legacy in this 
regard.
  Mr. Speaker, Dewey Bartlett believed in serving his country and his 
community, and so it is fitting that we name a post office after him in 
his hometown, Tulsa. For him, Oklahoma was a great State that could be 
even better, and his vision inspires those of us who serve Oklahoma 
today.
  With that, Mr. Speaker, I urge other members to support this 
resolution and pass the bill under suspension.
  Mr. DENT. Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support passage of H.R. 
4054, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Putnam). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Dent) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4054.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of 
those present have voted in the affirmative.
  Mr. DENT. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this question will 
be postponed.

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