[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 4125]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    GENE VANCE POST OFFICE BUILDING

  Mr. DENT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 4805) to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 105 North Quincy Street in Clinton, Illinois, as the 
``Gene Vance Post Office Building''.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 4805

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

     SECTION 1. GENE VANCE POST OFFICE BUILDING.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 105 North Quincy Street in Clinton, 
     Illinois, shall be known and designated as the ``Gene Vance 
     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 ``Gene Vance Post Office Building''.

  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 yield myself such time as I may consume, and 
I rise in support of H.R. 4805, offered by the distinguished gentleman 
from Illinois (Mr. Johnson). The bill would designate the post office 
in Clinton, Illinois, as the Gene Vance Post Office Building.
  After winning an All-State selection in 1940, Clinton High School 
star Gene Vance committed to the University of Illinois to start his 
incredible basketball career. His days as a fighting Illini are what he 
has become known for. As a member of the famed ``Whiz Kids'' of the 
Illinois basketball team, Andy Phillip, Jack Smily, Ken Menke, Art 
Mathison, and Vance formed one of the Nation's premier teams in the 
early 1940s. Their fast-break style and ability to run the floor 
assured them 25 of 27 wins in the Big Ten Conference from 1941-1943, 
rightly earning them two Big Ten titles.
  After the 1943 season, Vance and the rest of the ``Whiz Kids'' were 
called to military duty for World War II. Following the final regular 
season game, the entire team entered the war effort. After the war, 
they picked up right where they left off in 1947 and led the Illini to 
a second place finish.
  After graduation, Vance was drafted by the Chicago Stags of the 
Basketball Association of America, which eventually became known as the 
National Basketball Association, or the NBA, as we know it today.
  After his basketball career had ended, Vance turned to coaching. He 
returned to his home State to lead the LaSalle-Peru Cavaliers to a 
regional championship. He later became the athletic director at the 
University of Illinois and was recently voted 1 of the 20 greatest 
Illini basketball players of the past century.
  I urge all Members to join me in saluting this dedicated and 
honorable man by passing H.R. 4805.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume. As a member of the House Government Reform Committee, I am 
pleased to join my colleague in consideration of H.R. 4805, legislation 
naming a postal facility in Clinton, Illinois, after Gene Vance.
  This measure, which was introduced by Representative Timothy Johnson 
of Illinois on February 28, 2006, and unanimously reported by our 
committee on March 9, 2006, enjoys the support and cosponsorship of the 
entire Illinois delegation.
  Gene Vance was a member of the 1942-43 University of Illinois 
basketball team known as the ``Whiz Kids.'' The ``Whiz Kids'' included 
Gene Vance, Jack Smily, Ken Menke, Andy Phillip, and Art Mathisen. The 
team earned the chance to compete for the NCAA Championship after being 
17-1 during the season. But the Army drafted three of the ``Whiz Kids'' 
for service in World War II, and in a show of unity the team decided if 
all the ``Whiz Kids'' could not compete together, they would not 
compete at all.
  Mr. Speaker, I think it is altogether fitting and proper that we 
would name this postal facility after Mr. Vance and urge passage of 
this legislation.
  Mr. DENT. Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support the passage of 
H.R. 4805, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. 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. Dent) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 4805.
  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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