[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 16]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 21983]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


      NAMING THE UVALDE, TX POST OFFICE IN HONOR OF DOLPH BRISCOE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CIRO D. RODRIGUEZ

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 30, 2007

  Mr. RODRIGUEZ. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of this 
legislation, which names the Uvalde Post Office in my district after an 
esteemed Texan, Dolph Briscoe.
  Dolph Briscoe is a true Texan who graduated from the University of 
Texas at Austin, served in the State Legislature and was eventually 
elected governor of Texas.
  Briscoe's roots in Texas stretch back to the days of the Alamo.
  He is a direct descendant of Andrew Briscoe, an original signer of 
the Texas Declaration of Independence.
  Dolph Briscoe is also a dedicated American who served this country as 
an army officer during World War II.
  Born in Uvalde to a self-made cattle rancher, Dolph Briscoe has 
strong roots in Texas and in the agricultural community.
  He was long a champion of cattle ranchers and the agricultural 
community as a whole.
  Serving as the youngest ever president of the Texas and Southwest 
Cattle Raisers Association, Briscoe spearheaded the effort to eradicate 
the screw worm from cattle in the southwest, a great achievement for 
the livestock industry.
  Once elected to the Texas State Legislature, Briscoe also led the 
initiative to create the farm-to-market road system.
  The road system was a great improvement to the rural infrastructure 
of Texas, finally allowing farmers direct access to the cities and it 
is still in use today.
  After serving in the legislature, Briscoe was elected governor of 
Texas.
  As a pro-business Democrat, he was the only modem governor of Texas 
to enact a balanced budget without raising or creating new taxes.
  The Briscoe family remains active in Texas, especially in Uvalde 
where Dolph Briscoe continues to work as a cattle rancher and also 
serves the community as the Senior Chairman of the First State Bank of 
Uvalde.
  Dolph Briscoe has been committed to the city of Uvalde for decades 
and deserves to be honored in this way.
  I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

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