[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 10]
[House]
[Pages 13443-13444]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   JOYCE ROGERS POST OFFICE BUILDING

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 5341) to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 100 Orndorf Drive in Brighton, Michigan, as the 
``Joyce Rogers Post Office Building''.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 5341

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

     SECTION 1. JOYCE ROGERS POST OFFICE BUILDING.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 100 Orndorf Drive in Brighton, Michigan, 
     shall be known and designated as the ``Joyce Rogers 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 ``Joyce Rogers Post Office Building''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) and the gentleman from Utah (Mr. 
Chaffetz) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia.


                             General Leave

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from the District of Columbia?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  On behalf of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, I am 
pleased to present H.R. 5341 for consideration. This measure designates 
the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 100 Orndorf 
Drive in Brighton, Michigan, as the Joyce Rogers Post Office Building.
  H.R. 5341 was introduced by our colleague, the gentleman from 
Michigan, Mr. John Dingell, on May 19, 2010. It was referred to the 
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which waived 
consideration of the measure to expedite its consideration to the floor 
today. It enjoys the support of the entire Michigan delegation to the 
House.
  Joyce A. Rogers was born March 16, 1931, in Birmingham, Alabama, and 
passed away at her Brighton, Michigan, home on November 4, 2009, at the 
age of 78. Joyce Rogers was married to John Rogers for 57 years, and 
was the mother of five sons, including Michigan State Representative 
Bill Rogers, Major General James Rogers of the United States, and 
Congressman Mike Rogers.
  Beyond her devotion to her family, Joyce Rogers was also a dedicated 
public servant who worked tirelessly to improve the Brighton community, 
serving an integral role in the economic development of the Brighton 
business community during the 1980s and 1990s.
  She was an active member of the Livingston County Board of 
Commissioners from 1985 to 1992, and completed her public service 
career as executive director of the Greater Brighton Area Chamber of 
Commerce. Through her efforts, Brighton was able to transform into a 
thriving business community, attracting new residents and customers to 
the area. She is especially remembered as a tireless advocate for small 
businesses and a mentor to many women in the Brighton business 
community.
  In closing, she has left a lasting impression on the Brighton 
community as well as a legacy which demonstrates the importance of 
public service. I therefore urge my colleagues to join me in supporting 
this measure.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise today in support of H.R. 5341, to designate the facility of 
the United States Postal Service located at 100 Orndorf Drive in 
Brighton, Michigan, as the Joyce Rogers Post Office Building.
  Mr. Speaker, it is altogether fitting and proper that we name this 
Post Office in Brighton for Joyce Rogers, a woman who fought day and 
night, day in and day out to promote business development and spur 
economic growth in and around Brighton, Michigan.
  Known by many as the queen bee and matriarch of Brighton, Joyce 
Rogers was born in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1931. Mrs. Rogers and her 
husband, John Rogers, moved to Brighton in 1968. Within a few years of 
her relocation to Brighton, Mrs. Rogers became an executive director of 
the Greater Brighton Area Chamber of Commerce. When Mrs. Rogers took 
over the fledgling organization back in 1972, it consisted of roughly 
50 members. Remarkably today, the chamber boosts well over 1,000 
members. And under her stewardship, the chamber embarked on an 
ambitious journey to put Brighton on the map. The economic expansion 
that has followed in and around the Brighton area is truly remarkable 
and can be attributed to the leadership and perseverance of Mrs. 
Rogers.
  For her tireless efforts, Mrs. Rogers was named the Most Powerful 
Person in Livingston County in 1996, and fittingly the Chamber of 
Commerce building has been named the Joyce A. Rogers Business Center. 
Aside from being executive director of the Chamber of Commerce, Mrs. 
Rogers also served in various other local organizations, including the 
Livingston County Board of Commissioners, the City of Brighton Downtown 
Development Authority, and the Livingston County Economic Development 
Council.
  In 2001 Mrs. Rogers' health began to decline. In that year, she 
underwent open heart surgery. The following year she decided to step 
down from the chamber after three decades as the executive director. 
Sadly, on November 4, 2009, Mrs. Rogers lost her long battle with a 
chronic illness and passed away at the age of 78. She is survived by 
her husband of 57 years and her five sons.
  The legacy left behind by Mrs. Rogers is not only marked by the 
economic development seen around Brighton, but also in the family that 
survives her, a family that, like their mother, is truly dedicated to 
public service. In fact, her youngest son, Mike, is a colleague of ours 
here in the House of Representatives. It is truly a great privilege to 
have the opportunity to speak on the floor today to honor the mother of 
this distinguished colleague.
  Aside from my colleague from Michigan, Mrs. Rogers' eldest son, Bill, 
served on the Livingston County Board of Commissioners and now 
represents Michigan's 66th district in the Michigan State House of 
Representatives. Another son, Jim Rogers, is a major general in the 
United States Army, making us all proud.

                              {time}  1700

  And still today her husband, John, is serving his community as the 
trustee of the Brighton Township Board of Trustees.
  Mr. Speaker, it is proper that we pass this legislation to honor the 
memory of a true leader and public servant, Joyce Rogers. I urge all 
Members to support this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to my colleague from 
Michigan, Mike Rogers.
  Mr. ROGERS of Michigan. I would like to thank the gentlewoman from 
the District of Columbia for her help

[[Page 13444]]

and support, and I also want to thank Mr. Dingell from Michigan. It's 
great to know that leadership and statesmanship is still alive in the 
people's House here in Washington, D.C.
  You know, it is fitting, I think, that this great body, this great 
deliberative body stop along the way of its important business, its 
really world-changing business and Nation-changing business, to 
recognize that some of the greatest acts happen locally. The great 
things don't really happen here; they are just reflected here. And the 
great things do happen in communities like Brighton, Michigan, and 
every other State in this great Union. And today is really that day.
  Very, very few times do you get to come to the floor and talk about 
some great community leader that you have such a personal relationship 
with, my mother. And this post office is being named, in short, for her 
great work in what is a great community in the great State of Michigan.
  And I will tell you, nobody would be more, I think, shocked and 
embarrassed that we are doing this today than Joyce Rogers. As a matter 
of fact, she would often say that her greatest accomplishment was 
raising five boys and surviving. But she did more than that. She got 
involved in the schools, in the local community. And her biggest 
accomplishment, I think, was the fact that she would talk to so many 
women and get them involved in small business and get them involved in 
politics and community service.
  After her funeral service late last year, I can't tell you how many 
times people came up to me or one of my family members and talked with 
tears in their eyes about how she would take the time to sit them down 
as small business women and talk them through to a plan for success or 
offer them encouragement. One women said, I know she came to shop at my 
store three and four times. She must have bags of my staff. I know she 
didn't need any of it.
  That's the kind of person she was. A kind of person where people of 
all stripes, of all political philosophies believe she made an impact 
on a community. And she certainly did that. I know she made an impact 
on five boys who are doing their best to do half as well as she did in 
life.
  So, to this body, I thank you; to the Michigan delegation, for 
recognizing this wonderful woman, I thank you.
  Ms. NORTON. May I commend the gentleman from Michigan for his honor 
to his mother, whom I'm sure would be particularly proud of him as he 
should be proud of what we do today in her name.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5341, legislation 
I have introduced on behalf of my friend and colleague from Michigan, 
Congressman Mike Rogers (MI-08). The bill would name the postal 
facility on Orndorff Drive in Brighton Michigan, the ``Joyce Rogers 
Post Office Building.''
  Joyce Rogers, the late mother of Congressman Mike Rogers, passed away 
at her Brighton, Michigan home on November 4, 2009 at the age of 78.
  Joyce Rogers was a long-time Brighton resident and a tireless public 
servant, devoting much of her time to the betterment and economic 
development of the Brighton community. As executive director of the 
Greater Brighton Area Chamber of Commerce, Joyce Rogers played an 
integral role in building the business organization into the area's 
most important political and business networking organization. Through 
her efforts, Brighton was transformed into a thriving business 
community, attracting new residents and customers to the area. In 
addition to being a small business advocate, Joyce Rogers always 
remembered her role as a leader, taking time to serve her community by 
acting as a mentor to Brighton women. She has left a lasting impression 
on the Brighton business community and imparted on her community the 
importance of public service.
  Mr. Speaker, the Michigan delegation has thrown its support behind 
Congressman Rogers. Every member of the delegation is an original 
cosponsor of H.R. 5341. I urge the rest of my House colleagues to show 
their support for Congressman Rogers, whose mother accomplished much, 
both in the public sphere and in her private life as a devoted wife of 
57 years and mother of three. I ask my colleagues to join me in 
supporting H.R. 5341.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 5341.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a 
quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not 
present.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.
  The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.

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