[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 11903]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            JUDGE SHIRLEY A. TOLENTINO POST OFFICE BUILDING

  Ms. BUERKLE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 2896) to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 369 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Jersey City, New 
Jersey, as the ``Judge Shirley A. Tolentino Post Office Building''.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 2896

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

     SECTION 1. JUDGE SHIRLEY A. TOLENTINO POST OFFICE BUILDING.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 369 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Jersey 
     City, New Jersey, shall be known and designated as the 
     ``Judge Shirley A. Tolentino 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 ``Judge Shirley A. Tolentino Post Office 
     Building''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
New York (Ms. Buerkle) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Connolly) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from New York.
  Ms. BUERKLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.


                             General Leave

  Ms. BUERKLE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. BUERKLE. H.R. 2896, introduced by the gentleman from New Jersey, 
Mr. Payne, would designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 369 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Jersey City, New 
Jersey, as the Judge Shirley A. Tolentino Post Office Building. The 
bill is cosponsored by the entire New Jersey State delegation and was 
favorably reported by the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 
on June 27. Although Representative Payne passed away earlier this 
year, it is our privilege to consider H.R. 2896 today.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in strong support of 
this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CONNOLLY of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 
2896, which would name the postal facility located at 269 Martin Luther 
King Jr. Drive in Jersey City, New Jersey, after the late Judge Shirley 
A. Tolentino. This was a bill favored by our late colleague, Donald 
Payne of New Jersey, and it's an honor and privilege to carry that bill 
on the floor today.
  Shirley Tolentino was born in Jersey City, served in the judicial 
system, and lived a life of great accomplishments. She graduated with a 
degree in Latin with honors from the College of St. Elizabeth. Judge 
Tolentino taught Latin and English before starting law school. As a 
student at Seton Hall University School of Law, Judge Tolentino was the 
only African American female in the graduating class of 1971.
  She became a deputy attorney general in the State of New Jersey, 
where she remained until being appointed to the Jersey City Municipal 
Court in 1976, becoming the first female appointed to that position. 
Judge Tolentino received her master of laws degree in criminal justice 
from NYU Graduate School of Law in 1980 while continuing to serve in 
the municipal court. She later was elevated to the position of 
presiding judge of the municipal court of New Jersey, again as the 
first female to hold that position.
  With all those great accomplishments, she viewed her appointment and 
time served on the Coleman Commission, which would later be called the 
New Jersey Supreme Court Task Force on Minority Concerns, as her 
greatest accomplishment. During her time on the commission, she became 
chair of the subcommittee on juvenile justice.
  As a member of the Jersey City Hudson County Urban League, the Hudson 
County Girl Scouts Board, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and a host 
of other local organizations, she served in prominent roles and loved 
being part of her community and, obviously, served as a role model for 
future generations, especially among young women.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of H.R. 2896 to honor the life of Judge 
Tolentino and to remember our distinguished late colleague, Donald 
Payne of New Jersey.
  With that, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. BUERKLE. Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support the passage 
of H.R. 2896, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Buerkle) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2896.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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