[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 10]
[House]
[Pages 14144-14145]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  PHILMORE GRAHAM POST OFFICE BUILDING

  Mr. STIVERS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 5106) to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 100 Admiral Callaghan Lane in Vallejo, California, 
as the ``Philmore Graham Post Office Building''.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 5106

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

[[Page 14145]]



     SECTION 1. PHILMORE GRAHAM POST OFFICE BUILDING.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 100 Admiral Callaghan Lane in Vallejo, 
     California, shall be known and designated as the ``Philmore 
     Graham 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 ``Philmore Graham Post Office Building''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Thompson of Pennsylvania). Pursuant to 
the rule, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Stivers) and the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Thompson) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Ohio.


                             General Leave

  Mr. STIVERS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
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 Ohio?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. STIVERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise today in support of H.R. 5106, introduced by Representative 
Mike Thompson of California. H.R. 5106 would designate the post office 
located at 100 Admiral Callaghan Lane in Vallejo, California, as the 
Philmore Graham Post Office Building.
  Philmore Graham was a naval veteran, engineer, and founder of the 
Continentals of Omega Boys and Girls Club in California in 1966. Over 
the next several decades, the Boys and Girls Club helped boys and girls 
graduate from high school and college and go on to become accomplished 
athletes, doctors, judges, attorneys, and teachers.
  Born in North Carolina, Mr. Graham graduated from Tennessee State 
University, served our country in the Air Force, and built a career at 
the Mare Island Naval Shipyard. He was the first and, to this day, 
remains the only African American to hold the position of supervisor at 
Mare Island's department of nuclear energy, but it was his passion for 
bettering the lives of young people that led him to establish the Boys 
and Girls Club in Vallejo, California.
  Beginning with only six young men meeting in his garage, Mr. Graham 
grew the Continentals of Omega Boys and Girls Club to over 300 young 
people. Mr. Graham mentored them and encouraged them to apply 
themselves to their academics and get involved with sports and other 
extracurricular activities and instilled in them the value of hard 
work, self-respect, and perseverance. He truly made a difference in the 
lives of hundreds of young people and was beloved by all who had the 
privilege to know him.
  Philmore Graham passed away in June of 2014. He had received numerous 
honors and awards for his work, including the NAACP's Outstanding 
Citizen of the Year, the Salute to America Lifetime Merit Award, the 
Martin Luther King, Jr., Humanitarian Award, and the Omega Man of the 
Year and Citizen of the Year.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in paying tribute to the many 
accomplishments and contributions of Philmore Graham by passing H.R. 
5106.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as 
I may consume.
  I thank the gentleman for the nice remarks with regard to Mr. 
Philmore Graham, for whom we are naming the post office in Vallejo.
  I want to preface my remarks by saying that my district just suffered 
a terrible earthquake, and it was centered between Vallejo and my home 
county of Napa, and two of the post offices in Vallejo are seriously 
damaged and are probably going to be torn down as a result, but 
remarkably, the one on Admiral Callaghan Lane in Vallejo is still 
standing.
  It hasn't received any damage at all, and that is the one that we are 
naming after Philmore Graham, and I think it is fitting because, like 
Philmore Graham, that post office is strong, standing, and serving the 
community, a community that Philmore served for decades.
  I feel particularly privileged to have known Philmore Graham. I knew 
him as a community leader. As was mentioned before, he was a hero. He 
served our country in the military. He founded the Omega Boys and Girls 
Club, and he was the first and only African American nuclear supervisor 
on Mare Island Naval Shipyard, and he had a passion for the lives of 
children and for the future of our community.
  He founded that Boys and Girls Club in his garage. He started with a 
small group of kids, and he grew that group to a large population 
within our community. Kids under Philmore's tutelage grew up to be 
great people and to do great things.
  The kids who came out of that Boys and Girls Club, as my friend 
mentioned, went on to be doctors and lawyers and business people, 
professional athletes--all-star professional athletes who continue to 
give back to our community, and the work that Philmore did of founding 
the Omega Boys and Girls Club in Vallejo lives on today and will always 
be responsible for the betterment of our community and the betterment 
of the young boys and girls who grow up in that community.
  I ask that all of our colleagues join us in voting for this measure, 
to rightfully name this post office after Philmore Graham.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. STIVERS. Having no further requests for time, I urge all Members 
to join me in support of this bill.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Stivers) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, H.R. 5106.
  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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