[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 7]
[House]
[Pages 10229-10230]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            SERGEANT BRETT E. GORNEWICZ MEMORIAL POST OFFICE

  Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 3472) to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 13127 Broadway Street in Alden, New York, as the 
``Sergeant Brett E. Gornewicz Memorial Post Office''.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 3472

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

     SECTION 1. SERGEANT BRETT E. GORNEWICZ MEMORIAL POST OFFICE.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 13127 Broadway Street in Alden, New York, 
     shall be known and designated as the ``Sergeant Brett E. 
     Gornewicz Memorial Post Office''.
       (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 ``Sergeant Brett E. Gornewicz Memorial 
     Post Office''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
North Carolina (Mr. Meadows) and the gentleman from Vermont (Mr. Welch) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from North Carolina.


                             General Leave

  Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and to include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from North Carolina?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise in support of H.R. 3472, introduced by Representative Collins 
of New York, which would designate the postal facility located at 13127 
Broadway Street in Alden, New York, as the Sergeant Brett E. Gornewicz 
Memorial Post Office.
  Army Sergeant Brett Gornewicz was killed on November 3, 2012, in 
Paktia province, Afghanistan, when an improvised explosive device 
detonated nearby. He was killed in the same incident as Specialist Ryan 
Jayne--whom we are also honoring here today--and Staff Sergeant Dain 
Taylor Venne, another upstate New Yorker for whom the Oversight and 
Government Reform Committee has reported a postal-naming bill.
  A native of Alden, New York, Sergeant Gornewicz was born in Buffalo 
on January 6, 1985. After graduating from Alden High School, he earned 
a degree in mechanical engineering from Buffalo State College.
  Sergeant Gornewicz was a man of great humility. So great, in fact, 
that prior to his death, his family did not know that he had been 
awarded the Bronze Star with Valor for saving a life during a firefight 
earlier that year. He was a brave man, serving a tour in Iraq in 
addition to his deployment to Afghanistan, and performing the highly 
dangerous job of clearing roadsides of IEDs. Mr. Speaker, his example 
of courage and strength of character is one that we should strive to 
follow.
  Sergeant Brett Gornewicz is rightly remembered as a hero. At only 27 
years old, he made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.
  I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of H.R. 3472, and I reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. WELCH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I am pleased to join my colleagues in the consideration of H.R. 3472, 
which would designate the United States postal facility located in 
Alden, New York, as the Sergeant Brett E. Gornewicz Memorial Post 
Office.
  Once again, we are hearing a story of an extraordinary American, and 
all of us are proud to be associated with memorializing that.
  I reserve the balance of my time and look forward to hearing from the 
sponsor, Mr. Collins.
  Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to 
the gentleman from New York (Mr. Collins), my distinguished colleague.
  Mr. COLLINS of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 
3472, a bill to rename the U.S. post office in Alden, New York, as the 
Sergeant Brett E. Gornewicz Memorial Post Office.
  It is an honor to sponsor legislation naming a post office in my 
district after a hometown hero who gave his life serving our country.
  I also want to take a moment and thank Senator Gillibrand and her 
staff for their work introducing S. 2056, corresponding Senate 
legislation to rename the post office.
  Naming a postal facility honoring Sergeant Gornewicz is just a small 
token of our country's appreciation for a soldier who made the ultimate 
sacrifice to defend our freedom.
  In 2006, after being deeply affected by the attacks of 9/11, Sergeant 
Gornewicz enlisted in the Army Reserves following graduation from Alden 
High School. From 2007 to 2008, he deployed to Iraq on his first tour 
and courageously served our country.
  Upon his return home to the United States, Sergeant Gornewicz 
enrolled at Buffalo State College and obtained his degree in mechanical 
engineering. He was working as a computer-aided designer and mechanical 
designer for a Tonawanda, New York, company when he again answered the 
call of duty, returning to Afghanistan for his second tour.
  Sergeant Gornewicz is described by many friends and family as a 
humble leader who always put the needs of others before his own. During 
his deployment, he displayed this selflessness when he risked his own 
life to save a fellow soldier during a firefight. He was awarded a 
Bronze Star with Valor for his actions.
  Tragically, during Sergeant Gornewicz's second tour in 2012, his unit 
was hit by an IED in Afghanistan. The lives of Specialist Ryan Jayne of 
Corning, New York; Staff Sergeant Dain T. Venne of Port Henry, New 
York; and Sergeant Gornewicz were lost. At the time of the attack, 
Sergeant Gornewicz was assigned to the 444th Engineer Company. The 
company's primary mission was to clear roads of improvised explosive 
devices.

[[Page 10230]]

  Sergeant Gornewicz was proud of the small town he came from: Alden, 
New York. It is my hope that this post office will allow the people of 
Alden, and those throughout the 27th District, to continue to honor the 
memory of Sergeant Gornewicz and ensure that his legacy of service and 
sacrifice lives on.
  Renaming a post office is but a small step in recognizing this 
soldier's bravery and ultimate sacrifice for our Nation. Passage of 
this bill will exemplify our admiration for our country's Armed Forces, 
and will honor one of the many heroes who have sacrificed their lives 
in the name of freedom.
  I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3472.
  Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York for his 
leadership, not just on this, but for those in Alden and throughout his 
district.
  I urge all Members to support H.R. 3472, and I yield back the balance 
of my time.
  Mr. WELCH. Mr. Speaker, I join Mr. Meadows in urging all of my 
colleagues to support the passage of this bill.
  Just to comment, listening to Mr. Collins and to his predecessors--
and we are going to have a few more--it is so amazing to think about 
these people that live in all of our districts, and what they did 
quietly with no expectation that anyone would notice or a post office 
would be named.
  The thing I find inspiring, as I am listening to my colleagues, is 
that it is all really rooted in their local community. We are naming 
post offices, which is the center of activity for a lot of us, to 
recognize the everyday accomplishments of people who consider 
themselves to be everyday Americans, but who are quite extraordinary.
  So I thank Mr. Meadows and Mr. Collins, and I yield back the balance 
of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Meadows) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3472.
  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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