[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 7]
[House]
[Pages 9616-9617]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  HERMAN BADILLO POST OFFICE BUILDING

  Mr. WALKER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 1350) to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 442 East 167th Street in Bronx, New York, as the 
``Herman Badillo Post Office Building.''
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1350

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

     SECTION 1. HERMAN BADILLO POST OFFICE BUILDING.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 442 East 167th Street in Bronx, New York, 
     shall be known and designated as the ``Herman Badillo 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 ``Herman Badillo Post Office Building''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
North Carolina (Mr. Walker) and the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands 
(Ms. Plaskett) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from North Carolina.


                             General Leave

  Mr. WALKER. 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 material 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. WALKER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise today in support of H.R. 1350, introduced by Representative 
Jose E. Serrano.
  H.R. 1350 designates the post office located at 442 East 167th Street 
in Bronx, New York, as the Herman Badillo Post Office Building.
  Mr. Badillo was a United States Congressman who represented the South 
Bronx. He was born in Puerto Rico and has the distinction of being the 
first United States Congressman of Puerto Rican heritage.
  Throughout his life, Mr. Badillo overcame hardship and adversity. 
After being orphaned at a young age, he moved to the United States when 
he was 11. From there, he went on to achieve great things.
  Mr. Badillo graduated with honors from City College in 1951 and, 
shortly thereafter, graduated from Brooklyn Law School, where he was 
valedictorian of his class. In addition to the first Puerto Rican-born 
Congressman, he was the first Puerto Rican-born city commissioner and 
Bronx Borough president.
  I agree with my colleague Representative Serrano's assessment of Mr. 
Badillo: he truly is a testament to the American Dream.
  Herman Badillo passed away on December 3, 2014. Naming a postal 
facility for Mr. Badillo in the community that he served will honor him 
as the great public servant he was.
  I urge Members to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my 
time.
  Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  As a Virgin Islander living next door to Puerto Rico and as a former 
assistant district attorney in Bronx County, where Mr. Badillo lived, 
it gives me great pleasure to join my colleagues in supporting H.R. 
1350, a bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 442 East 167th Street in Bronx, New York, as the 
Herman Badillo Post Office Building.
  Born in Caguas, Puerto Rico, on August 21, 1929, Mr. Badillo went on 
to become America's first Puerto Rican-born Congressman and a prominent 
figure in New York City politics. The only son of Francisco and Carmen 
Rivera Badillo, he suffered the loss of both his parents by his fifth 
birthday. He was taken in by relatives, and at the age of 11, without 
knowing English, moved to East Harlem, New York. He learned English and 
excelled in school, working his way through college and law school as a 
dishwasher, bowling pinsetter, and accountant. After graduating with 
high honors from City College in 1951, Herman went on to become 
valedictorian of his Brooklyn Law School class in 1954.
  Herman Badillo practiced law in New York and won election as Bronx 
Borough president in 1965. He ran for Congress and won in 1970. While 
Mr. Badillo was considered a Democrat during his 7 years in this 
Chamber, he did not view himself as bound by party loyalties. Mr. 
Badillo served this Chamber with honor and distinction for 7 years 
before resigning his seat in 1977 to serve the people of New York as 
deputy mayor to New York Mayor Ed Koch.

[[Page 9617]]

Mr. Badillo continued to serve the city of New York and remained 
involved in education reform until he died at age 85 on December 3, 
2014. He is survived by his wife, Gail, and his son, David.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of this bill to honor Herman Badillo's 
lifetime of service and dedication to the city of New York and to this 
country.
  I urge the passage of H.R. 1350, and I reserve the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. WALKER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Serrano).
  Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, I thank Ms. Plaskett for the time, and 
thank both Mr. Walker and Ms. Plaskett for that wonderful presentation 
of the life of one of my predecessors, Herman Badillo. And so rather 
than get into the details that have already been mentioned, let me just 
tell you personally what it means to me, what he meant to me, and what 
this loss of his passing means to all of us.
  Herman came along at a time when Puerto Ricans in New York were seen 
as good, hard-working people, but some people were not crazy about the 
idea of us being in public office or in government, and he showed the 
way. Having been valedictorian at law school, he came and he 
immediately got involved in local politics. It is said that by the age 
of 18, he was already running for local office in East Harlem.
  He became the first Bronx Borough president. That is equivalent to a 
county executive of Puerto Rican background. Then he ran for Congress, 
being the first voting Member of Congress. Let me just explain that for 
a second. There has been a Member of Congress from Puerto Rico since 
1998, but none, to this day, has had full voting rights. He was the 
first one of Puerto Rican background with full voting rights in 1970.
  He left this place that he loved so much to become deputy mayor 
because he felt that he could make a difference in New York, and he 
served under the administration of Ed Koch. During the time he was 
here, he helped to found the Congressional Hispanic Caucus; he helped 
with issues of education and housing, and just economic development for 
our community.
  But for those of us who were starting out, he stood as a giant. He 
stood as this tall man, which he was, who was totally bilingual, who 
could speak well, who could think well, who was so calm yet so 
aggressive, and he inspired all of us. I know that on the House floor 
we don't mention political campaigns, but it can be said that when I 
first ran in 1974 for the State assembly, he was at my side. And that 
was part of who he was.
  He encouraged young people from the community, from all walks of 
life, to get involved in politics. I remember he always used to tell 
me, Make sure the same thing everywhere you go. Don't play to that 
audience and then play to that audience, because, first of all, that is 
wrong and, secondly, you will get caught up in making a mistake or 
telling a lie. So make sure you say what you feel from the heart, even 
if it upsets people.
  Now in New York, it is very fashionable, although it takes hard work, 
for Latinos of all different groups to be members of the city council 
and the State assembly and the State Senate and, yes, the Congress. But 
when Herman came along, that wasn't the case. He opened up those doors, 
and he inspired all of us to become who we are today. I could not be a 
Member of Congress now had he not shown the way that people like us 
could, in fact, be a Member of Congress.
  Part of most of the district I represent used to be in his district, 
so this was a great loss to us. By naming a post office, we can at 
least always have his name vivid and that respect vivid for this person 
who came from Puerto Rico and, as was said, who lost both his parents 
before the age of 5; who came to New York with an aunt not speaking 
English hardly at all, and yet who excelled in school and became this 
figure who was nationally known.
  So, Herman, we thank you for who you were. We thank you for your 
leadership. But most of all, we thank you for putting our community on 
the political map.
  Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. WALKER. Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of this bill, 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. Walker) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1350.
  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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