[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 8]
[House]
[Pages 11394-11397]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            JAMES L. OBERSTAR MEMORIAL POST OFFICE BUILDING

  Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (S. 179) to designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 14 3rd Avenue, NW, in Chisholm, Minnesota, as 
the ``James L. Oberstar Memorial Post Office Building''.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                 S. 179

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

     SECTION 1. JAMES L. OBERSTAR MEMORIAL POST OFFICE BUILDING.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 14 3rd Avenue, NW, in Chisholm, Minnesota, 
     shall be known and designated as the ``James L. Oberstar 
     Memorial 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 ``James L. Oberstar Memorial Post Office 
     Building''.

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

                              {time}  1900


                             General Leave

  Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. 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 material on the bill under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Tennessee?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  I rise today in support of S. 179, a bill to name a post office in 
Chisholm, Minnesota, after a very distinguished former Member of this 
body, Congressman James Oberstar.
  The bill was introduced by Senator Amy Klobuchar, and our colleague 
Congressman Richard Nolan has introduced House companion legislation.
  Mr. Oberstar served in the House for a remarkable 36 years, and I 
think it is very fitting and appropriate to honor his legacy by lending 
his name to a post office in his hometown of Chisholm.
  Congressman Oberstar was born in Chisholm, Minnesota, on September 
10, 1934, and graduated from the high school there in 1952. Four years 
later, he earned a bachelor of arts from the University of St. Thomas 
in St. Paul, Minnesota. He later earned a master's degree from the 
College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium. A lot of people knew he was very 
fluent in French and liked to express himself on many trips in French.
  Before running for Congress himself, Congressman Oberstar served on 
the staff for Congressman John Blatnik of Minnesota from 1963 to 1974. 
In that capacity, he worked with Congressman Blatnik on all of the 
legislation from the Public Works and Transportation Committee. In the 
last 3 years he was with Congressman Blatnik, Congressman Oberstar 
became the chief of staff for that committee.
  Congressman Oberstar was first elected to represent the people of 
Minnesota's Eighth District in 1974. Among many notable achievements, 
he served as chairman of the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure in the 110th and 111th Congresses. In total, he served 
in 18 Congresses.
  Sadly, Mr. Oberstar passed away on May 3, 2014, in Potomac, Maryland. 
He certainly was a devoted public servant who left a remarkable legacy 
of service to the citizens of Minnesota and the United States.
  Earlier in this Congress, there was another tribute for Congressman 
Oberstar. At that time, I said this:

       It is an astounding figure to think that a man worked on 
     this one committee for 47 years of his life, but he did so 
     with great honor and distinction. In fact, I think most 
     everybody knew that there was no one in the Congress and 
     probably never has been anyone in the history of the Congress 
     who has known transportation issues and understood them and 
     worked on them longer and harder and with more effectiveness 
     than Jim Oberstar did.
       At one point, he was chairman of the Aviation Subcommittee. 
     In 1994, after the election, the Republicans took control, 
     and I had

[[Page 11395]]

     the honor of becoming the chairman of the Aviation 
     Subcommittee, and I served for 6 years in that position, 
     which was the maximum allowable on our side.
       When I took over as chairman of the Aviation Subcommittee, 
     I frequently heard Jim Oberstar referred to as ``Mr. 
     Aviation.'' So I went to him and asked for his help, and he 
     helped me, guided me, and gave me advice that, to this day, I 
     appreciate very much. He did so in a very kind and humble 
     way.

  Of course, then he reached the pinnacle and became chairman of that 
committee, a committee that he loved. He was a great chairman. He 
worked across the aisle in a very bipartisan way, and I think he tried 
to help everyone on both sides of the aisle and others in any way that 
he possibly could.
  I just wanted to join in this opportunity to pay tribute to a man who 
was a great American and a great Member of this body, Congressman James 
Oberstar.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I certainly associate myself with the remarks of Mr. Duncan.
  I am asking my colleagues to join me in supporting S. 179. That is 
the bill that would designate a United States post office located at 14 
3rd Avenue Northwest in Jim Oberstar's hometown, Chisholm, Minnesota; 
and it would be called the James L. Oberstar Memorial Post Office.
  Mr. Speaker, I am speaking today for a memorial for Jim Oberstar not 
only because of my position on the committee, but for me, this is an 
act of love and respect. I am speaking for a man known in this House as 
one of singular intellect and personal qualities.
  Jim was a native of Chisholm. He graduated--and anybody who knew Jim 
will not be surprised at this--summa cum laude from the University of 
St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota; then he got a master's degree in 
Belgium. That may be where he picked up his French, which he playfully 
used on us at every opportunity.
  Jim was not long out of college when he began working in this House, 
and working in this House was to determine his destiny for the rest of 
his life. He first served as clerk of the Committee on Rivers and 
Harbors, as it was then called. He became administrator of the 
Committee on Public Works--now called Transportation and 
Infrastructure--when Representative John Blatnik became chairman in 
1970.
  Four years later, Jim, himself, ran for Congress, succeeding Mr. 
Blatnik who retired from Minnesota's Eighth District of Congress. Then 
Jim served 36 extraordinary years in this House, and he became the 
longest serving Member from Minnesota in the House of Representatives. 
During that period, Jim Oberstar became the leading expert on 
transportation and infrastructure in the Nation.
  Mr. Speaker, for example, he served as chairman of the Subcommittee 
on Aviation when it passed legislation, increasing our investment in 
airports and air security, which we are still benefiting from.
  Later, he became ranking member of the full committee. There, he 
worked tirelessly for something we are trying to get in this House now, 
for that gas user fee, which used to be bipartisan and was often raised 
and helped Jim and those who served with him improve and make our 
system reliable on the transportation and infrastructure that we so 
often celebrate today--and I mean, all of it, roads, bridges, and 
transit alike.
  We were very fortunate when in 2007, Jim Oberstar was elected 
chairman of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. It was 
during his chairmanship that the economy went down; and we really 
needed an expert on transportation and infrastructure, since investment 
in transportation and infrastructure is the best investment for the 
dollar during a recession and that, of course, was the deepest 
recession since the Great Depression.
  Jim's work during that period is still blossoming in the States. He 
held 300 hearings and passed almost 300 bills and resolutions out of 
committee and through the House. Nearly 200 of those pieces of 
legislation were approved by both Houses, including the Water Resources 
Development Act, the bill that authorized the maintenance and 
construction of America's harbors, as well as funding for important 
wildlife habitat projects.
  Mr. Speaker, Jim also was a cyclist. He took transportation 
seriously. He cycled on the trails that he helped get built and that he 
so loved. His knowledge of our work was so encyclopedic that Democrats 
and Republicans alike, when Jim spoke, listened hard because they knew 
they were getting a once-in-a-lifetime lesson in the complexities 
associated with transportation and infrastructure in our country. He 
was a particular leader on intermodalism, which we know as the 
transportation wave of the future today.
  It was with enormous sadness that we learned that Jim Oberstar passed 
away on May 2, 2014. He was 79 years old. Jim will long be remembered 
for his dedication to public service and for leaving his mark on 
transportation in our country. It is a mark that will never be erased.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Nolan), a sponsor of the House companion 
of S. 179, a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee 
and the gentleman who represents the very same district that Jim 
Oberstar represented.
  Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Representative Duncan 
and Representative Norton for the fine tributes to a fine Member and a 
real credit to this institution.
  This bill honors our friend and our colleague, the late Jim Oberstar, 
in an important way, by naming the United States post office in his 
hometown of Chisholm, Minnesota, the James L. Oberstar Memorial Post 
Office.
  I will never forget the first day that Jim walked into the Chamber 
through one of the side doors over here as a former Member of Congress. 
As he walked in and proceeded down the aisle, Members recognized him, 
and they started spontaneously, Democrats and Republicans alike, to 
applaud Jim Oberstar.
  By the time he got to the well, the whole House was engaged in this 
spontaneous, bipartisan, genuine, loving, and appreciative applause for 
Jim Oberstar. I, quite frankly, have never seen anything like it. I 
hope to see a lot more things like it in the days to come, but what a 
remarkable moment that was.
  It was a real genuine spirit of affection for someone who worked 
really hard, knew his material as well or better than anyone, and was 
such a good nonpartisan when it came to what is good for America; I 
have never quite seen anything like it.
  Jim received more honors than he could count in life; quite frankly, 
he received even more in his passing, but I think it is safe to say 
that no honor would please him more than being recognized by his 
colleagues in the hometown of Chisholm where Jim grew up.
  Chisholm, on Minnesota's Iron Range, is where he learned the value of 
ideas as a star on his high school debate team. They say he was a 
pretty good football player, too, but he liked to recall that the 
editor of his hometown said to him on a couple of occasions, ``Jim, you 
are a really good debater. You really know how to argue. You might want 
to keep working at that''--and how fitting that he would end up in the 
Congress of the United States.
  It is also in Chisholm where he learned about public service with his 
first working job for that editor, peddling papers to the miners and to 
the mining families and learning about the politics of the community. 
It is also where he learned hard work from his parents. Jim's dad 
worked in the mines his entire life and hardly ever missed a day's 
work.
  Chisholm is also the place where Jim learned those old-fashioned 
values that brought him to the House of Representatives.
  He believed that a good idea was a good idea, and it didn't matter if 
it was a Republican idea or a Democratic

[[Page 11396]]

idea. All that mattered was that someone had offered the idea; and he 
had such enormous respect for the process and for his colleagues that 
he gave every good idea an open, an honest, and a fair hearing.

                              {time}  1915

  And if it turned out to be something good for the Nation, why, it was 
good enough for Jim, regardless of the origin.
  So, in urging my colleagues to honor Jim by passing this bill, I 
would like to ask that we honor him by rededicating ourselves to that 
spirit of bipartisanship, that spirit of working together, that spirit 
of getting things done that enabled Jim Oberstar to accomplish the many 
things that he did that were cited by my colleagues here just a few 
moments ago. That was the spirit that epitomized Jim Oberstar, and that 
is how he was so successful in getting things done.
  Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues to pass this legislation.
  Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Minnesota (Ms. McCollum).
  Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for the time.
  I rise to honor the late Jim Oberstar, the Congressman from 
Minnesota's Eighth District.
  For 36 years, Jim Oberstar proudly served the residents of 
Minnesota's Eighth Congressional District. During his decades of 
service on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, 
Representative Oberstar made investing in the future prosperity of this 
country a top priority.
  His commitment to laying the foundation for a 21st century 
transportation system helped make travel safer and kept millions of 
Americans working on the job and strengthened our economy. He worked 
and accomplished all of that.
  On August 1, 2007, the Interstate 35W bridge collapsed in Minnesota. 
Thirteen people lost their lives, including some of my constituents, 
and many more were injured.
  Chairman Oberstar moved with incredible speed to draft legislation to 
respond to the tragedy, and within 48 hours, he had passed a bill on 
the floor. On August 6, less than 1 week after the disaster, funding 
for construction of a new bridge was signed into law.
  But he didn't stop there. Chairman Oberstar worked to call attention 
to the epidemic of weak bridges all across our country. He fought to 
make bridge repair and replacement the focus of the American Recovery 
and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Because of his commitment, thousands of 
bridges were thoroughly inspected, repaired, or, in fact, replaced.
  Not that Jim's response was anything out of the ordinary, throughout 
his career, Jim remained committed to fighting for the people he served 
and the causes he believed in.
  It is fitting that the post office in Chisholm, Minnesota, will be 
named the James L. Oberstar Memorial Post Office, because we know the 
success of a post office, after all, is inextricably linked with 
interstate highways, runways, docks, railways, and roads, because that 
is how the mail gets delivered and that is how we are connected 
throughout this world.
  The imprint left by Congressman Jim Oberstar on every mode of 
transportation throughout our country cannot be overstated.
  And if I may, on a personal note, Jim, both professionally and 
personally, helped give the new Congresswoman from Minnesota a lot of 
thanks.
  So, with that, I want to just say, again, it is more than appropriate 
that the post office in his hometown of Chisholm, Minnesota, be known 
as the James L. Oberstar Memorial Post Office Building, a testament to 
his life's work.
  Jim, we thank you.
  Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Lipinski).
  Mr. LIPINSKI. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 179, to honor the 
memory of Jim Oberstar, a colleague, mentor, and friend to me and to 
many more.
  From his time serving as a staff member to his tenure as the chairman 
of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Jim spent 
every day of his 47 years on Capitol Hill working to improve our 
Nation's infrastructure and, in turn, the lives of Americans across the 
country.
  I was proud to serve with Jim on the T and I Committee for 4 years 
and to share in his passion for all the things that help ensure that 
our quality of life is high and that our economy is strong.
  Jim's thoughtful, forward-thinking approach to our Nation's 
infrastructure needs was built from years of experience and careful 
deliberation, and it earned him the well-deserved nickname, Mr. 
Transportation. During his time as chairman, committee members knew 
that they were going to learn something when they arrived at the 
committee room, and they are going to leave on a mission.
  Jim was truly a visionary when it came to our Nation's infrastructure 
system, but he didn't just talk about what needed to be done. Whether 
it was modernizing our Nation's airspace, improving rail safety, moving 
freight on time, repairing our roads, rehabilitating transit systems, 
or advancing cycling, Jim got things done. That is because Jim had a 
tireless work ethic and was as a great leader and friend as he was a 
policy expert. Jim treated people well, and it didn't matter whether 
you were Republican or Democrat; he was willing to work with you and 
help your district and constituents.
  My bicycle is a fixture in my office, and its presence reminds me of 
Jim and the time I spent cycling with him, when I learned more than I 
ever expected to be able to learn on a bike ride.
  Jim was known for his love of the French language, and he spoke it 
flawlessly. What fewer people know is that Jim perfected his French 
while serving in a volunteer program that preceded the Peace Corps. He 
was teaching French and Creole to Americans helping out in Haiti.
  Jim loved helping people. He was a big promoter of adoption and a 
defender of life. It was all an outgrowth, I believe, of his strong 
Catholic faith.
  Mr. Speaker, Congress and the Nation are better because of Jim 
Oberstar, and those of us who worked closely with him are better public 
servants, colleagues, and people because of him. S. 179 is a fitting 
tribute to Jim Oberstar, and I urge its passage.
  Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the 
gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, let me thank the ranking member and the 
manager of this legislation.
  I have had the privilege of being here during the mighty leadership 
of Jim Oberstar, and I would really call him America's Congressperson.
  He would be an eloquent spokesperson today for not isolating his 
advocacy for his own region or State, but he would rise up on the floor 
of the House to speak eloquently about the need for the refurbishing, 
the rebuilding, the restoration of America's infrastructure, 
transportation infrastructure, from highways and bridges and dams to 
airports and train stations and tracks.
  Mr. Speaker, I just came in today from Philadelphia on Amtrak, and as 
you know, on trains, we engage with our fellow travelers. I guess we 
are called passengers, but we are fellow travelers.
  It was interesting to engage with these constituents of America who 
were using this mode of transportation. They made a very valuable 
point. They said it is not the equipment of Amtrak or whether the Acela 
can move faster than any other train, it is the infrastructure upon 
which the train travels. It is the train tracks. It is the investment 
in that infrastructure to make Amtrak what it needs to be.
  Now, Congressman Oberstar certainly did not live in this part of the

[[Page 11397]]

country, but he could see the general landscape of what America needed.
  I was very interested in hearing my colleague from Minnesota speak of 
that time when the bridge collapsed. What a tragic incident. All of us 
were appalled and saddened, and it was amazing how ``General 
Oberstar,'' if you will, took the leadership role to help America.
  So I rise today to support this underlying legislation and to simply 
thank him and to thank his family for sharing Jim Oberstar, the 
Frenchman, as he would like to say.
  And in concluding my remarks, might I say ``merci beaucoup'' to you, 
to the late Jim Oberstar, a man who loved America and could be called 
America's Congressperson.
  Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, Jim Oberstar was a rare Member. He managed to awe us by 
his knowledge at the same time that he nurtured us with his warmth and 
his kindness. That is why you have heard Members speak so eloquently 
about him today. He left his mark in this House.
  I am very pleased that, with this bill, he will leave his own mark in 
his own hometown with a memorial, a post office named for Jim Oberstar. 
I urge Members of this House to vote for this bill.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  I will just close by saying that I am very grateful to Jim Oberstar. 
He helped me obtain many things for my district. His last year in 
Congress, in August of that year, he came to my district to dedicate a 
beautiful new transit center which the city of Knoxville was kind 
enough to name after me. I always was grateful for his spending that 
day with me in Knoxville.
  I can tell you that I am now in my 27th year in Congress. Twenty-two 
of those years were spent working with Congressman Oberstar. This 
Nation, as Mr. Lipinski said a few minutes ago, is a better place today 
because of the work of Congressman Jim Oberstar.
  I urge all of my colleagues to support passage 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 Tennessee (Mr. Duncan) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, S. 179.
  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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