[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 5]
[House]
[Pages 6863-6864]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            SPECIALIST ROSS A. McGINNIS MEMORIAL POST OFFICE

  Mr. WALKER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 433) to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 523 East Railroad Street in Knox, Pennsylvania, as 
the ``Specialist Ross A. McGinnis Memorial Post Office''.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 433

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

     SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds the following:
       (1) Ross Andrew McGinnis was born and raised in Knox, 
     Pennsylvania, the son of Tom and Romayne McGinnis.
       (2) Specialist McGinnis joined the Army in 2004 and 
     following his training, was assigned to 1st Platoon, C 
     Company, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade 
     Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division.
       (3) On December 4, 2006, McGinnis was killed in action 
     while serving in Iraq. For his actions that day, he was 
     awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor by President George 
     W. Bush on June 2, 2008.
       (4) From the official Medal of Honor Army Citation:
       (A) Private First Class Ross A. McGinnis, United States 
     Army. For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk 
     of his life above and beyond the call of duty.
       (B) Private First Class Ross A. McGinnis distinguished 
     himself by acts of gallantry

[[Page 6864]]

     and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty while 
     serving as an M2 .50-caliber Machine Gunner, 1st Platoon, C 
     Company, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, in connection 
     with combat operations against an armed enemy in Adhamiyah, 
     Northeast Baghdad, Iraq, on 4 December 2006.
       (C) That afternoon his platoon was conducting combat 
     control operations in an effort to reduce and control 
     sectarian violence in the area. While Private McGinnis was 
     manning the M2 .50-caliber Machine Gun, a fragmentation 
     grenade thrown by an insurgent fell through the gunner's 
     hatch into the vehicle. Reacting quickly, he yelled 
     ``grenade,'' allowing all four members of his crew to prepare 
     for the grenade's blast. Then, rather than leaping from the 
     gunner's hatch to safety, Private McGinnis made the 
     courageous decision to protect his crew. In a selfless act of 
     bravery, in which he was mortally wounded, Private McGinnis 
     covered the live grenade, pinning it between his body and the 
     vehicle and absorbing most of the explosion.
       (D) Private McGinnis' gallant action directly saved four 
     men from certain serious injury or death. Private First Class 
     McGinnis' extraordinary heroism and selflessness at the cost 
     of his own life, above and beyond the call of duty, are in 
     keeping with the highest traditions of the military service 
     and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the 
     United States Army.

     SEC. 2. SPECIALIST ROSS A. MCGINNIS MEMORIAL POST OFFICE.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 523 East Railroad Street in Knox, 
     Pennsylvania, shall be known and designated as the 
     ``Specialist Ross A. McGinnis 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 ``Specialist Ross A. McGinnis Memorial 
     Post Office''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
North Carolina (Mr. Walker) and the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. 
Lawrence) 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 
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. 433, introduced by Congressman Glenn 
Thompson of Pennsylvania.
  H.R. 433 designates the post office located at 523 East Railroad 
Street, in Knox, Pennsylvania, as the Specialist Ross A. McGinnis 
Memorial Post Office.
  This bill honors a remarkably brave soldier and Medal of Honor 
recipient, Army Specialist Ross McGinnis. This young man's story is one 
of incredible sacrifice. When enemy combatants launched a grenade into 
the vehicle occupied by Specialist McGinnis and his fellow soldiers, 
Specialist McGinnis' reaction was one of inconceivable bravery. He 
thrust his own body on top of the grenade to save the lives of his 
comrades.
  In a moment I will ask my colleague, Congressman Thompson, the 
sponsor of this bill, to share more about this hero and his incredible 
story. In the meantime, I want to urge Members to support this bill to 
name a post office to honor McGinnis' life and his sacrifice.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. LAWRENCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I am pleased to join my colleagues in the consideration of H.R. 433, 
a bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service 
located at 523 Railroad Street in Knox, Pennsylvania, as the Specialist 
Ross A. McGinnis Memorial Post Office.
  There are a number of post offices that we are bringing forward 
today, recognizing the sacrifice and the commitment of our American 
citizens to our country. It is noteworthy to put into the Record that 
Ross McGinnis was promoted after death to Specialist and received the 
Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, and the prestigious Medal of Honor for 
his heroic actions.
  Mr. Speaker, we should pass this bill to commemorate the ultimate 
sacrifice that Specialist Ross McGinnis made to our country. I urge its 
passage.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WALKER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson).
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, in just a few days, people 
across the Nation will pause on Memorial Day to remember the men and 
women who paid the ultimate sacrifice, losing their lives as members of 
America's Armed Forces.
  As a Member of Congress and an Army dad, with my son, Logan, being 
wounded in Iraq, I know some of the struggles our military families go 
through every day. I also know how courageous and strong our fighting 
men and women are, and the bravery of those who did not make it home.
  I rise in support of H.R. 433, which renames the United States Post 
Office in Knox, Pennsylvania, as the Specialist Ross A. McGinnis 
Memorial Post Office, a designation which will honor an exceptionally 
brave young man.
  Medal of Honor recipient Ross A. McGinnis was born June 14, 1987, 
Flag Day, in Meadville, Pennsylvania, the son of Tom and Romayne 
McGinnis. He was killed in the line of duty on December 4, 2006, while 
serving in Iraq.
  Ross grew up in the community of Knox, located in Pennsylvania's 
Fifth Congressional District. He attended Clarion County Public Schools 
and was a member of the Boy Scouts, along with participating in 
basketball, soccer, and Little League Baseball. He was a member of the 
St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Knox, and a 2005 graduate of Keystone 
Junior-Senior High School.
  Ross had long wanted to be a soldier, and in 2004, on his 17th 
birthday, he visited an Army recruiting center and joined the delayed 
entry program.
  Following his initial training, Ross was deployed to eastern Baghdad 
in August of 2006. He served as an M2 .50-caliber machine gunner in the 
1st Platoon, C Company, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, in 
support of operations intended to combat an intense insurgency in that 
region.
  On December 4, 2006, McGinnis' platoon was on mounted patrol in 
Adhamiyah. During the course of the patrol, an insurgent on a nearby 
rooftop threw a grenade into the vehicle Ross was riding in. Without 
hesitation or regard for his own life, McGinnis threw his body on top 
of the grenade, saving the lives of his fellow soldiers. Posthumously, 
he was promoted to Specialist and was awarded the Silver Star.
  On June 2, 2008, he was awarded the Medal of Honor. In part, his 
citation reads his ``extraordinary heroism and selflessness at the cost 
of his own life, above and beyond the call of duty, are in keeping with 
the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit 
upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.''
  It is my hope that through the naming of this post office, his 
heroism and selflessness will live long through the ages.
  Mrs. LAWRENCE. Mr. Speaker, again, I urge the passage of H.R. 433.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. WALKER. Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the bill.
  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. 433.
  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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