[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 9]
[House]
[Pages 13116-13117]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  ABNER J. MIKVA POST OFFICE BUILDING

  Mr. JODY B. HICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules 
and pass the bill (H.R. 5798) to designate the facility of the United 
States Postal Service located at 1101 Davis Street in Evanston, 
Illinois, as the ``Abner J. Mikva Post Office Building''.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 5798

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

     SECTION 1. ABNER J. MIKVA POST OFFICE BUILDING.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 1101 Davis Street in Evanston, Illinois, 
     shall be known and designated as the ``Abner J. Mikva 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 ``Abner J. Mikva Post Office Building''.

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


                             General Leave

  Mr. JODY B. HICE of Georgia. 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 Georgia?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. JODY B. HICE of Georgia. I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5798, introduced by 
Representative Schakowsky, to designate a post office located in 
Evanston, Illinois, as the Abner J. Mikva Post Office Building.
  The Honorable Abner Mikva dedicated his life to public service. He 
served in all three branches of the Federal Government, serving in the 
U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 
District of Columbia, and in the White House as counsel to President 
Bill Clinton.
  I look forward to learning more about the Honorable Abner Mikva from 
the sponsor of the bill, Representative Schakowsky.
  I urge Members to support this bill.
  I reserve the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1630

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to support H.R. 
5798, a bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 1101 Davis Street in Evanston, Illinois, as the 
Abner J. Mikva Post Office Building.
  I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Illinois 
(Ms. Schakowsky), the author of this bill.
  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for yielding, and I 
thank my colleague across the aisle for his support of this 
legislation. I also thank all of my colleagues in the Illinois 
delegation for cosponsoring this legislation to name a post office for 
Abner J. Mikva.
  Ab, as my colleague mentioned, is one of the few Americans to hold 
the distinction of serving in all three branches of the Federal 
Government. When Abner Mikva was a young man, he went to the office of 
a Chicago ward committeeman and asked to volunteer. His offer was 
rebuffed with the remark: ``We don't want nobody nobody sent.'' 
Unswayed, Abner Mikva devoted his life to public service and to 
politics.
  Abner Mikva was born in 1926 in Milwaukee. He enrolled in the Army 
Air Corps in 1944 and served as a navigator in the Army Air Corps 
during World War II. In 1951, he received a law degree from the 
University of Chicago and, after graduation, served as a clerk to 
Associate Justice Sherman Minton on the Supreme Court.
  In 1956, Abner Mikva was elected to the Illinois General Assembly, 
where he served for five consecutive terms. He was then elected to the 
United States House of Representatives in 1968, where he represented 
the south side, Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago. That is Barack 
Obama's neighborhood. After redistricting in 1971, Abner Mikva moved to 
Evanston. In 1974, he won the election to represent Illinois' 10th 
Congressional District, which was based, at that time, in Evanston, my 
hometown. Abner Mikva was elected in three consecutive elections to 
represent the people of Evanston and the surrounding north shore 
communities in the United States House.
  His campaigns were notable for their involvement of thousands of 
young people in his robust grassroots election efforts. Eighteen-year-
olds had recently been granted the constitutional right to vote, and he 
had recruited and enlisted many of them. Many of these young people 
became effective political organizers, transforming the nature of 
political campaigns over the last four decades.
  Abner Mikva was nominated in his third term as an appointee to the 
U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, where he served 
alongside Jurists Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia, and Ruth Bader 
Ginsburg. During his final 4 years on the D.C. Circuit Court, Abner 
Mikva served as chief judge. He was then selected by President Bill 
Clinton in 1994 to be White House Counsel. After a year as White House 
Counsel, Abner Mikva returned to the Chicago area and taught at 
Northwestern University in Evanston.
  In 1997, Abner Mikva and his beloved wife and partner, Zoe, started 
what they called the Mikva Challenge--his effort to engage young people 
in civic leadership. Each year, the Mikva Challenge engages 7,000 young 
people--students--in programs across the Chicagoland area. These are 
high school kids. Students volunteer on the campaigns of both parties, 
serve as election judges, intern in legislative offices, and learn how 
to be effective advocates on issues they care the most about.
  In 2014, President Obama recognized Abner Mikva's service to this 
country with the Presidential Medal of Freedom--our highest civilian 
honor.
  When honoring Abner Mikva, President Obama said: ``Ab transcends any 
single moment in recent political history, but he had a hand in shaping 
some of the best of it.''
  Abner Mikva said that receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom 
from his friend Barack Obama was ``the greatest thing that ever 
happened to me.''
  Abner Mikva remains a revered fighter in Illinois and a favorite son 
of Evanston's--remembered for his enduring wit, humanity, and the 
ongoing legacy of the Mikva Challenge.

[[Page 13117]]

  Let me just say, personally, on July 4, 2016, while America lost a 
great patriot, I also lost a very precious friend and mentor. I am so 
happy that we are going to pay an appropriate tribute to his great 
memory and his legacy.
  Mr. JODY B. HICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my 
time.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I endorse the words of the gentlewoman from 
Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky), and I urge the passage of H.R. 5798, a bill 
to honor the legacy of Abner Mikva and to commemorate his exemplary 
life of public service across all branches of our Federal Government.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. JODY B. HICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I urge the passage 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 Georgia (Mr. Jody B. Hice) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 5798.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. HUELSKAMP. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

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