[House Report 110-455]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]





110th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                    110-455

======================================================================



 
  DESIGNATION OF JAMES M. ASHLEY AND THOMAS W.L. ASHLEY UNITED STATES 
                               COURTHOUSE

                                _______
                                

 November 15, 2007.--Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be 
                                printed

                                _______
                                

Mr. Oberstar, from the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 3712]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, to whom 
was referred the bill (H.R. 3712) to designate the Federal 
building and United States courthouse located at 1716 
Spielbusch Avenue in Toledo, Ohio, as the ``James M. & Thomas 
W.L. Ashley Customs Building and United States Courthouse'', 
having considered the same, report favorably thereon with 
amendments and recommend that the bill as amended do pass.
  The amendments are as follows:
  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. DESIGNATION.

  The United States courthouse located at 1716 Spielbusch Avenue in 
Toledo, Ohio, shall be known and designated as the ``James M. Ashley 
and Thomas W.L. Ashley United States Courthouse''.

SEC. 2. REFERENCES.

  Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper, or other 
record of the United States to the United States courthouse referred to 
in section 1 shall be deemed to be a reference to the ``James M. Ashley 
and Thomas W.L. Ashley United States Courthouse''.

    Amend the title so as to read:

    A bill to designate the United States courthouse located at 1716 
Spielbusch Avenue in Toledo, Ohio, as the ``James M. Ashley and Thomas 
W.L. Ashley United States Courthouse''.

                       PURPOSE OF THE LEGISLATION

    H.R. 3712, as amended, designates the United States 
courthouse located at 1716 Spielbusch Avenue in Toledo, Ohio, 
as the ``James M. Ashley and Thomas W.L. Ashley United States 
Courthouse''.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    James Monroe Ashley (1824-1896) was born in Pittsburgh, 
Pennsylvania, and moved to Portsmouth, Ohio, with his family at 
the age of four. In his thirties, he moved to Toledo, Ohio, and 
helped organize the Ohio Republican party.
    Representative Ashley had a distinguished career in public 
service which included five terms as a Representative from Ohio 
and later as Governor of Montana. He was elected to his first 
term in Congress in 1858. During the American Civil War, 
Representative Ashley was the first Member of Congress to call 
for an amendment to the United States Constitution that would 
outlaw slavery. His amendment is recognized as the antecedent 
of the Thirteenth amendment of the Constitution, which 
abolished slavery within the United States and its territories. 
As Chairman of the House Committee on Territories, 
Representative Ashley led the Congressional effort to organize 
the territorial governments of Nevada, Idaho, Arizona, Wyoming, 
and Montana. He was also the author of the enabling acts to 
establish the Territories of Nebraska, Colorado, and Nevada, in 
which he included provisions that prevented the establishment 
of slavery in these territories without the consent and 
approval of Congress.
    After serving in Congress, Governor Ashley became the 
governor of the Montana Territory and served until 1870. He 
then moved into the private sector, where he was instrumental 
in building the Toledo, Ann Arbor, & North Michigan Railroad.
    Thomas William Ludlow Ashley is the great grandson of 
former Governor James M. Ashley. Born in 1923, Representative 
Thomas Ashley served in the United States Army during the 
Second World War. He went on to graduate from Yale University 
in 1948 and from Ohio State University Law School in 1951.
    In 1954, Representative Ashley was elected to the first of 
the 13 terms that he would eventually serve in Congress. During 
his time in Congress, Representative Ashley served as Chairman 
of the Select Committee on Energy, Chairman of the Committee on 
Merchant Marine and Fisheries, and Assistant Majority Whip. In 
1977, Speaker Thomas P. ``Tip'' O'Neill established a Select 
Committee on Energy and appointed Representative Ashley to 
chair the Committee. The Select Committee on Energy compiled 
energy legislation, based on bills reported by several House 
committees in response to President Jimmy Carter's legislative 
proposal. In addition, Representative Ashley was the primary 
sponsor of P.L. 89-117, which directed the Federal Government 
to assist in the provision of housing for low- and moderate-
income families. This law was the precursor to the creation of 
the Department of Housing and Urban Development.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\Roger Szernraj. Representatives James M. Ashley and Thomas 
William Ludlow Ashley. Congressional Research Service. June 20, 2007.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Given the Ashleys' dedication to public service through the 
generations, it is both fitting and proper to designate the 
United States courthouse in Toledo, Ohio, as the ``James M. 
Ashley and Thomas W.L. Ashley United States Courthouse''.

                       SUMMARY OF THE LEGISLATION

Section 1. Designation

    Section 1 designates the United States courthouse located 
at 1716 Spielbusch Avenue in Toledo, Ohio, as the ``James M. 
Ashley and Thomas W.L. Ashley United States Courthouse''.

Section 2. References

    Section 2 clarifies that any reference in a law, map, 
regulation, document, paper, or other record of the United 
States to the United States courthouse referred to in Section 1 
shall be deemed to be a reference to the ``James M. Ashley and 
Thomas W.L. Ashley United States Courthouse''.

            LEGISLATIVE HISTORY AND COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION

    On October 1, 2007, Representative Kaptur introduced H.R. 
3712.
    On October 30, 2007, the Subcommittee on Economic 
Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management met in 
open session to consider H.R. 3712. The Subcommittee adopted an 
amendment in the nature of substitute to make technical 
corrections to the bill. The Subcommittee recommended the bill, 
as amended, favorably to the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure by voice vote with a quorum present.
    On October 31, 2007, the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure met in open session, and ordered H.R. 3712, as 
amended, reported favorably to the House by voice vote with a 
quorum present.

                              RECORD VOTES

    Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the House of Representatives 
requires each committee report to include the total number of 
votes cast for and against on each record vote on a motion to 
report and on any amendment offered to the measure or matter, 
and the names of those members voting for and against. There 
were no recorded votes taken in connection with the amendment 
to H.R. 3712 or ordering H.R. 3712, as amended, reported. A 
motion to order H.R. 3712, as amended, reported favorably to 
the House was agreed to by voice vote with a quorum present.

                      COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS

    With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(I) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee's oversight findings and recommendations are 
reflected in this report.

                          COST OF LEGISLATION

    Clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives does not apply where a cost estimate and 
comparison prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974 has been timely submitted prior to the filing of the 
report and is included in the report. Such a cost estimate is 
included in this report.

                    COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII

    1. With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(2) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, and 
308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee 
references the report of the Congressional Budget Office 
included in the report.
    2. With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(4) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
performance goal and objective of this legislation is to 
designate the United States courthouse located at 1716 
Spielbusch Avenue in Toledo, Ohio, as the ``James M. Ashley and 
Thomas W.L. Ashley United States Courthouse''.
    3. With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(3) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the 
Committee has received the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 
3712, as amended, from the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                  Washington, DC, November 1, 2007.
Hon. James L. Oberstar,
Chairman Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
reviewed the following bills as ordered reported by the House 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on October 31, 
2007:
           H.R. 3712, a bill to designate the United 
        States courthouse located at 1716 Spielbusch Avenue in 
        Toledo, Ohio, as the ``James M. Ashley and Thomas W.L. 
        Ashley United States Courthouse''; and.
           H.R. 3315, a bill to provide that the great 
        hall of the Capitol Visitor Center shall be known as 
        ``Emancipation Hall.''
    CBO estimates that enactment of these bills would have no 
significant impact on the federal budget and would not affect 
direct spending or revenues. These bills contain no 
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would impose no costs on 
state, local, or tribal governments. If you wish further 
details on this estimate, we will be pleased to provide them. 
The CBO staff contact is Matthew Pickford.
            Sincerely,
                                         Robert A. Sunshine
                                   (For Peter R. Orszag, Director).

                     COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XXI

    Pursuant to clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the House 
of Representatives, H.R. 3712, as amended, does not contain any 
congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff 
benefits as defined in clause 9(d), 9(e), or 9(f) of rule XXI 
of the Rules of the House of Representatives.

                   CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT

    Pursuant to clause (3)(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, committee reports on a bill or 
joint resolution of a public character shall include a 
statement citing the specific powers granted to the Congress in 
the Constitution to enact the measure. The Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure finds that Congress has the 
authority to enact this measure pursuant to its powers granted 
under article I, section 8 of the Constitution.

                       FEDERAL MANDATES STATEMENT

    The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of Federal 
mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform 
Act (Public Law 104-4).

                        PREEMPTION CLARIFICATION

    Section 423 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 
requires the report of any Committee on a bill or joint 
resolution to include a statement on the extent to which the 
bill or joint resolution is intended to preempt state, local, 
or tribal law. The Committee states that H.R. 3712, as amended, 
does not preempt any state, local, or tribal law.

                      ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT

    No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b) 
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act are created by this 
legislation.

                APPLICABILITY TO THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

    The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to 
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public 
services or accommodations within the meaning of section 
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act (Public Law 
104-1).

         CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

    H.R. 3712, as amended, makes no changes in existing law.

                                  
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