[House Report 110-824]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



110th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     110-824

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



 
 SPOTTSWOOD W. ROBINSON III AND ROBERT R. MERHIGE, JR., UNITED STATES 
                               COURTHOUSE

                                _______
                                

 September 8, 2008.--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 S. 2403]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, to whom 
was referred the bill (S. 2403) to designate the new Federal 
Courthouse, located in the 700 block of East Broad Street, 
Richmond, Virginia, as the ``Spottswood W. Robinson III and 
Robert R. Merhige, Jr. Federal Courthouse'', having considered 
the same, report favorably thereon with amendment 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 in the 700 block of East Broad 
Street, Richmond, Virginia, shall be known and designated as the 
``Spottswood W. Robinson III and Robert R. Merhige, Jr., 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 ``Spottswood W. 
Robinson III and Robert R. Merhige, Jr., United States Courthouse''.

  Amend the title so as to read:

      A bill to designate the United States courthouse located 
in the 700 block of East Broad Street, Richmond, Virginia, as 
the ``Spottswood W. Robinson III and Robert R. Merhige, Jr., 
United States Courthouse''.

                       PURPOSE OF THE LEGISLATION

    S. 2403, as amended, designates the new United States 
courthouse located in the 700 block of East Broad Street, 
Richmond, Virginia, as the ``Spottswood W. Robinson III and 
Robert R Merhige, Jr., United States Courthouse''.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    Spottswood William Robinson III was born in Richmond, 
Virginia, on July 26, 1916. Robinson attended public schools in 
Richmond, which were segregated at the time, and graduated from 
Armstrong High School in 1932. Following high school, he 
studied at Virginia Union University from 1932 until 1934 and 
from 1935 until 1936. Judge Robinson entered Howard University 
School of Law in Washington, D.C., before completing his 
bachelor's degree, and graduated magna cum laude in 1939.
    After his graduation, Judge Robinson became a professor at 
the Howard University School of Law, where he taught for eight 
years. In the 1940s, he emerged as a prominent civil rights 
attorney. In 1951, Judge Robinson was appointed southeast 
regional counsel for the National Association for the 
Advancement of Colored People (``NAACP''). Shortly after 
joining the NAACP, Robinson represented an African-American 
student in Virginia's Prince Edward County. The lawsuit was 
eventually combined with the Brown v. Board of Education case, 
which the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear in 1954.
    In 1961, President John F. Kennedy appointed Judge Robinson 
to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, a six-member bipartisan 
commission charged with studying civil rights violations in the 
United States. Judge Robinson was confirmed by the Senate by a 
vote of 73 to 17. In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson 
appointed Judge Robinson to the U.S. District Court for the 
District of Columbia and two years later, he became the first 
African-American to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 
D.C. Circuit. Judge Robinson served as Chief Judge of the U.S. 
Court of Appeals from 1981 to 1986, and served on the Court 
until his retirement in 1992.
    On October 11, 1998, Judge Robinson passed away in 
Richmond, Virginia.
    Robert R. Merhige, Jr. was born in Brooklyn, New York, on 
February 5, 1919. Judge Merhige attended High Point College in 
North Carolina and received his law degree from the University 
of Richmond's T.C. Williams School of Law in 1942. Upon 
graduation, he enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps, 
where he served as a crewman aboard a B-17 bomber based in 
Italy.
    After returning from World War II, Judge Merhige began 
practicing law and became one of the most formidable lawyers in 
Virginia. In 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Judge 
Merhige to the District Court. Two weeks into his service on 
the court, Judge Merhige drew the first of many high-profile 
cases that became the hallmark of his career. He ordered the 
release of black activist H. Rap Brown, who was imprisoned in 
Virginia after making an impassioned and militant speech in 
Maryland.
    Judge Merhige was involved in many high-profile cases 
during his 31-year tenure on the Federal bench. He wrote the 
decision for a three-judge panel that threw out the appeals of 
Watergate figures G. Gordon Liddy, Bernard Barker, and Eugenio 
Martinez. In 1970, he ordered the University of Virginia to 
admit women. He clarified the rights of pregnant women to keep 
their jobs. In 1979, he presided over the trials of Ku Klux 
Klan and American Nazi Party members accused of injuring and 
killing members of the Communist Workers Party. He also ordered 
the integration of dozens of Virginia schools.
    On February 18, 2005, Judge Merhige passed away.

                       SUMMARY OF THE LEGISLATION

Section 1. Spottswood W. Robinson III and Robert R. Merhige, Jr., 
        United States Courthouse

    Section 1(a) designates the new United States Courthouse 
located in the 700 block of East Broad St., Richmond, Virginia, 
as the ``Spottswood W. Robinson III and Robert R. Merhige, Jr., 
United States Courthouse''.
    Section 1(b) ensures that any reference in a law, map, 
regulation, document, paper, or other record of the United 
States to the building referred to in subsection (a) be a 
reference to the Spottswood W. Robinson III and Robert R. 
Merhige, Jr., United States Courthouse.

            LEGISLATIVE HISTORY AND COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION

    On December 3, 2007, Senator John Warner introduced S. 
2403, to designate the new Federal Courthouse, located in the 
700 block of East Broad Street, Richmond, Virginia, as the 
``Spottswood W. Robinson III and Robert R. Merhige, Jr., 
Federal Courthouse''.
    On June 4, 2008, the Committee on Environment and Public 
Works of the Senate reported S. 2403 favorably to the Senate.
    On June 24, 2008, the Senate passed S. 2403 by unanimous 
consent.
    On July 31, 2008, the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure met in open session to consider S. 2403.
    Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and 
Emergency Management Chairwoman Eleanor Holmes Norton offered 
an amendment in the nature of a substitute that made technical 
corrections to the bill. The amendment was adopted by voice 
vote with a quorum present.
    The Committee ordered the bill, 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 consideration 
of S. 2403. A motion to order S. 2403, 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)(1) 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 goals and objectives of this legislation are to 
designate the United States courthouse located at 700 block of 
East Broad St., Richmond, Virginia, as the ``Spottswood W. 
Robinson III and Robert R. Merhige, Jr., 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 S. 2403 
from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office:

                                                    August 1, 2008.
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 legislation as ordered reported by the 
House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on July 
31, 2008:
           H.R. 4131, a bill to designate a portion of 
        California State Route 91 located in Los Angeles 
        County, California, as the ``Juanita Millender-McDonald 
        Highway'';
           S. 2403, an act to designate the United 
        States courthouse, located in the 700 block of East 
        Broad Street, Richmond, Virginia, as the ``Spottswood 
        W. Robinson III and Robert R. Merhige Jr. United States 
        Courthouse'';
           S. 3009, an act to designate the Federal 
        Bureau of Investigation building under construction in 
        Omaha, Nebraska, as the ``J. James Exon Federal Bureau 
        of Investigation Building''; and
           S. 2837, an act to designate the United 
        States courthouse located at 225 Cadman Plaza East, 
        Brooklyn, New York, as the ``Theodore Roosevelt United 
        States Courthouse.''
    CBO estimates that enactment of those pieces of legislation 
would have no significant impact on the federal budget and 
would not affect direct spending or revenues. Those 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,
                                          Peter H. Fontaine
                                   (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, S. 2403, 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 S. 2403, 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

    S. 2403, as amended, makes no changes in existing law.

                                  
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