To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 514 17th Street in Moline, Illinois, as the "David Bybee Post Office Building".

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2744, designating the post office in Moline, Illinois, after my good friend Dave Bybee, who passed away in May of last year.

Dave served as a letter carrier and union leader for 33 years within the very building I seek to name after him. He became a letter carrier for the postal service in 1967, and after only 2 years on the job, was elected president of Letter Carriers Local 318.

Dave Bybee held various positions within the Illinois State Letter Carriers Association from 1971 to 1977. He was elected National Business Agent for the National Association for Letter

Carriers for the entire Chicago region in 1980. He held this position and also served as vice president of the AFL-CIO until his untimely death on May 31, 2002.

Dave worked hard on behalf of America's letter carriers, traveled thousands of miles to fight for them and advocate for their interests. He was well respected by retirees, who knew they had a good friend fighting for their interests and benefits.

Dave Bybee's dedication to his fellow workers did not interfere with his devotion to his wife and two sons, Michael and John. In addition to a full and rewarding family life, he also found time to serve his community as the fire chief of Carbon Cliff and as a school board member, and to remain active on the Moline Elks Club. He had a wonderful sense of humor; and no matter how tired he was from work and travel, he could always manage to make any group he was visiting or speaking to laugh and smile. When he passed away, letter carriers and postal officials from across the State and the Nation traveled to pay their respects to Dave Bybee.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to sponsor this legislation in honor of Dave Bybee, a nationally known letter carrier, who served not only his fellow workers but also his community and friends. It is my hope his name will forever be identified within the institution to which he dedicated so much time and energy. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2744, to rename the U.S. post office in Moline, Illinois, after my good friend, Dave Bybee.

Mr. Speaker, today we will address legislation to name the United States Post Office at 514 17th Street in Moline, Illinois after my friend, David Bybee, who passed away in May of last year.

Dave Bybee served as a letter carrier and union leader for 33 years within the very building I seek to name after him. It is my hope that his name will forever be identified with the institution to which he dedicated so much time and effort.

Dave became a letter carrier for the Postal Service in 1967 and after only two years on the job was elected President of Letter Carriers Local 318. He then became the Regional Administrative Assistant and concurrently the Secretary to the Illinois State Association of Letter Carriers from 1971 to 1977. In 1980, Mr. Bybee was elected the National Business Agent to the National Association of Letter Carriers for the 17,000 strong Chicago Region. He held that office and concurrently served as a Vice President of the Illinois AFL-CIO until his death on May 31, 2002.

Dave worked tirelessly on behalf of Illinois' letter carriers, traveling thousands of miles in Illinois and across the nation to represent them. Dave was also well-respected by retirees, who knew they had a good friend and leader fighting for their benefits. In 1992, recognizing Dave's hard work and lifetime of dedication, the building housing Letter Carriers Local 318 was named the David M. Bybee Branch of the National Association of Letter Carriers in his honor.

David Bybee was also civically active, and had many friends within the Illinois Congressional delegation and state legislature on both sides of the aisle. He served as a member of the Electoral College in two national elections.

His dedication to his fellow workers did not interfere with his devotion to his wife, Judy, and their two sons, Michael and John. In addition to a full and rewarding family life, he still found time to serve his community as the fire chief of Carbon Cliff and as a school board member, and remain active in the Moline Elks Club.

Dave had a wonderful sense of humor and no matter how tired he was from work and travel, he could always manage to make any group he was visiting or speaking to laugh and smile. When he passed away, letter carriers and postal officials from all over the state and nation traveled to Moline to pay their respects.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to sponsor this legislation in honor of David Bybee, a national labor leader who served not only his fellow workers, but also his community and family. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2744, to rename the U.S. Post Office in Moline, Illinois after my friend David Bybee.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2744) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 514 17th Street in Moline, Illinois, as the ``David Bybee Post Office Building''.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on the bill under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, my esteemed colleague, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans), introduced H.R. 2744, a bill that honors the life of a diligent and admired member of the U.S. Postal Service family, David Bybee. Mr. Bybee served the Postal Service for 33 years as a letter carrier in Moline, Illinois. He was an active member of the National Association of Letter Carriers, representing thousands of postal employees in Illinois as the NALC's National Business Agent for the Chicago area. Away from work, Mr. Bybee was a fire chief, school board member, Elks Club member, and he enjoyed, most of all, spending as much time as he could with his family.

Mr. Speaker, David Bybee sadly passed away on May 31, 2002. He is survived by his wife, Judy; his two sons, Michael and John; his mother, Marilla; his brother, Richard; and three grandchildren, Ryan, Brandon and Jennifer. I want to join with the gentleman from Illinois to offer the best wishes of this House to the family of David Bybee.

Mr. Speaker, I want to express gratitude to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans) for his valuable work on H.R. 2744, and I urge all Members to support its passage.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I might consume.

As a member of the Committee on Government Reform, I rise in support of H.R. 2744, legislation naming a postal facility located at 514 17th Street in Moline, Illinois, after David Bybee. H.R. 2744, introduced by the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans) on July 15, 2003, was unanimously approved by our committee on October 8, 2003. The bill has met the Committee on Government Reform policy and has the support and cosponsorship of the entire Illinois State delegation.

Mr. David Bybee began his career with the Postal Service as a letter carrier. He was later elected president of the Letter Carriers Local 318. Mr. Bybee worked as the National Association of Letter Carriers' National Business Agent in Chicago, Region 3, for the last 25 years of his service, and in September of 2000, he retired after 33 years of working at the Moline Post Office.

A family man, David Bybee was active in the union and in his community. He served as a vice president of the Illinois AFL-CIO, was a fire chief, school board member and active in the Moline Elks Club. Sadly, he passed away on May 31, 2002.

Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleague for seeking to honor the legacy of David Bybee and urge the swift adoption of this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he might consume to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans).

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Governmental Affairs Committee be discharged from further consideration of the following post office-naming bills, and the Senate proceed to their immediate consideration, en bloc: H.R. 2744, H.R. 3379, H.R. 3175.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bills be read the third time and passed, the motions to reconsider be laid on the table en bloc, and that any statements relating to the bills be printed in the Record.