To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1475 Western Avenue, Suite 45, in Albany, New York, as the "Lieutenant John F. Finn Post Office".

Mr. Speaker, I simply want to thank Senator Schumer, Senator Clinton, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Sweeney), and all the members of the New York delegation, Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings, and all of those who worked so hard to bring this legislation to the floor today.

John Finn was a police officer who was killed in the line of duty. He literally laid down his life for his friends. Mr. Speaker, we consider this bill today in memory of all of his service through the years to the Albany Police Department, and also for his wife, Maura, his children, Clara and Molly, and all of his fellow police officers and friends.

I ask all of my colleagues to approve this legislation as a small tribute to a true American hero, Lieutenant Finn.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time to comment on S. 2693, which designates the United States Post Office at 1475 Western Avenue in Albany, New York as the ``Lieutenant John F. Finn Post Office.''

This bill was introduced by our former colleague, my good friend from New York, Senator Chuck Schumer.

I was pleased to introduce the House companion to this legislation, HR 5053, which passed the House unanimously on October 6th of this year.

I would also like to thank the gentleman from New York, Mr. Sweeney, for his steadfast support of this legislation and his leadership on issues of importance to the law enforcement community.

And I also thank Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings for his steadfast support for the entire Finn family.

Mr. Speaker, John Francis Finn was born in Port Jefferson on Long Island. He was the son of Bill and Mary Finn, and he was a great brother to Bill, Michael, Mary and Rose. He graduated from Smithtown High School, also on Long Island, and the University of Albany.

He joined the Albany Police Department on January 31, 1991. He had a 13-year career with the Albany Police Department with many diverse assignments. He completed them all with exemplary commitment, dedication, and compassion.

He was named a detective in the juvenile unit in 1993, promoted to sergeant in 1996, and promoted to lieutenant in 2001.

Mr. Speaker, on December 23, 2003, Lt. Finn responded to an armed robbery at a convenience store. Although he was wearing a protective vest, the suspect, armed with a semiautomatic weapon, struck Lt. Finn three times in the lower abdomen and leg.

Overe the next few weeks, John underwent numerous surgeries and received exceptional care at the Albany Medical Center.

He passed away 51 days later, on February 12th of this year, becoming the ninth member of the Albany Police Department to be killed in the line of duty.

Mr. Speaker, over 5,000 officers and mourners from around the northeastern United States attended the memorial service in February at the Pepsi Arena in Albany. The service recalled John's distinguished career and life of service and sacrifice. He had received two lifesaving awards from the Albany Police Department.

In 2000, the Kiwanis Club named him Officer of the Year, and the Albany County Youth Recognition Awards have been renamed in honor of Lt. Finn.

Governor Pataki named Lt. Finn Police Officer of the Year in 2003 and presented that award to Lt. Finn's wife, Maura McNulty-Finn, and to his two daughters, Clara and Molly.

Maura was the love of his life, and Clara and Molly were his pride and joy. He brought his daughters to work with him when he volunteered, as he frequently did.

He was also instrumental in creating the Children and Family Services Unit in the Albany Police Department.

Mr. Speaker, at John's memorial service, I quoted scripture in saying, ``No greater love can one man have than that he lay down his life for his friends.'' That is what John Finn did.

At this particular time, when we have many service personnel serving overseas, we are mindful of their sacrifice. We remember their service on a daily basis, as well we should.

We should always remember that had it not been for all the men and women who wore the uniform of the United States military, the rest of us would not have the privilege of going around bragging, as I often do, about how we live in the freest and most open democracy on the Earth. Freedom is not free. We paid a tremendous price for it.

I think we sometimes neglect to remember the sacrifices made by those protecting the homeland, who put themselves at risk every single day, just like John Finn did on December 23, 2003, when he gave his life for his friends.

So I am honored to be here today, Mr. Speaker, to recall John's life of service and sacrifice, to pay this small tribute to him, and to do what I know he would really like--to thank all police officers across the Nation who put their lives on the line for us every single day.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time to comment on my bill, H.R. 5053, which designates the United States Post Office at 1475 Western Avenue in Albany, New York as the ``Lieutenant John F. Finn Post Office.''

Mr. Speaker, John Francis Finn was born in Port Jefferson on Long Island. He was the son of Bill and Mary Finn, and he was a great brother to Bill, Michael, Mary and Rose. He graduated from Smithtown High School, also on Long Island, and the University at Albany.

He joined the Albany Police Department on January 31, 1991. He had a 13-year career with the Albany Police Department with many diverse assignments. He completed them all with exemplary commitment, dedication, and compassion. He was named a detective in the juvenile unit in 1993, promoted to sergeant in 1996, and promoted to lieutenant in the year 2001.

Mr. Speaker, on December 23, 2003, Lt. Finn responded to an armed robbery at a convenience store. Although he was wearing a protective vest, the suspect, armed with a semiautomatic weapon, struck Lt. Finn three times in the lower abdomen and leg.

Over the next few weeks, John underwent numerous surgeries and received exceptional care at the Albany Medical Center. He passed away 51 days later, on February 12th of this year, becoming the ninth member of the Albany Police Department to be killed in the line of duty.

Mr. Speaker, over 5,000 officers and mourners from around the northeastern United States attended the memorial service in February at the Pepsi Arena in Albany. The service recalled John's distinguished career and life of service and sacrifice. He had received two lifesaving awards from the Albany Police Department. The Kiwanis Club named him Officer of the Year in the year 2000, and the Albany County Youth Recognition Awards have been renamed in honor of Lt. Finn.

Governor Pataki named Lt. Finn Police Officer of the Year in 2003 and presented that award to Lt. Finn's wife, Maura McNulty-Finn, and to his two daughters, Clara and Molly.

Maura was the love of his life, and Clara and Molly were his pride and joy. He brought his daughters to work with him when he volunteered, as he frequently did. He was also instrumental in creating the Children and Family Services Unit in the Albany Police Department.

Mr. Speaker, at John's memorial service, I quoted scripture in saying, ``No greater love can one man have than that he lay down his life for his friends.'' That is what John Finn did.

At this particular time, when we have many service personnel serving overseas, we are mindful of their sacrifice. We remember their service on a daily basis, as well we should. We should always remember that had it not been for all the men and women who wore the uniform of the United States military, the rest of us would not have the privilege of going around bragging, as I often do, about how we live in the freest and most open democracy on the Earth. Freedom is not free. We paid a tremendous price for it.

But while we do that, I think we sometimes neglect to remember the sacrifices made by the folks who are protecting the homeland security and who go out and take chances every single day, just like John Finn did last December 23 when he gave his life for his friends.

So I am honored to be here today, Mr. Speaker, to recall John's life of service and sacrifice, to pay this small tribute to him, and to do what I know he would really like, and that is to thank all of the other police officers all across the Nation who take these kinds of chances every single day.

I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time.

Mr. Speaker, I am honored to be here today in support of this legislation, in support of the effort here to honor one of the really great citizens of this Nation and certainly of our area. When my friend and colleague from New York (Mr. McNulty) asked me to cosponsor this bill and to come and speak on it, I was truly touched and honored by the opportunity. This is probably one of the more important things that I will do in my tenure here, because, Mr. Speaker, Lieutenant John Finn, while not from my district, from a district adjacent to my district, certainly touched, saved, and protected the lives of many of my constituents; and his passing was a deep, deep tragedy felt by all of the people of my district and I think indeed all of the people of this Nation. That is why this is such an appropriate response by this body, and I am proud to be part of it.

John Finn was a model citizen, a loving father, a doting husband, and a wonderful human being. He was, frankly, the person we would want all our children to be. He was the kind of person we would want to recognize as a great American.

I remember in the area, we had a memorial service shortly after his passing and his family, his wife, Maura McNulty-Finn, handled that process and the loss of John Finn in the community with such grace and such dignity and really won the respect of the entire community, and his daughters, Clara and Molly, two beautiful little girls, really touched the heartstrings of all of the people who recognized the loss that they were realizing and will realize for the rest of their lives.

John Finn was an officer of the law who took his job incredibly seriously, winning numerous awards for saving lives and constantly upholding his duties to those he swore to protect. Unfortunately, Lieutenant Finn, like far too many of our Nation's police officers, was killed in the line of duty. He was cut down in the prime of his life while doing his job, a job he did far better than most. He was killed because he made a choice on the night of December 23, yes, December 23, 2 days before Christmas of last year. Instead of backing down and living to fight another day, he chose to face danger head-on when he walked into that convenience store and into a hail of bullets. On that night, trying to stop a robbery, he joined the company of untold American heroes who gave the ultimate sacrifice so others may be saved. Lieutenant Finn died protecting others and upholding a code he chose to live by. He chose to live his life to the end with honor and bravery, and that is something our constituents and our government will never be able to repay.

We can, however, show our appreciation and honor his memory by naming the Lieutenant John F. Finn Post Office Building. We owe it to his family and his loved ones. Indeed, Mr. Speaker, we owe it to ourselves.

Mr. Speaker, when I attended Lieutenant Finn's funeral service, I was moved by the thousands from the area and from other States who filled an arena in Albany to pay their last respects to such a fine man. Today we are giving something back. I am really privileged to be part of it.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5053) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1475 Western Avenue, Suite 45, in Albany, New York, as the ``Lieutenant John F. Finn Post Office''.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, Lieutenant John F. Finn, a 12-year veteran of the Albany Police Department, was shot three times while chasing a robbery suspect on December 23, 2003. Lieutenant Finn was immediately admitted to Albany Medical Center, and he remained in critical condition for 7 weeks. He sadly succumbed to his wounds on February 12 of this year, as I said, approximately 7 weeks later. H.R. 5053 remembers the life and service of Lieutenant Finn.

Mr. Speaker, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, an average of 163 law enforcement officers have been killed annually in the line of duty over the last 10 years. Our Nation's police officers make themselves vulnerable every day in working to maintain the peace in American communities. We mourn with the citizens of Albany on this occasion and the House intends for this post office designation to serve as a lasting tribute to Lieutenant John F. Finn's patriotism, courage, sacrifice, and service to this Nation.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Sweeney).

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

I certainly agreed with everything that our colleague, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Sweeney), just said. I commend the gentleman from New York (Mr. McNulty) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Sweeney) for this bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Lieutenant John F. Finn of the Albany, NY, Police Department. Originally from Port Jefferson, NY, within my congressional district, Lieutenant Finn passed away on February 12 of this year from gunshot wounds received while attempting to apprehend a robbery suspect.

John Finn was a lifelong resident of New York, and after attending Smithtown High

School West on Long Island he pursued an undergraduate degree at SUNY Albany. Following school, Finn began a career in law enforcement marked by innovation and success. A 13-year veteran of the Albany force, John Finn served admirably throughout his career and during that tenure received two lifesaving awards from his department and the 2000 Officer of the Year from the Kiwanis Club. On July 26th, 2004, New York State officially recognized the contributions of Lieutenant Finn by posthumously awarding him the Governor's Police Officer of the Year Award for 2003.

Lieutenant Finn was a model policeman and family man, dedicating his life to protecting others. Finn's commitment to the well being of others remains visible in the good works of the Children and Family Services Unit of the Albany Police Department, which Finn helped create. Lieutenant Finn's surviving family includes his wife Maura McNulty-Finn and daughters Clara and Molly.

During his final days, Lieutenant Finn continued to exemplify bravery and fortitude by fighting hard for nearly 2 months after taking three bullets from a semiautomatic weapon. Thankfully, Finn's murderer now resides behind bars, and in a testament to Lieutenant Finn's affect on the community, nearly 5,000 people attended a public service in his honor.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to extend my deepest condolences to John Finn's family and friends and I am happy to help memorialize this brave man by designating a Federal building in his honor. I reserve the balance of my time.