A bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1050 North Hills Boulevard in Reno, Nevada, as the "Guardians of Freedom Memorial Post Office Building" and to authorize the installation of a plaque at such site, and for other purposes.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on July 21, 2004, at 9:30 a.m., in open session to consider the following nominations:

1. Vice Admiral Timothy J. Keating, USN, for appointment to the grade of Admiral and to be Commander, United States Northern Command/ Commander, North American Aerospace Defense Command;

2. Lieutenant General Bantz J. Craddock, USA, for appointment to the grade of General and to be Commander, United States Southern Command;

3. Peter Cyril Wyche Flory to be Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy; and

4. Valerie Lynn Baldwin to be Assistant Secretary of the Army for Financial Management and Comptroller.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Banking, Housing, and

Urban Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, July 21, 2004, at 10 a.m., to conduct an oversight hearing on ``Regulation N.M.S. and Developments in Market Structure.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Finance be authorized to meet during the session on Wednesday, July 21, 2004, at 10 a.m., to hear testimony on ``Bridging the Tax Gap.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, July 21, 2004 at 9:30 a.m. to hold a hearing on ``The Multilateral Development Banks.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Governmental Affairs be authorized to meet on Wednesday, July 21, 2004, at 10 a.m., to hold a business meeting to consider pending committee business.

Agenda

Legislation

1. S. 1230, a bill to provide for additional responsibilities for the Chief Information Officer of the Department of Homeland Security relating to geospatial information.

2. S. 2347, a bill to amend the District of Columbia Access Act of 1999 to permanently authorize the public school and private school tuition assistance programs established under the Act.

3. S. 2409, a bill to provide for continued health benefits coverage for certain federal employees.

4. S. 2628, a bill to amend chapter 23 of title 5, United States Code, to clarify the disclosures of information protected from prohibited personnel practices, require a statement in nondisclosure policies, forms, and agreements that such policies, forms, and agreements conform with certain disclosure protections, provide certain authority for the Special Counsel, and for other purposes.

5. S. 2536, the Homeland Security Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Protection Act of 2004.

6. S. 2635, a bill to establish an intergovernmental grant program to identify and develop homeland security information, equipment, capabilities, technologies, and services to further the homeland security needs of Federal, State, and local governments.

7. S. 2657, a bill to amend part III of title 5, United States Code, to provide for the establishment of programs under which supplemental dental and vision benefits are made available to Federal employees, retirees, and their dependents, to expand the contracting authority of the Office of Personnel Management, and for other purposes.

8. S. 2639, a bill to reauthorize the Congressional Award Act.

9. S. 2275, the High Risk Nonprofit Security Enhancement Act of 2004.

10. S. 593, Reservists Pay Security Act of 2003.

11. H.R. 3797, the 2004 District of Columbia Omnibus Authorization Act.

Post Office Naming Bills

1. S. 2501/H.R. 4427, a bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 73 South Euclid Avenue in Montauk, New York, as the ``Perry B. Duryea, Jr. Post Office''.

2. S. 2640, a bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1050 North Hills Boulevard in Reno, Nevada, as the ``Guardians of Freedom Memorial Post Office Building'' and to authorize the installation of a plaque at such site, and for other purposes.

3. H.R. 3340, an act to redesignate the facilities of the United States Postal Service located at 7715 and 7748 S. Cottage Grove Avenue in Chicago, Illinois, as the ``James E. Worsham Post Office'' and the ``James E. Worsham Carrier Annex Building'', respectively, and for other purposes.

4. H.R. 4222, an act to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 550 Nebraska Avenue in Kansas City, Kansas, as the ``Newell George Post Office Building''.

5. H.R. 4327, an act to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 7450 Natural Bridge Road in St. Louis, Missouri, as the ``Vitilas `Veto' Reid Post Office Building''.

6. H.R. 4380, an act to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 4737 Mile Stretch Drive in Holiday, Florida, as the ``Sergeant First Class Paul Ray Smith Post Office Building''.

Nominations

1. Neil McPhine to be Chairman, Merit Systems Protection Board.

2. Barbara J. Sapin to be a Member, Merit Systems Protection Board.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions be authorized to meet in Executive Session during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, July 21, 2004.

Agenda

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Indian Affairs be authorized to meet on Wednesday, July 21, 2004, at 2 p.m. in Room 216 of the Hart Senate Office Building to conduct an oversight hearing on pending legislation to reauthorize the Indian Health Care Improvement Act.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Indian Affairs be authorized to meet on Wednesday, July 21, 2004, at 10 a.m. in Room 485 of the Russell Senate Office Building to conduct a business meeting on pending Committee matters, to be followed immediately by a hearing on S. 519, the Native American Capital Formation and Economic Development Act of 2003.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet to conduct a hearing on Wednesday, July 21, 2004, at 10 a.m., on ``An Overview of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Program'' in the Dirksen Senate Office Building room 226.

Witness List

Panel I: Jeffrey S. Bucholtz, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division, Department of Justice, Washington, DC.

Panel II: Helen Bandley Houghton, San Antonio, TX; Jeffrey Thompson, San Antonio, TX; Jeffrey Thompson, Jacksonville, AK; Rita Torres, Surprise, AZ.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, Subcommittee on Children and Families and Committee on Armed Services, Subcommittee on Personnel be authorized to meet for a joint hearing on The Needs of Military Families: How Are States and the Pentagon Responding, Especially for the Guard and Reservists? during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, July 21, 2004., at 2 p.m., in SD-430.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Personnel of the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on July 21, 2004, at 2 p.m., in open session to receive testimony on how States have responded to military families' unique challenges during military deployments and what the Federal Government can do to support States in this important work.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, July 21, at 2:30 p.m.

The purpose of the hearing is to receive testimony on S. 738, to designate certain public lands in Humboldt, Del Norte, Mendocino, Lake, Napa, and Yolo counties in the State of California as wilderness, to designate certain segments of the Black Butte River in Mendocino County, California, as a wild or scenic river, and for other purposes; S. 1614, to designate a portion of White Salmon River as a component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System; S. 2221, to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to sell or exchange certain National Forest System land in the State of Oregon, and for other purposes; S. 2253, to permit young adults to perform projects to prevent fire and suppress fires, and provide disaster relief on public land through a Healthy Forest Youth Conservation Corps; S. 2334, to designate certain National Forest System Land in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System; and S. 2408, to adjust the boundaries of the Helena, Lolo, and Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forests in the State of Montana.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend and colleague, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Platts), for granting me the time.

Mr. Speaker, it is my great honor and privilege to rise today in support of Senate 2640, the Guardians of Freedom Memorial Post Office Building Designation Act. The concept of this legislation, while generated and originated in our office on the House side, was the genesis for the bill introduced by my good friend, Senator John Ensign, as companion legislation to my bill, H.R. 4442. All five members of Nevada's congressional delegation fully support the memorial that these bills would realize.

This bill honors Nevada's military personnel who have made that ultimate sacrifice during the global war on terror and the liberation of Iraq. Nevada's families have lost precious loved ones during these conflicts, and many members of Nevada's communities have requested help in providing some form of recognition for these noble men and women.

This bill helps provide such recognition by establishing the Guardians of Freedom Memorial Post Office building in Reno, Nevada, a consecration of ground forever preserving the memories of these valiant individuals.

The name for this special memorial post office originates through a contest in a high school in the North Valleys area of Reno, Nevada, and the name Guardians of Freedom Post Office was selected from a name generated by the Junior ROTC of North Valleys High School in Reno. Those students created a name which best embodies the spirit of our recently fallen heroes.

I congratulate these young Nevadans on their achievement and thank them for their participation in this special honor that will forever recognize these fallen patriots.

To my knowledge, Mr. Speaker, no other post office in the United States honors the memories of all of those of a community who have fallen in defense of our Nation's liberty. At the Guardians of Freedom Post Office, a plaque will be placed at this site bearing the names of the Nevadans who have made the ultimate sacrifice in fighting terrorism and who have died defending America's liberties.

It is my hope that the names permanently etched into this plaque will be an enduring reminder to future generations that freedom is never free, and those who defend liberty will never be forgotten.

I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this bill.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill (S. 2640) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1050 North Hills Boulevard in Reno, Nevada, as the ``Guardians of Freedom Memorial Post Office Building'' and to authorize the installation of a plaque at such site, and for other purposes.

Madam 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 S. 2640.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of S. 2640, a bill to designate the Reno, Nevada, Post Office as the Guardians of Freedom Memorial Post Office Building. The House version of this legislation, H.R. 4442, introduced by my esteemed colleague, the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Gibbons), passed this body on September 7 of this year. I now urge like support for the Senate bill here today.

I am pleased that this deserved legislative tribute to our Nation's military servicemen and women will soon be on the President's desk and become law.

As our Nation is engaged in the global war on terror, courageous American troops work and fight each day to make us all safer here at home. When President Bush accepted his nomination for the presidency this summer, he stated, ``We have fought the terrorists across the Earth not for pride, not for power, but because the lives of our citizens are at stake.''

These words remain true today. And, thus, the sacrifices of our brave troops across the world continue to be so invaluable to all of us.

This Guardians of Freedom Post Office in Reno, Nevada, is a relatively small, but critically important and very relevant, gesture of the American people's appreciation of Nevada's veterans. We will never take their blood, sweat, and tears for granted. I thank both the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Gibbons) and his colleague in the Senate, Senator John Ensign of Nevada, for their meaningful work towards establishing the Guardians of Freedom Memorial Post Office.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Gibbons).

Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support this resolution.

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

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

Madam Speaker, as a member of the House Committee on Government Reform, I am pleased to join my colleague in consideration of S. 2640, legislation designating the postal facility in Reno, Nevada, in memory of the Guardians of Freedom. This measure, which was sponsored by Senator John Ensign, passed the Senate unanimously on July 22, 2004. S. 2640 is closely related to H.R. 4442 which passed the House by voice vote on September 7, 2004.

The name Guardians of Freedom Memorial Post Office was chosen by the Nevada North Valley High School Air Force Junior ROTC cadets and honors the Nevada men and women who lost their lives while serving in the military on the global war on terrorism and in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Madam Speaker, I was pleased to join last week with veterans in my hometown of Chicago at the George Giles and Dorrie Miller posts, as we all commemorated Veterans Day and we all paid tribute to the men and women who have given their lives in defense of this country. Therefore, I am pleased to support the men and women in the military, commend the young people at the Nevada high school for arriving at the name, and join with my colleague in urging swift passage of this bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, I was unable to be in Washington, DC yesterday. Two weeks ago, I injured my leg and my physician prefers that I not put it through the stress of an airplane flight from my home in Seattle, WA to Washington, DC. Were I able to attend today's session in the House of Representatives, I would have voted in support of H.J. Res. 110, H. Res. 750, S. 2693, S. 2214, S. 2640, and H. Res. 641.