To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 301 South Heatherwilde Boulevard in Pflugerville, Texas, as the "Sergeant Byron W. Norwood Post Office Building".

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague and fellow classmate, the gentleman from Coppell, Texas (Mr. Marchant), for yielding me time.

Mr. Speaker, this morning I rise in support of this bill which I introduced to name the Pflugerville Post Office after Marine Sergeant Byron Norwood.

I am honored to come before the House and the American people to tell them of the sacrifice of the family and the heroics of a Marine who embodies all who are engaged in helping keep this world safe.

You may remember one of the high points of President Bush's State of the Union address is when he honored the memory of Sergeant Norwood, who was killed last November during the assault on Fallujah in Iraq.

There the President said, ``We have said goodbye to some very good men and women who died for our freedom, and whose memory this Nation will honor forever. One name we honor is Marine Corps Sergeant Byron Norwood. Ladies and gentlemen, with grateful hearts we honor our military families represented here this evening by Sergeant Norwood's mom and dad, Janet and Bill Norwood.''

The President read from a letter Byron's mother wrote to him. She said, ``When Byron was home the last time, I said that I wanted to protect him like I had since he was born. He just hugged me and said, `You've done your job, Mom. Now it's my turn to protect you.' ''

He protected not only his mother, but the Nation.

President Bush honored Sergeant Norwood's parents, Bill and Janet, who stood up to represent all of the families who have found themselves paying the ultimate price for freedom. And we all remember the embrace between Janet and Safia from Iraq right here in the Chamber of this House, up there. It was truly the defining moment of the State of the Union.

The cameras panned towards the Norwoods seated behind First Lady Laura Bush. The Members of the Congress, the Cabinet and assembled dignitaries turned and recognized Mr. and Mrs. Norwood with applause. With the eyes of the Nation on the Norwoods, a woman seated next to Mrs. Bush named Safia, an Iraqi refugee and activist against Saddam Hussein's terrible regime, turned and embraced Mrs. Norwood. It was truly a remarkable moment of gratitude that was seen around the world. And it was one of the most emotional experiences in the long history of State of the Union speeches.

In some of the fiercest fighting since the fall of Saddam Hussein, Sergeant Norwood and his fellow Marines waged an assault to liberate Fallujah from the evil that impeded our efforts to free and liberate the people of Iraq. During the fighting, Sergeant Norwood found himself positioned outside of a house where seven of his fellow Marines were being held captive by the insurgents. A trained and experienced Marine, Norwood stormed the residence and freed his band of brothers from their captors. Tragically, during his efforts to liberate his buddies, Sergeant Norwood was mortally wounded.

But by his actions Sergeant Norwood embodied the verse found in the Gospel of John, Chapter 15:13, ``Greater love

hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.''

Sergeant Byron Norwood loved his country, and we as a Nation can do something to honor the sacrifice he made in saving the lives of those seven Marines. Today I ask my colleagues' support for legislation to name the post office in Pflugerville after Sergeant Byron Norwood.

When I approached Bill and Janet Norwood with the idea of naming the post office in Pflugerville after their son, they were humble; but they wanted to make sure that this bill would honor not only Byron but all of our fallen heroes, and today we can honor their request.

In a letter sent to me by Sergeant Norwood's mother, Janet, they wrote a very compelling and powerful message to me. This is a picture of Sergeant Byron Norwood and she wrote to me, ``Representative McCaul, we wanted you to know how much we have appreciated your visits to our home. It was a pleasure to meet you and Linda and to be able to share more about Byron with you. Knowing that you and so many other Americans honor and respect his sacrifice helps greatly to ease our sorrows.

``Thank you also for the flag, the one that was flown over the Capitol on the day that Byron died, which will always have a special place in the beautiful display box with his other treasures from his Marine Corps service.

``He would be so amazed and so proud. The whole idea of naming the post office is such a stunning honor. One of the things we worried about was that people would soon forget about Byron. If your bill passes, that will never happen and that is such a great comfort.''

No, we will not forget about Byron and we will not forget about the other fallen heroes defending freedom. As with all the parents I have met with who have lost a loved one in this war, they all say the same thing, ``Finish the job.''

We must realize that while this Federal building will bear his name, it will also stand as a symbol for all those who have died in the name of America's freedom and security by showing the world Americans never forget their heroes. Today we can honor those heroes through Sergeant Byron Norwood by giving the post office in his hometown his name.

Mr. Speaker, naming the Pflugerville, Texas, Post Office for Marine Sergeant Byron Norwood is the very least we can do for the memory and the family whose son paid the ultimate sacrifice.

May God bless Janet and Bill Norwood and may He hold Byron in the palm of His hand.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry be authorized to conduct a hearing during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, June 22, 2005 at 10 a.m. in SR-328A, Russell Senate Office Building. The purpose of this hearing will be to consider the nomination of Dr. Richard A. Raymond to be Under Secretary for food safety at the United States Department of Agriculture.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry be authorized to conduct a hearing during the session of the Senate at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, June 22, 2005, in SR-328A, Russell Senate Office Building. The purpose of this hearing will be to review the Livestock Manadatory Reporting Act 1999.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorize to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, June 22, 2005 at 9:30 a.m. to hold a business meeting.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs be authorized to meet on Wednesday, June 22, 2005, at 10 a.m. to hold a business meeting to consider pending committee business.

Agenda

legislation

S. 662, Postal Accountability Enhancement Act; S. 457, Purchase Card Waste Elimination Act; S. 611, Emergency Medical Services Support Act; S. 37, a bill to extend the special postage stamp for breast cancer research for two years.

post office naming bills

H.R. 1460, a bill to designate the facility of the U.S. Postal Service located at 6200 Rolling Road in Springfield, VA, as the ``Captain Mark Stubenhofer Post Office Building''.

S. 590/H.R. 1236, a bill to designate the facility of the U.S. Postal Service located at 750 4th Street in Sparks, NV, as the ``Mayor Tony Armstrong Memorial Post Office''.

S. 571, a bill to designate the facility of the U.S. Postal Service located at 1915 Fulton Street in Brooklyn, NY, as the ``Congresswoman Shirley A. Chisholm Post Office Building''.

S. 892/H.R. 324, a bill to designate the facility of the U.S. Postal Service located at 321 Montgomery Road in Altamonte Springs, FL, as the ``Arthur Stacey Mastrapa Post Office Building''.

S. 867/H.R. 289, a bill to designate the facility of the U.S. Postal Service located at 8200 South Vermont Avenue in Los Angeles, CA, as the ``Sergeant First Class John Marshall Post Office Building''.

S. 1207/H.R. 120, a bill to designate the facility of the U.S. Postal Service located at 20777 Rancho California Road in Temecula, CA, as the ``Dalip Singh Saund Post Office Building''.

S. 775, a bill to designate the facility of the U.S. Postal Service located at 123 West 7th Street in Holdenville, OK, as the ``Boone Pickens Post Office''.

S. 1206/H.R. 504, a bill to designate the facility of the U.S. Postal Service located at 4960 West Washington Boulevard in Los Angeles, CA, as the ``Ray Charles Post Office Building''.

H.R. 1001, a bill to designate the facility of the U.S. Postal Service located at 301 South Heatherwilde Boulevard in Pflugerville, TX, as the ``Sergeant Byron W. Norwood Post Office Building.''

HR. 1072, a bill to designate the facility of the U.S. Postal Service located at 151 West End Street in Goliad, TX, as the ``Judge Emilio Vargas Post Office Building.''

S. 904, a bill to designate the facility of the U.S. Postal Service located at 1560 Union Valley Road in West Milford, NJ, as the ``Brian P. Parrello Post Office Building.''

HR. 1542, a bill to designate the facility of the U.S. Postal Service located at 695 Pleasant Street in New Bedford, MA, as the ``Honorable Judge George N. Leighton Post Office Building.''

H.R. 1082, a bill to designate the facility of the U.S. Postal Service located at 120 East Illinois Avenue in Vinita, OK, as the ``Francis C. Goodpaster Post Office Building.''

H.R. 1524, a bill to designate the facility of the U.S. Postal Service at 12433 Antioch Road in Overland Park, KS, as the ``Ed Eilert Post Office Building.''

H.R. 627, a bill to designate the facility of the U.S. Postal Service located at 40 Putnam Avenue in Hamden, CT, as the ``Linda White-Epps Post Office.''

H.R. 2326, a bill to designate the facility of the U.S. Postal Service located at 614 West Old County Road in Belhaven, NC, as the ``Floyd Lupton Post Office.''

Nominations

Linda M. Combs to be Controller, Office of Federal Financial Management, Office of Management and Budget.

Linda M. Springer to be Director, Office of Personnel Management.

Laura A. Cordero to be Associate Judge, Superior Court of the District of Columbia.

Noel Anketell Kramer to be Associate Judge, District of Columbia Court of Appeals.

Mr. President, I would like to announce that the Committee on Indian Affairs will meet on Wednesday, June 22, 2005, at 9:30 a.m. in Room 216 of the Hart Senate Office Building to conduct an oversight hearing on the In Re Tribal Lobbying Matters, et al.

Those wishing additional information may contact the Indian Affairs Committee at 224-2251.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Select Committee on Intelligence be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on June 22, 2005 at 2:30 p.m. to hold a closed briefing.

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 H.R. 1001.

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

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1001 is an important piece of legislation that names this Pflugerville, Texas, Post Office as the Sergeant Byron W. Norwood Post Office Building.

I am proud the House is considering this bill today because Sergeant Byron Norwood is, without question, an American hero.

Mr. Speaker, Byron Norwood grew up in Pflugerville, a small town outside of Austin, and enjoyed playing the trumpet in the high school jazz band and marching band. He was a star in several high school theater productions. After graduation, he joined the Marines, following in the footsteps of both of his grandfathers who served with the Marine Corps during World War II. He ultimately became a sergeant assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division in Camp Pendleton, California.

Mr. Speaker, Sergeant Norwood bravely served two tours of duty in Iraq. During his second tour he was tragically killed by a sniper in the Anbar province of Iraq on November 13 of 2004. In the trying days that followed, Byron's mother, Janet Norwood, wrote a letter to President Bush to say how dedicated her son was to his country. Mrs. Norwood said in the letter that in spite all that the family had been through, they still supported the war. Afterwards, the White House invited Mr. and Mrs. Norwood to the State of the Union speech.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. McCaul), for introducing this legislation and seeing it to the floor today.

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

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to be a cosponsor of House Resolution 1001 that honors Sergeant Byron Norwood. I urge all Members to support this legislation.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, as a member of the House Committee on Government Reform, I am pleased to join my colleague in consideration of the H.R. 1001, legislation naming a U.S. postal facility in Pflugerville, Texas, after Sergeant Byron Norwood.

H.R. 1001 was introduced by the gentleman from Texas (Mr. McCaul) on March 1, 2005 and unanimously reported by our committee on April 13, 2005. The bill enjoys the support and cosponsorship of the entire Texas delegation.

Sergeant Byron W. Norwood died on November 13, 2004, as a result of enemy action in Fallujah. Sergeant Norwood was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, in Camp Pendleton in California before being deployed to Iraq.

Sergeant Norwood was recognized by the President posthumously during his State of the Union address for his bravery and sacrifice to our country. The President also recognized Sergeant Norwood's parents, Janet and Bill, for the tremendous grace they displayed in the wake of their son's death.

A native of Texas, Byron was well liked by his fellow soldiers because not only was he an exemplary soldier, but he was also a terrific person. He was described by members of his regiment as a person who was not afraid to show his emotions, and was always there to listen and lend support to his friends during difficult times.

Mr. Speaker, it is important that during times of war we take time to remember its human cost, that people as loving and caring as Sergeant Byron Norwood are sacrificing their lives to protect ours.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. McCaul) for introducing this legislation. It is a wonderful tribute to a great man and an extraordinary soldier. I urge swift adoption of this bill.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs be discharged from further consideration, and the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of the following postal naming bills en bloc: S. 571, S. 775, S. 904, H.R. 120, H.R. 289, H.R. 324, H.R. 504, H.R. 627, H.R. 1001, H.R. 1072, H.R. 1082, H.R. 1236, H.R. 1460, H.R. 1524, H.R. 1542, and H.R. 2326.

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