To redesignate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1927 Sangamon Avenue in Springfield, Illinois, as the "J.M. Dietrich Northeast Annex".

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be authorized to meet on Thursday, December 15, 2005, at 10 a.m. on pending committee business.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs be authorized to meet on Thursday, December 15, 2005, at 10 a.m., for a hearing titled, ``Hurricane Katrina: Who's In Charge of the New Orleans Levees?''.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affaris be authorized to hold an off-the-floor markup during the session on Thursday, December 15, 2005, to consider the nominations of George W. Foresman to be Under Secretary for Preparedness, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and Mary M. Rose to be Member, Merit Systems Protection Board.

Agenda

Nominations

(1) George W. Foresman to be Under Secretary for Preparedness, U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

(2) Mary M. Rose to be Member, Merit Systems Protection Board.

Post Office Naming Bills

(1) S. 1445, a bill to designate the facility of the U.S. Postal Service located at 520 Colorado Avenue in Arriba, CO, as the ``William H. Emery Post Office.''

(2) S. 1792/H.R. 3770, a bill to designate the facility of the U.S. Postal Service located at 205 West Washington Street in Knox, IN, as the ``Grant W. Green Post Office Building.''

(3) S. 1820, a bill to designate the facility of the U.S. Postal Service located at 6110 East 51st Place in Tulsa, OK, as the ``Dewey F. Bartlett Post Office.''

(4) S. 2036, a bill to designate the facility of the U.S. Postal Service located at 320 High Street in Clinton, MA, as the ``Raymond J. Salmon Post Office.''

(5) S. 2064, a bill to designate the facility of the U.S. Postal Service located at 122 South Bill Street in Francesville, IN, as the ``Malcolm Melville `Mac' Lawrence Post Office.''

(6) S. 2089, a bill to designate the facility of the U.S. Postal Service located at 1271 North King Street in Honolulu, Oahu, HA, as the ``Hiram L. Fong Post Office Building.''

(7) H.R. 2113, a bill to designate the facility of the U.S. Postal Service located at 2000 McDonough Street in Joliet, IL, as the ``John F. Whiteside Joliet Post Office Building.''

(8) H.R. 2346, a bill to designate the facility of the U.S. Postal Service located at 105 NW Railroad Avenue in Hammond, LA, as the ``John J. Hainkel, Jr. Post Office Building.''

(9) H.R. 2413, a bill to designate the facility of the U.S. Postal Service located at 1202 1st Street in Humble, TX, as the ``Lillian McKay Post Office Building.''

(10) H.R. 2630, a bill to designate the facility of the U.S. Postal Service located at 1927 Sangamon Avenue in Springfield, IL, as the ``J.M. Dietrich Northeast Annex.''

(11) H.R. 2894, a bill to designate the facility of the U.S. Postal Service located at 102 South Walters Avenue in Hodgenville, KY, as the ``Abraham Lincoln Birthplace Post Office Building.''

(12) H.R. 3256, a bill to designate the facility of the U.S. Postal Service located at 3038 West Liberty Avenue in Pittsburgh, PA, as the ``Congressman James Grove Fulton Memorial Post Office Building.''

(13) H.R. 3368, a bill to designate the facility of the U.S. Postal Service located at 6483 Lincoln Street in Gagetown, MI, as the ``Gagetown Veterans Memorial Post Office.''

(14) H.R. 3439, a bill to designate the facility of the U.S. Postal Service located at 201 North 3rd Street in Smithfield, NC, as the ``Ava Gardner Post Office.''

(15) H.R. 3548, a bill to designate the facility of the U.S. Postal Service located on Franklin Avenue in Pearl River, NY, as the ``Heinz Ahlmeyer, Jr. Post Office Building.''

(16) H.R. 3703, a bill to designate the facility of the U.S. Postal Service located at 8501 Philatelic Drive in Spring Hill, FL, as the ``Staff Sergeant Michael Schafer Post Office.''

(17) H.R. 3825, a bill to designate the facility of the U.S. Postal Service located at 770 Trumbull Drive in Pittsburgh, PA, the ``Clayton J. Smith Memorial Post Office.''

(18) H.R. 3830, a bill to designate the facility of the U.S. Postal Service located at 130 East Marion Avenue in Punta Gorda, FL, as the ``U.S. Cleveland Post Office Building.''

(19) H.R. 4053, a bill to designate the facility of the U.S. Postal Service located at 545 North Rimsdale Avenue in Covina, CA, as the ``Lillian Kinkella Keil Post Office.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent at the Select Committee on Intelligence be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on December 15, 2005, at 2:30 p.m., to hold a closed meeting.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time.

I would like to read a letter that I received from the National Association of Letter Carriers, Abraham Lincoln Branch No. 80, Springfield, Illinois:

``Dear Congressman LaHood: The Letter Carriers of Springfield are requesting that the Northeast Annex, 1927 Sangamon Avenue, Springfield, Illinois, be renamed the J.M. Dietrich Northeast Annex.

``James Michael `Mike' Dietrich died unexpectedly September, 2003, just over 1 month short of his retirement. Mike was a lifelong employee of the United States Postal Service. He served in the U.S. Army from 1968 through 1970. After an honorable discharge from the Army, he was hired as a letter carrier.

``In May, 1983, he was promoted to supervisor, Delivery and Collections. He was charged with the supervision of approximately 50 letter carriers and collectors. It was his responsibility to see that those in his section were properly trained and successfully functioned as city carriers. In 1989 he was promoted to supervisor, Customer Service. He managed the daily operations of a group of carriers numbering about 100. He also handled scheduling of day-to-day assignments as well as annual and incremental leave for the entire group of Springfield city carriers and collectors. During his service, he received several safety and leadership awards, and in 2002, became the OSHA recordkeeper.

``Mike was not only a great supervisor but he was a fantastic human being. You would be hard pressed to find a U.S. Postal Service employee in Springfield, Illinois, who would have a bad word to say about Mike. He was a man of never-ending patience. He was someone we could all go to with a question and know we would come away with a reasonable and correct answer. And if one of us had a problem, he was our sounding board and mentor, one who can never be replaced.

``Mike and his wife, Carol, raised a beautiful family of six girls for whom they worked hard to provide college educations. They are all now productive adults, some beginning families of their own. I know his career was important to him, but I also know that he considered his family to be his greatest accomplishment.

``Not a day goes by that Mike's name is not uttered by someone on the workroom floor. We all feel it is only fitting that we work in the J.M. Dietrich Northeast Annex.

``Thank you for the consideration'' of renaming the annex.

``Pat Kruger, letter carrier, Springfield, Illinois.''

Mr. Speaker, I read this letter because it is the opportunity for me to thank the letter carriers that work with Mike, to thank them for recognizing all of his accomplishments and

thank them for bringing to my attention the opportunity to name the facility that they all work in and that he worked in and that he accomplished so much with.

And, too, a word about the letter carriers. We have the greatest mail delivery system in the world, anywhere in the world, right here in our country. And it is thanks to the people like Mike and all the people who work in Springfield and all the people who work in the postal service that letters get delivered on time 6 days a week in a professional manner, and I know all Americans appreciate that. And I am grateful to the letter carriers of Abraham Lincoln Branch No. 80 for bringing this to my attention and the ability of this committee to bring this to the floor as a bill that will become law and to have this facility named in Mike's honor.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2630) to redesignate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1927 Sangamon Avenue in Springfield, Illinois, as the ``J.M. Dietrich Northeast Annex''.

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, the distinguished gentleman from Illinois (Mr. LaHood) introduced H.R. 2630, which redesignates the postal facility located at 1927 Sangamon Avenue in Springfield, Illinois, as the ``J.M. Dietrich Northeast Annex.'' All members of the Illinois State congressional delegation have cosponsored this legislation, and I support its passage.

James Michael Dietrich was an earnest lifelong postal employee. He began his career as a letter carrier in 1970. In 1983 he was promoted to supervisor of Delivery and Collections, and finally he earned the position of Customer Service Supervisor in 1989. Regardless of his rank or duties with the postal service, Dietrich gained the respect of his peers through his friendly demeanor, leadership, and hard work.

Mike Dietrich died in September, 2003. He was a tremendous asset to the postal service and a terrific individual who is worthy of this fitting honor by the House. So I encourage my colleagues to join with the distinguished gentleman from Illinois (Mr. LaHood) and me in renaming the Northeast Annex in Springfield, Illinois as the ``J.M. Dietrich Northeast Annex.''

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the distinguished gentleman from Illinois (Mr. LaHood).

(Mr. LaHOOD asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

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

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

As a member of the House Committee on Government Reform, I am pleased to join my colleague in consideration of H.R. 2630, legislation redesignating a postal facility in Springfield, Illinois, after the late James Michael Dietrich. This measure was introduced by the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. LaHood) on May 25, 2005, unanimously reported by the Committee on Government Reform on June 16, 2005. H.R. 2630 enjoys the support and cosponsorship of the entire Illinois State delegation.

Mr. Speaker, it is always a pleasure to join my colleagues in praising the hard work of postal employees. And the late James Michael ``Mike'' Dietrich was a postal supervisor long remembered for his dedication to his job, the employees, and the United States Postal Service.

James Dietrich was a lifelong employee of the postal service. After serving in the U.S. Army, he joined the postal service as a letter carrier. He was promoted to supervisor of Delivery and Collections in 1983 and later to supervisor of customer service in 1989. He handled daily assignments and personnel staffing. He was known for his patience, problem solving, and recognized as the ``go to'' man.

Sadly, he died unexpectedly in September of 2003. Mr. Dietrich's colleagues have described him as a hard worker and a fantastic human being. I commend my colleague for seeking to honor the memory of Mr. Dietrich and urge swift passage of this bill.

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