To designate the United States courthouse at 300 North Hogan Street, Jacksonville, Florida, as the "John Milton Bryan Simpson United States Courthouse".

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time. I join my colleague as an original cosponsor of this resolution in urging my colleagues to support this.

It is fitting that this new Federal courthouse, which stands 15 stories tall in my hometown of Jacksonville, Florida, and casts such a shadow over our city, it is fitting that it is going to be named after Judge Bryan Simpson who, while he served for 50 years in our community, was a giant of a man who cast his own shadow all across our community.

My colleagues have heard a little bit about his background and some of his professional career, but I had the good fortune of knowing Judge Simpson. I had the good fortune of being a friend of his son, Bryan Simpson, Jr. My dad and Judge Simpson practiced law together as young lawyers in Jacksonville, and the one thing about Judge Simpson is that as the father of Bryan Simpson, Jr., and he had five stepchildren, Joe, Tim, John, Eve, and Franklin, above all, he had this underlying belief in the dignity of every human being, and he lived out that belief in everything that he did.

Maybe that came from the life experiences that he had growing up in a little town in central Florida. His mother was the U.S. Postmistress of the U.S. Post Office there in Kissimmee. He went to Osceola High School and then went north to school to Gainesville, Florida, about 50 miles up the road. Often he would hitchhike, catch a ride up to Gainesville, and he would stop in a little town called Orlando and have lunch because there was a park there where people would kind of gather, and he would always find a friend there and share lunch together.

He finished school in 6 years. He got an undergraduate degree and a law degree. It usually takes 7 years, but Judge Simpson was part of a special program. He finished in 6 years, which was good for him, because he worked his way through law school, and it only took 6 instead of 7 years. He often waited tables at a little place called the Primrose Grill.

Then he moved to Jacksonville, Florida, to start his law practice. He worked in a firm where my dad also worked as a young lawyer, and he always was a man of great humor. As a young lawyer, my dad used to tell me that he made about $40 a month. Judge Simpson was a little older, so he might have made $45 a month, but on one of his applications, it said, List your hobbies and your interests. And Judge Simpson wrote, Polo and international yacht racing. So when one of his senior partners came in and was a little upset and said, What is all this; what does this mean? Judge Simpson said, I am interested in polo and international yacht racing, but on my present salary, I am not really able to participate in those activities.

But be that as it may, he continued his career. He wanted to be a judge, so he ran for judge. In those days you could be a State judge by running for office. He had two uncles that had served in the United States Senate. He knew a little bit about politics, so he ran for office and became a State judge.

Then, World War II came along, so he went to Europe to serve his country. His job there was to go around after the battles took place, his job was to go into communities and try to rebuild the government. And he used to kid people that his limited French was learned in World War II. He could say, ``Ou est la maire?'' which meant, ``Where is the mayor?'' Because that is the first thing he would do when he got to the community, find out who the old mayor was and try to build this new government.

He came back from the war, back to Jacksonville, continued his work as a State judge and then, as has been pointed out, was appointed to the Federal bench by then-President Harry Truman. Fifteen years later, then-President Lyndon Johnson appointed him to the appeals court, which is one step down from the United States Supreme Court, and he served as the Chief Judge on the Fifth and the Eleventh Circuit.

So he had kind of a broad-ranging career, up until the time he went to Federal court. And as has been pointed out, he was a real leader in stepping forward, being fair, being compassionate in a difficult time in our Nation's history when not all of the judges, particularly in the South, were fair and compassionate. In fact, it was kind of the way, in those days, for Federal judges who did not believe in what was going on in the civil rights movement to simply delay their decisions and just delay and delay and delay.

Judge Simpson was known not only as a man of courage and conviction, but someone who made his rulings firmly and decisively and quickly. So I think it is fitting that we honor him today.

As I said, he lived his life in a way that brought dignity to all the people in his courtroom. I think he certainly deserves this kind of recognition, and I am proud to support this resolution, and I urge my colleagues to do so as well.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 315) to designate the United States Courthouse at 300 North Hogan Street, Jacksonville, Florida, as the ``John Milton Bryan Simpson United States Courthouse''.

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

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 315, introduced by my colleague, the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Corrine Brown), will designate the United States courthouse located at 300 North Hogan Street in Jacksonville as the ``John Milton Bryan Simpson United States Courthouse.''

Born in Kissimmee, Florida, John Simpson progressed through what would be called by any reasonable person a long, distinguished, and publicly oriented career. After receiving his law degree from the University of Florida, and 7 years of private practice, John Simpson would begin what would result in a career in public service spanning 54 years. He began as an Assistant State's Attorney, served 2 years in the United States Army during World War II, and was a State judge for 9 years before being nominated to the Federal bench in 1950.

On the Federal bench, Judge Simpson was not content to just serve out his time. He served as Chief Judge for three different courts, the Southern and Middle District Courts of Florida, and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. He served on the Conference of Chief Judges for 3 years and was willingly reassigned twice, first from the Southern to Middle District Courts of Florida, and again from the Fifth to Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, each time to fit the needs of the judiciary.

During his tenure on the bench, he was also instrumental in moving towards desegregation in Northern Florida during the late 1950s and early 1960s. His record of service and dedication to the judiciary are both commendable and make him worthy of this honor.

I support the legislation, and I encourage all of my colleagues to do the same.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I just want to say I appreciate the gentleman's remarks on Judge Simpson. He personalized it and once again pointed out that only in America could somebody come from such humble beginnings and rise through the ranks of the American judiciary, and today we are naming a Federal courthouse after him.

So I have no further speakers. I encourage all of my colleagues to support H.R. 315.

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

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

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

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Crenshaw), the Florida delegation, the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and everyone who served on the Courthouse Committee in Jacksonville for helping me to bring this bill to the Floor today. Judge Simpson

was the overwhelming choice for the people of Jacksonville, and it is easy to understand when one learns about his impact on civil rights in the State of Florida and in the entire South.

H.R. 315 is a bill to designate the courthouse at 300 North Hogan Street in Jacksonville, Florida as the ``John Milton Bryan Simpson United States Courthouse.'' Judge Simpson was a native of Florida, born in Kissimmee, Florida on May 30 of 1903. He attended local high school and the University of Florida, and in 1926 graduated from law school at the University of Florida.

After law school, he settled in Jacksonville, practicing law in addition to becoming an Assistant State's Attorney from 1933 until 1939. He then ran for and was elected as a State Judge serving from 1939 until 1943. In 1950, he was nominated by President Truman for the United States District Court, Southern Florida; and in 1966, was nominated by President Johnson and joined the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Judge Simpson was an active participant in the struggle for civil rights and was instrumental in desegregating Duval, Orlando, and Daytona Counties in Florida, all in my district. He became an agent for change in the Jim Crowe south. His judicial orders desegregated the schools, city pools, city golf courses, and the city zoo. For his personal courage, he was the subject of numerous death threats and cross burnings.

It is well known that Martin Luther King himself appeared before Judge Simpson and argued for a reversal on a ban on nighttime civil rights marching in St. Augustine. Within a week, Judge Simpson issued an order in support of King's appeal.

Judge Simpson was known as the giant of the legal system in Jacksonville. He was a man of great courage and fairness. It is most fitting that the new courthouse in Jacksonville is named in his honor.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill which honors a judge of great distinction and character.

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

Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 315, a bill to designate the United States Courthouse located at 300 North Hogan St., Jacksonville, Florida, as the ``John Milton Bryan Simpson United States Courthouse''. I commend the bill's sponsor, the gentlelady from Florida, for her diligence and hard work in pursuit of honoring such an eminent jurist.

Judge Simpson was chosen for this distinction from among 20 nominees of prominent civic leaders and jurists who have played an outstanding role in the history of the middle district of Florida.

Judge Simpson was a native Floridian. He was born in 1903 in Kissimmee and attended local public schools. In 1926 he graduated from the University of Florida Law School. In

1950, after a long career in private practice and as a judge in Florida state court, President Truman appointed Judge Simpson to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. In 1966, President Johnson appointed him to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Judge Simpson also later served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

Judge Simpson was known for his extraordinary personal courage and insistence on racial equality. Judge Simpson issued landmark decisions on desegregation, including ordering the desegregation of public schools in Orlando and Daytona Beach and ordering the desegregation of Jacksonville city pools and golf courses. With these decisions, he established a model for all such future decisions. Judge Simpson was also a devoted father and husband. His family, friends and colleagues enjoyed his companionship and his love of life.

It is fitting to honor the career of Judge Simpson and I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 315.

Mr. Speaker, on the dates of February 8-10, 2005, I was absent from session attending to personal matters following the death of a family member. I was unable to attend 12 votes held during my absence. I would like to note for the record that had I been present I would have voted as follows:

``Yea,'' rollcall 20, February 8, H. Res. 46, on motion to suspend the rules and agree; ``yea,'' rollcall 21, February 8, H.R. 315, on motion to suspend the rules and pass; ``yea,'' rollcall 22, February 8, H.R. 548, on motion to suspend the rules and pass; ``yea,'' rollcall 23, February 9, H. Res. 71, on consideration of the resolution; ``yea,'' rollcall 24, February 9, H. Con. Res. 6, on motion to suspend the rules and pass; ``yea,'' rollcall 25, February 9, H. Con. Res. 26, on motion to suspend the rules and agree; ``yea,'' rollcall 26, February 9, H. Con. Res. 30, on motion to suspend the rules and agree, as amended; ``yea,'' rollcall 27, February 10, H. Res. 75, on agreeing to the resolution; ``nay,'' rollcall 28, February 10, H.R. 418, on agreeing to the amendment (Nadler); ``nay,'' rollcall 29, February 10, H.R. 418, on agreeing to the amendment (Farr); ``nay,'' rollcall 30, February 10, H.R. 418, on motion to recommit with instructions; ``yea,'' rollcall 31, February 10, H.R. 418, on passage.