To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located on Franklin Avenue in Pearl River, New York, as the "Heinz Ahlmeyer, Jr. Post Office Building".

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 my good friend from Illinois for yielding me time, and I thank my friend from Minnesota for being so helpful in passing this bill today.

Mr. Speaker, my colleagues have said it all, but I want to add it is with honor that I stand here today to pay tribute to this brave American, an exemplary New Yorker, Heinz Ahlmeyer, Jr.

Heinz Ahlmeyer, Jr., grew up in my district in Pearl River, New York, which is in Rockland County, a suburb of New York City. He was a popular high school athlete. He played football and baseball at Pearl River High School. His classmates remember him as a happy-go-lucky guy.

After attending Rockland Community College, Ahlmeyer went on to graduate from the State University of New York in New Paltz. Immediately after college, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps at just 23 years old in 1967.

As a second lieutenant, he and three other Marines came under heavy fire from all sides, tragically, on just his first day in Vietnam. Because of the heavy fire surrounding the incident, the four Marines were presumed dead, but, sadly, Ahlmeyer's remains were never recovered, leaving his family and friends without any real closure or sense of peace.

I must say that in Pearl River and Rockland County, it is a wonderful community, and people never forgot about Heinz Ahlmeyer, Jr., and wore tributes to him, wore wristbands and other things to show that the community has never forgotten him.

So for almost 38 years, friends and family wondered if they would ever know exactly what happened to Heinz. Then, finally, in January of this year, they were unexpectedly notified by military officials that, through DNA samples, his remains were found, giving his family and friends and the community much-needed closure. This past May, Ahlmeyer's life was celebrated during his burial at Arlington National Cemetery.

It is important that America, Mr. Speaker, honors their heroes of war, not just for their grieving family and friends but for future generations who might enter into combat. My deepest sympathy goes out to the Ahlmeyer family who I hope may take small comfort in knowing that Heinz has a burial place closer to home. The Heinz Ahlmeyer Post Office in Pearl River

will be a daily reminder to the community of his great sacrifice to his country.

I might also add that, at all the parades on Memorial Day and Veterans' Day, the community has made it very clear that this is so important to everyone concerned, so important that we do the right thing, that I really must say I am touched and grateful to my colleagues for the promptness by which this bill has passed out of committee and has come to the floor. So I want to thank everyone on both sides of the aisle who has been involved with this.

We can never bring Heinz Ahlmeyer, Jr., back, but we do always remember him personally, because he was such an exemplary young man and for what he stood for.

When I check and see, he was only 3 years older than I am right now, but, unfortunately, cut down as a very, very young man. Three years older, if he had lived, he would now be entering his late fifties or early sixties.

So we remember him. We show that we are a caring community, that we are a caring country, and this Congress is doing right by Heinz Ahlmeyer, Jr.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3548) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located on Franklin Avenue in Pearl River, New York, as the ``Heinz Ahlmeyer, Jr. Post Office Building''.

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. 3548.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3548, authored by the distinguished gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel). This bill would designate the post office in Pearl River, New York, as the Heinz Ahlmeyer, Jr. Post Office Building. All members of the New York State delegation have cosponsored this legislation.

Heinz Ahlmeyer, Jr., was a native of Pearl River, New York. He disappeared on his first day of duty in Vietnam. Ahlmeyer was 23 years of age when the Marine Corps sent him on a reconnaissance patrol in Quang Tri province on May 10, 1967, from which he never returned.

Shortly after noon on the day of his death, the patrol came under heavy fire and many of the soldiers were wounded. After several failed attempts, a helicopter was able to land and save the wounded soldiers, although the effort could not retrieve those that had been killed. Because of the enemy presence in the area of the loss, no ground search was possible and Ahlmeyer's remains were not able to be recovered. He was immediately listed as killed in action.

Thirty-eight years later to the day, on May 10, 2005, Heinz Ahlmeyer, Jr., was buried in Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors. In May of 1998, a Joint Field Activity search team was able to find small remnants of American uniforms at the site of the loss in Quang Tri province. Due to DNA and dental records, a military forensics laboratory in Hawaii was able to identify Ahlmeyer in January of 2005.

Finally, the vibrant young man who played football and baseball at Pearl River High School, a hero in every sense of the word, could have a proper burial. Many who knew Ahlmeyer from his high school days attended the funeral in Virginia. Over 100 family members and friends paid respect to the soldier on the 38th anniversary of his death.

I urge my colleagues to come together to honor this brave soldier for his commitment to preserving our freedoms and his bravery in the face of danger.

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

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from New York for bringing this bill forward. This clearly is a fitting tribute to an American hero, and I would urge all Members to support passage of

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

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

Mr. Speaker, as a member of the House Government Reform Committee, I am pleased to join my colleague in consideration of H.R. 3548, legislation naming a postal facility in Pearl River, New York, after the late Heinz Ahlmeyer, Jr. This measure, which was introduced by the gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel), a Democrat, on July 28, 2005, and unanimously reported by our committee on October 20, 2005, enjoys the support and cosponsorship of the entire New York delegation.

Heinz Ahlmeyer, a native of New York, grew up in Pearl River. He attended Rockland Community College and graduated from New Paltz College. Upon his graduation, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps.

While serving on his first tour of duty in Vietnam, Marine Second Lieutenant Heinz Ahlmeyer was on a reconnaissance patrol in the Quang Tri province on May 10, 1967, when he and three other Marines came under fire. It was presumed he was killed in action, but because of heavy enemy fire, commanders felt it was too dangerous to retrieve the bodies.

In January of this year, the military notified his family that, through DNA, his remains were found, giving family and friends closure. And on May 10, 2005, Marine Second Lieutenant Heinz Ahlmeyer was interred with honors at Arlington National Cemetery.

Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleague for seeking to honor the spirit and legacy of this Marine. Naming a post office in his memory is a small token of the appreciation that we can show.

Mr. Speaker, I urge swift passage of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may come consume to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel), the sponsor of the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I would simply commend again the gentleman from New York for introducing this legislation.

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

Mr. Speaker, though I was absent during the legislative week of Tuesday, November 1 through Friday, November 4, 2005 and Monday, November 7, 2005 for medical reasons, I wish to have my intended votes recorded in the Congressional Record for the following votes: November 1, 2005:

Rollcall vote 557 on H.R. 3548--``aye''; and Rollcall vote 558 on H.R. 3989--``aye''. November 2, 2005:

Rollcall vote 559 on H.R. 1606--``aye''; Rollcall vote 560 on H.R. 4061--``aye''; and Rollcall vote 561 on H.R. 1691--``aye''. November 3, 2005:

Rollcall vote 562 Appealing the Ruling of the Chair concerning the Iraq War Investigation--``aye''; Rollcall vote 563 on H. Res. 527-- ``aye''; Rollcall vote 564 on Amendment numbered 2 in House Report 109- 266--``nay''; Rollcall vote 565 on Amendment numbered 5 in House Report 109-266--``nay''; Rollcall vote 566 on Amendment numbered 6 in House Report 109-266--``nay''; Rollcall vote 567 on Amendment numbered 11 in House Report 109-266--``nay''; and Rollcall vote 568 on H.R. 4128-- ``aye''. November 4, 2005:

Rollcall vote 569 on H.R. 3057--``nay''. November 7, 2005:

Rollcall vote 570 on H. Con. Res. 260--``aye''; Rollcall vote 571 on H.R. 1973--``nay''; and Rollcall vote 572 on H. Res. 444--``aye''.