To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 130 East Marion Avenue in Punta Gorda, Florida, as the "U.S. Cleveland 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.

Madam Speaker, let me thank the gentleman from Nevada and thank the gentleman from Illinois for their kind introduction of our good friend and dear former citizen and resident, Ulysses Samuel Cleveland. Many of those listening to the testimony may recognize the name and they are struggling to remember where they heard the term Punta Gorda, Florida; but I can tell you August 13 was a startling day in Punta Gorda when Hurricane Charley approached landfall and did significant damage to our constituents. U.S. Cleveland was one of those who suffered the loss of his home. He was in the process of rehabilitating it and retrofitting it, because one of the unique features of U.S. was the fact that he made a lifetime commitment out of caring for his son Dallas who has Down's Syndrome from birth.

So not only was he a native of the region, not only was he a veteran of our Nation, not only was he the assistant postmaster of our community, not only had he spent 83 long years as an active member of our community. He also showed the full measure of devotion to the children, his own particularly, who had been brought into this world with a challenge, a challenge so many other families face.

This past weekend I happened to be in Palm Beach County where they were having the Down's Syndrome Walk, families celebrating the lives of their children who have been challenged, but with the support and strength of their family they have been able to overcome that adversity. U.S. was a father and a principled citizen who gave his devotion to both family, community, and always above self, which was the hallmark of American patriots.

It was noted that Supreme Commander General Dwight Eisenhower credited his unit with saving the D-Day landing at Normandy. We mentioned him coming back home. One of the great things about Florida, and of course it is a State now with 16 million people, but the year of his birth there were very few. Florida was an emerging little area in the south of the United States, and our population was not what it is near today, and certainly he was part of that beautiful community, Punta Gorda, in Charlotte County.

And so today we do rise as we do so often to commend the life's work of citizens who are deserving of this high honor. We do not name post offices after everyone, and it is not always the fact that they may have been postal employees. But this significance to Mr. Cleveland was the fact of his devotion to family, devotion to community, devotion to Nation, and of course being a historian for Punta Gorda.

Those in southwest Florida know this beautiful community of ours, and they know full well of his devotion to that community. By cataloging the photos of early days, he was able to, as was mentioned, co-author two volumes of a local history book called ``Our Fascinating Past.'' These are the hallmarks of a great and giant man.

Unfortunately, he passed away this spring due to complications from pneumonia. He was married to Yvonne Cleveland who preceded him in death, and he is survived by three sons, Max, Keith, and Dallas.

I thank the members of the committee, my colleagues, for allowing us to present this bill to the floor and for their expedition in bringing it to the floor. I would like to thank my district director, Dick Keene, who lives in the Punta Gorda area for his work on this bill and also Jeffrey Ostermayer for helping us bring about this tribute to a fine American. I would like to thank the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Tom Davis), the chairman of the committee, for bringing this bill to the House floor so quickly.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3830) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 130 East Marion Avenue in Punta Gorda, Florida, as the ``U.S. Cleveland Post Office Building''.

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 H.R. 3830.

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

I rise in support of H.R. 3830, introduced by the distinguished gentleman from Florida (Mr. Foley). This bill will designate this post office in Punta

Gorda, Florida as the U.S. Cleveland Post Office Building. All members of the Florida delegation have co-sponsored this legislation.

Ulysses Samuel Cleveland was born September 7, 1919, in Boca Grande, Florida, to Cleve and Jean Cleveland. At the age of 2, Cleveland moved to Charlotte County's Punta Gorda with his family, the town that he would later dedicate a lifetime to preserving its history.

In 1941, U.S. Cleveland was drafted and was later commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He oversaw 20 radio crews with the 3103 Signal Service Battalion. He was a part of the secret disinformation campaign that misled the Nazis and helped contribute to the success of the Normandy invasion. Mr. Cleveland and his unit were credited by Supreme Commander General Dwight Eisenhower with saving the D-Day landing.

After World War II, Cleveland returned to Punta Gorda and became the assistant postmaster. He worked for the U.S. Post Office for nearly four decades. During that time he devoted much of his life to archiving old photos, newspaper clippings, and all kinds of Charlotte County records. With all of his historical records he co-authored two volumes of local history entitled ``Our Fascinating Past.''

Besides being a well-known historian, U.S. Cleveland also dedicated much of his time to various charities within the community. He produced monthly newsletters for the American Legion Post in Punta Gorda and provided and managed sound systems for various community events, including the Florida International Air Show. He was also the treasurer for the Punta Gorda Historical Society, historian for the Kiwanis Club, and a charter member of the Punta Gorda and Charlotte County Historic Preservation boards.

Although U.S. Cleveland passed away this year at the age of 85, his legacy of public service lives on in Charlotte County, Florida. His vast historic collection, now in storage, will be added to by his fellow historians in time to come. I urge all members to join me in honoring this fine man and his quest to preserve the history of his hometown of Punta Gorda, Florida.

Madam Speaker, I support H.R. 3830, and I salute the sponsor, the gentleman from Florida, for his work on this measure.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Madam Speaker, I urge all Members to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

As a member of the House Government Reform Committee, I am pleased to join with my colleague, the chairman of our subcommittee, the gentleman from Nevada, in consideration of H.R. 3830, legislation naming the postal facility in Punta Gorda, Florida, after the late Ulysses Samuel Cleveland. This measure, which was introduced by Representative Mark Foley on September 20, 2005, and unanimously reported by our committee on September 29, 2005, enjoys the support and co-sponsorship of the entire Florida delegation.

Mr. Cleveland, or U.S. as he liked to be called, was a native of Punta Gorda, Florida. After serving in the Army, he returned to his hometown where he became the assistant postmaster for Charlotte County. Mr. Cleveland later became the historian for the Punta Gorda Kiwanis Club and charter member for the Punta Gorda and Charlotte County Historic Preservation boards, authoring books on local history.

Unfortunately, his home was destroyed during Hurricane Charley in August of 2004. He lost his collection of photographs and historical artifacts. U.S. Cleveland passed away on April 22, 2005, a great citizen, a great historian, a person who is deserving of this honor. I commend my colleague for naming the post after the late Ulysses Samuel Cleveland, and I urge swift passage of this bill.

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