To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 216 Oak Street in Farmington, Minnesota, as the "Hamilton H. Judson Post Office".

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to say the people from the community of Farmington, Minnesota, have spoken and they have been heard. Earlier this year, as part of the Farmington post office's 150th anniversary, the community of Farmington conducted an election to name their post office.

The overwhelming majority of citizens voted to name their post office after Hamilton Harris Judson, a well-liked mercantile businessman who the Dakota County Tribune once described as: ``The greatest of all citizens.''

Hamilton H. Judson proved to the Federal Government that the possibility of a rural free delivery system of conveying mail to farmers who lived far from the post office outside of a town or village boundary could be a realty.

Hamilton Judson was appointed postmaster in 1884 and served his community and the Federal Government for the next 29 years. Mr. Judson worked seven days a week from seven in the morning until 10 o'clock at night to ensure that the citizens received their mail in a timely fashion.

Before rural free delivery, Mr. Judson kept the post office open late into the evening to accommodate the areas farmers during the harvest season. In 1896, Minnesota Congressman Joel Heatwole convinced Congress to have Farmington attempt the rural free delivery experiment.

A year later, Farmington became the second city in the United States to offer rural free service. Hamilton H. Judson's system became a model for post offices around the Nation.

I urge all Members to support H.R. 6151.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6151) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 216 Oak Street in Farmington, Minnesota, as the ``Hamilton H. Judson Post Office''.

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, Hamilton H. Judson was appointed postmaster of Farmington, MN in 1884. He worked diligently to give the town free rural delivery, making it the second town in the U.S. to receive this service. Just a few months after Judson established the system, local newspapers deemed it a success,

Judson was also known for working tireless hours. He was at work by 7 every morning, and waited on the mail train to arrive at 9 every night. And during the harvest season, he kept the Post Office open late so the farmers could collect their mail.

After almost 30 years of service, he retired, leaving behind a rural mail system as well as city post roads upon which the community of Farmington depended. I urge all members to join me in supporting H.R. 6151, honoring Hamilton Judson's ingenuity and his dedication to serving his town.

I yield to the gentleman from Minnesota.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support the passage of H.R. 6151, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 6151, designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 216 Oak Street in Farmington, Minnesota, as the Hamilton H. Judson Post Office.

Hamilton H. Judson was appointed postmaster of the Farmington post office on August 11, 1884, by Postmaster General Walter Q. Gresham. He retired in 1914.

I understand, Mr. Speaker, that this was a unique undertaking in terms of how this became the Hamilton H. Judson Post Office. It is my understanding that a contest sort of took place in town, and that the citizens voted. And after the voting was done, and all of the votes had been counted, Hamilton H. Judson was the name.

That is a unique way of people participating in a public decision. I commend the gentleman from Minnesota for using this approach and urge passage of this resolution.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee be discharged and the Senate proceed to the immediate en bloc consideration of the following postal naming bills: