To designate the Federal building under construction at 799 First Avenue in New York, New York, as the "Ronald H. Brown United States Mission to the United Nations Building".

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on December 18, 2007, at 10 a.m. in open session to consider the following nominations: Mary Beth Long to be Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs; James Shinn to be Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs; Craig W. Duehring to be Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Manpower and Reserve Affairs; and John H. Gibson to be Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Financial Management.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, December 18, 2007, at 11 a.m., in room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building, for the purpose of conducting a hearing.

The Committee will be hearing from the following nominees: Francis Mulvey, Reappointment to be a Member of the Surface Transportation Board (PN 1084); Denver Stutler, Jr., to be a Member of the National Railroad Passenger Corporation Board of Directors (Amtrak) (PN 1047); Nancy A. Naples, to be a Member of the National Railroad Passenger Corporation Board of Directors (Amtrak) (PN 1046); Thomas C. Carper, to be a Member of the National Railroad Passenger Corporation Board of Directors (Amtrak) (PN 1045); and Carl T. Johnson, to be Administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, Department of Transportation (PN 1011).

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science, Transportation be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, December 18, 2007, at 2:30 p.m., in room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building, for the purpose of conducting a hearing.

In light of the recent spill in San Francisco Bay, this hearing will examine the oil spill threats, risks, and vulnerabilities posed by large nontank vessels. Topics will include the prevalence and environmental impact of nontank vessel spills, the adequacy and enforcement of vessel response plans, the status of Coast Guard rulemakings, the adequacy of nontank liability limits, and the allocation of Coast Guard and other Federal resources toward oil spill prevention, preparedness, and oil spill research and development in a post-9/11 world.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, December 18, 2008, at 10:30 a.m., In room SD366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. At this hearing, the Committee will hear testimony regarding the nomination of Jon Wellinghoff, to be a Member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for the term expiring June 30, 2013. (Reappointment).

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Environment and Public Works be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, December 18, 2007, in room S-216 of the Capitol at a time to be determined in order to hold a business meeting to consider the following items: pending General Services Administration Resolutions; S. 862, a bill to designate the Federal building located at 210 Walnut Street in Des Moines, Iowa, as the ``Neal Smith Federal Building,'' S. 1189, a bill to designate the Federal building and U.S. Courthouse located at 100 East 8th Avenue in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, as the ``George Howard, Jr. Federal Building and United States Courthouse''; and H.R. 735, a bill to designate the Federal building under construction at 799 First Avenue in New York, New York, as the ``Ronald H. Brown United States Mission to the United Nations Building''. Pending nominations: Kristine L. Svinicki, of Virginia, to be a Member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission; Gregory B. Jaczko, of the District of Columbia, to be a Member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, December 18, 2007, at 3:30 p.m. in order to consider the nomination of Steven H. Murdock to be Director, U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Commerce.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate in order to conduct a hearing entitled ``Executive Branch Nominations'' on Tuesday, December 18, 2007 at 10 a.m. in room SD-226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

Witness List

Ondray T. Harris, to be Director, Community Relations Service, Department of Justice; David W. Hagy, to be Director of the National Institute of Justice, Department of Justice; Scott M. Burns, to be Deputy Director of National Drug Control Policy, Executive Office of the President; Cynthia Dyer, to be Director of the Violence Against Women Office, Department of Justice; and Nathan J. Hochman, to be an Assistant Attorney General, Tax Division, Department of Justice.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 735, a bill to designate the United States Mission to the United Nations Building located at 799 First Avenue, New York, NY, as the ``Ronald H. Brown United States Mission to the United Nations Building.''

Consideration of this bill on the House floor is long overdue. I commend the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel) for his steadfastness in supporting this bill. Congressman Rangel introduced similar bills to designate the United States Mission to the United Nations in honor of Ron Brown in the 108th and 109th Congresses. I am pleased that today we will finally pass this bill and pay a fitting tribute to the life and achievements of this extraordinary American.

Ron Brown was a man who served his country in many capacities: lawyer, pragmatic bridge builder, statesman, mentor, and trusted friend.

He may be best known for his service as the first African-American Secretary of Commerce. In that position, he became a powerful and influential voice for promoting American products and trade abroad. He championed expanding markets for U.S. goods and services, in order to increase job opportunities and foster job creation here at home.

He also served on President Clinton's National Economic Council, Domestic Policy Council, and Task Force on National Health Care Reform. He served President Clinton on the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee and was Co- Chair of the U.S.-Russia Business Development Committee.

Secretary Brown served on the Board of Trustees for Middlebury College and received his law degree from St. John's University in New York City. Prior to entering public service, he worked as a welfare caseworker in New York City.

In addition to his many talents and strengths, Secretary Brown was a passionate civil rights activist with a distinguished record of service to his community. His commitment to this Nation and its citizens provides a model for us all.

Secretary Brown's life was tragically ended in April 1996 when he was killed in a place crash in Croatia while on an official Department of Commerce trade mission.

The Department of State had requested that Secretary Brown personally undertake the trade mission to highlight and find opportunities for U.S. businesses to boost economic reconstruction of the war torn region of former Yugoslavia.

Congress has previously designated Federal buildings that serve as Department of State facilities on four separate occasions. In 2000, Congress designated the Department of State headquarters as the ``Harry S Truman Federal Building'' (P.L. 106-218). In 2004, Congress designated the Foreign Service Institute as the ``George P. Schultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center'' (P.L. 108-136). In 2005, Congress designated the United States Embassy Annex in Rome, Italy, as the ``Mel Sembler Building'' (P.L. 108-447) and designated the Federal building in Kingston, Jamaica, as the ``Colin L. Powell Residential Plaza'' (P.L. 109-89).

Secretary Brown died in service to his country on a mission undertaken at the request of

the Department of State. It is fitting and proper to honor this Federal building as the ``Ronald H. Brown United States Mission to the United Nations Building.''

I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 735.

Madam Speaker, thank you so much for giving me this opportunity to share with this body the life of a great American named Ron Brown, and I'm asking your support to have a Federal building, a U.N. missions building if you will, to be named after him.

Even though Ron Brown was an African American from Harlem, his story is more of an American story than one of color, because on the streets of Harlem you don't find too many people exposed to dreams of ever becoming a Secretary of Commerce, indeed an ambassador for this great country.

But Ron never forgot Harlem, and it was the Urban League that drove him to do things in the civil rights movement. It was his dedication to his country that drove him to spend 4 years in the military, but everywhere that Ron Brown would go as Secretary of Commerce, he was there not just to sell businesses to the country. He was there to sell the American flag, the principles of that flag and the thing that we stand for.

I went with him to South Africa to see him negotiating with leaders, political leaders there, but all the time that he was talking to them, it wasn't which party was right or which party was wrong or how to bring about solidarity. He was asking how could America help the people to get clean water, to get medicine, to get food and to let them know that our multinationals were there, not just for the shareholders of their firm but the shareholders of the world.

And so when you come to New York, where you always see diversity, people of different color, different languages, different cultures, and you see the Federal mission to the United Nations, there could not be a sight that would be more reminiscent of Ron Brown than the contributions that he made to my community, my country, but indeed, the entire world.

And so thank you for shepherding this wonderful bill so that his family and his friends and his supporters and kids to follow would know that out of Harlem we planted the seed, and he died for this country on a mission for President Clinton. His memory will never, never be forgotten; and I was proud to be a desk clerk at the time that he was living in a hotel that his father managed in New York. And he will forever be in my mind and I hope in yours as you think about great Americans who lost their lives for this great country.

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

H.R. 735 designates a Federal building under construction at 799 First Avenue, New York, New York, as the Ronald H. Brown United States Mission to the United Nations Building. Ron Brown was born in Washington D.C., grew up in New York City, and had a distinguished career and exemplary life. This is a good piece of legislation

Ron Brown was born in Washington, DC and grew up in New York city. After attending Middlebury College, he commanded several units in the United States Army and served with distinction. Following his service in the Army, Ron Brown attended St. John's Law School.

After finishing law school, Ron Brown began a career as a lawyer and a lobbyist. He served as chief counsel for the Senate Judiciary Committee under the chairmanship of Senator Ted Kennedy. In addition, he chaired the Senior Advisory Committee of the Institute of Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University and was an elected member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Ron Brown's career culminated in his appointment as Secretary of Commerce by President Bill Clinton. Tragically, his life ended abruptly while on a trade mission to Croatia in 1996. Secretary Brown was an accomplished politician and diplomat.

I would like to note that after the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure marked up this bill, the State Department raised concerns about setting the precedent of naming a U.S. Embassy. I hope the chairman could work with the State Department to resolve this issue before this bill is signed into law.

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

Madam Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to express my strong, support for H.R. 735, a bill designating the U.S. Mission to the United Nations for my good friend and former Secretary of Commerce, the late Ronald Herman Brown.

Ron Brown's legacy is one that will forever be synonymous with the term trailblazer. Ron Brown was the first African American to achieve partner at Patton, Boggs, and Blow in 1981.

In 1989, he became the first African-American to head the Democratic National Committee, marking the first time in U.S. history, a African- American had ever lead a major political party.

History was made again in 1993, when President William Jefferson Clinton nominated, and the Senate confirmed, Ron Brown as the first African-American to serve as Secretary of Commerce.

As alluded to previously, Ron Brown was an astute, bright, and compassionate individual. He was a brilliant lawyer, an effective Secretary of Commerce, but most importantly he was a devoted family man to his wife Alma and their two children, Michael and Tracy.

Sadly, death cheated them and this country at a most unexpected hour; however, we all can take great pride in knowing that Ron Brown's legacy shall endure.

In closing Madam Speaker, I would like to commend Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman, Mr. Oberstar, Subcommittee Chairwoman, Ms. Norton, and my dear friend Representative Rangel for their collective leadership in advancing this long overdue piece of legislation.

This fine measure is a fitting tribute to one of this country's greatest public servants.