To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 4282 Beach Street in Akron, Michigan, as the "Akron Veterans Memorial Post Office".

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2004) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 4282 Beach Street in Akron, Michigan, as the ``Akron Veterans Memorial Post Office''.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks.

I now yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, I am pleased to present H.R. 2004 for consideration. This legislation will designate the United States postal facility located as 4282 Beach Street in Akron, Michigan, as the Akron Veterans Memorial Post Office.

Introduced by my colleague, Representative Dale Kildee of Michigan, on April 21, 2009, and favorably reported out of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee by unanimous consent on June 18, 2009, H.R. 2004 enjoys the support of the entire House Michigan delegation.

Mr. Speaker, the legislation before us pays tribute to the brave men and women from Akron Village, the State of Michigan, and across the United States who have served our Nation in the United States military, both at home and abroad. Over 23 million American military veterans are currently living in the United States, including approximately 742,000 living in the State of Michigan alone. They, as well as those that are no longer with us, have devoted their lives to the defense and security of our Nation, and always at a great personal risk and sacrifice. We are eternally in their debt and forever grateful for their noble and selfless dedication to our Nation and the preservation of its founding principles.

Mr. Speaker, let us pay tribute to the distinguished service of our veterans from the village of Akron, the State of Michigan, and across the country by designating the Akron post office in their honor.

I urge my colleagues to me in supporting H.R. 2004.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, I again urge my colleagues to join me in honoring America's military veterans through the passage of

I yield back the remainder of my time.

Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to Rex E. Lee, a man whose legacy we recognize today by renaming the post office in Provo, UT in his honor. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Conner captured my own feelings about Rex when she said:

Knowing him [Rex] was one of the greatest privileges of my

life. Remembering him will be one of the easiest.

Graduating first in his class from the University of Chicago Law School in 1963, Rex went on to serve as a law clerk for Byron White on the U.S. Supreme Court. Then, just 4 years out of law school, Rex argued his first case before the Supreme Court in 1967, and went on in 1972 to become the Founding Dean of the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University.

In addition to serving as an Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Civil Division at the Department of Justice in the middle of the 1970s, Rex served as the Solicitor General of the United States from 1981 to 1985. In fact, over the span of his life, Rex argued 59 cases before the Supreme Court of the United States and his record as the Solicitor General is impressive. Never one to rest, Rex was then named as the 10th president of Brigham Young University in 1989, where he served thousands of students, faculty, and administrators faithfully for over 6 years. As a man, Rex is someone I respected; as a dedicated husband, father, and friend, Rex is someone who is deeply missed.

Anyone who had the privilege of knowing Rex, as I did, well remembers his stellar service to his community, our State, and to the Nation as a whole. Long after his passing, his influence still lingers and is keenly felt everywhere from the classrooms at BYU to the corridors of our government's most revered institutions. Renaming the Provo Post Office in Rex's honor befits a public servant of his stature, and I am pleased to support this legislation in the Senate to honor Rex's legacy.

In short, Rex Lee was a great man and I am proud to see the Provo Post Office named after him. There are thousands of Utahns throughout the State who join me in celebrating this man's great life with this fitting tribute.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill H.R. 2004, which would designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 4282 Beach Street in Akron, Michigan, as the ``Akron Veterans Memorial Post Office''.

The Akron Post Office was first established at the house of its first postmaster, Samuel B. Covey. At the beginning of the Civil War, the post office was moved to the home of Lucius Waldo, about 7 miles south west of Unionville, Michigan, and relocated to Akron village in 1882.

As the only Federal office in the town of Akron, Michigan, this facility should have the honor of recognizing all of the brave men and women who have served our country in uniform.

It has long been a goal of mine to honor all veterans. As a father of two sons, both of whom served as captains in the United States Army, I am a firm believer that our Nation owes an immense debt of gratitude to its armed forces veterans.

That is why I will continue to advocate for America's most important obligation, caring for its defenders and honoring they for their service.

Designating this facility will provide citizens with the opportunity to be mindful of the sacrifices our armed forces' veterans have made, and continue to make today.

I would like to thank the entire Michigan delegation for their support on this legislation and urge my colleagues support in passing this legislation.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of the following postal naming bills en bloc: Calendar Nos. 198 through 207: H.R. 955, H.R. 1516, H.R. 1713, H.R. 2004, H.R. 2215, H.R. 2760, H.R. 2972, H.R. 3119, H.R. 3386, and H.R. 3547.

Mr. President, I will make a brief comment. I had the good fortune of serving with Wes Watkins, a Member of the House of Representatives from Oklahoma. It is a very good thing that there is going to be a building named after him.

Finally, Rex Lee was my neighbor when I first came back to Congress. His son and my boy Josh were best friends. They still are. Rex Lee was one of America's all-time great legal minds. He argued numerous cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. He was stricken as a young man with an incurable type of cancer and died at a much too early age. He was first dean of the BYU Law School and then president of BYU. His No. 1 qualification was his legal mind, which was outstanding, and he had such a wonderful family. I think that is wonderful that there is going to be a building named after Rex Lee in Provo, UT. He deserves that.

I ask unanimous consent that the bills be read the third time and passed en bloc; that the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table en bloc; and that any statements related to these bills be printed in the Record.

Mr. Speaker, I too rise in support of the renaming of the Akron, Michigan post office. From its humble beginnings on July 23, 1857, this post office has been part of the community in small town Michigan. Rather noteworthy, Mr. Kildee has chosen a rather unusual naming for a post office, and one that I wholeheartedly support. This post office is not named after one brave American or one now-departed politician. Instead, it's named after the countless thousands of men and women of Michigan who have served in the Armed Forces or are serving today and deserve our respect as veterans.

I would urge support of this, and I would urge all of my colleagues to take note that this post office represents a symbol of service more than the symbol of any one person.

I yield back the balance of my time.