To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1165 2nd Avenue in Des Moines, Iowa, as the "Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Memorial Post Office".

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.

I would first like to thank the chairman and ranking member for moving this bill along. I might add, Mr. Issa, that we did have an individual request for this, and we thought about it long and hard. Then we thought about the multitude, the many that have served, and felt like it was appropriate to do this.

So I do rise today and honor those who have nobly served the Nation in Iraq and Afghanistan, and ask colleagues to support H.R. 3386, which, as has been said, will designate a post office in Des Moines, Iowa, as the ``Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Memorial Post Office.''

Having spent some 20 years myself in the Army, and a couple tours in Vietnam, I understand the sacrifices, and so do you, Mr. Issa, and so do many others, made by our servicemembers.

Our Armed Forces have many assets--whether it's our aircraft carriers, fighter planes, missiles. However, oftentimes one of the greatest military assets is overlooked, and that's our military personnel.

Our servicemen and -women stand ready to defend the freedoms we hold dear. Our all-volunteer force is made up of brave individuals who know all too well the sacrifices that we have asked them to make. Yet time and again, with this knowledge, they continue to put our freedoms above what they give up. These brave young men and women who have fought in these wars, many having lost their lives, deserve recognition for their service and their sacrifice.

Renaming the post office in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, will create a memorial for all Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, and each day Iowans will be reminded of our neighbors who courageously fought on our behalf. By renaming this post office, we honor those who have served, but also those who have given the ultimate sacrifice--their lives. To date, more than 50 Iowans have made that sacrifice.

Those who have or are serving in our Armed Forces are committed to serving our Nation with courage and honor. We must make that same commitment to them.

I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 3386. We must never forget.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3386) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1165 2nd Avenue in Des Moines, Iowa, as the ``Iraq and Afghanistan 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. 3386 for consideration. This legislation will designate the United States postal facility located at 1165 2nd Avenue in Des Moines, Iowa, as the ``Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Memorial Post Office.''

At this time I would like to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Boswell) who has worked very hard to make certain that we are here today.

(Mr. BOSWELL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

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

The legislation before us pays tribute to the brave men and women from the city of Des Moines. Let me say that over 400 have been wounded, 50 have been killed, and I think that this is something that, once it's there, people will always see it and know in terms of what happened.

Let me say that I urge my colleagues to support this legislation because I think it's legislation that's broad and that it recognizes the conflict and, of course, the people that have been involved in it in the local area as well.

I yield back the balance of my time.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of this bill designating the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1165 2nd Avenue in Des Moines, Iowa, as the ``Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Memorial Post Office.''

Mr. Speaker, this is a particularly appropriate naming. Often we name post offices in honor of one individual whose service may have been in the Postal Service, here in Congress, or perhaps an individual who gave their last full measure to the country.

In this case, we're recognizing a conflict--a conflict that has been difficult and has cost the lives of a great many American men and women--and this broad recognition that we should pay honor to them is particularly noteworthy when you realize that more than 11,000 Iowa National Guard members have been called to Active Duty in the past 8 years and that in fact more than 70 have died in combat.

So I join with Mr. Boswell in support for this bill. It's well thought out. It's unusual for a Member to forgo perhaps the gratification of naming something after a former colleague or after somebody by name in their district and to look beyond that--to look to the brave men and women who have served nobly in this crisis and recognize them in a broader way and one that I think will be enduring in Iowa for generations to come.

With that, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield back the balance of my time and urge full support for this resolution.

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.