To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 13301 Smith Road in Cleveland, Ohio, as the "David John Donafee Post Office Building".

I thank my colleague and all Members for their support of this bill: Mr. Davis, Mr. Chaffetz, and my colleague Ms. Sutton.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to offer today H.R. 5390, which renames the post office located at 13301 Smith Road in Cleveland, Ohio, as the ``David John Donafee Post Office Building.'' I would like to thank Chairman Lynch for his efforts to bring H.R. 5390 to the floor of the House.

David John Donafee was a lifelong northeast Ohioan who committed his life to family and community. He was born and raised in Brook Park, Ohio, and graduated from Polaris High School in Berea.

He served northeast Ohio as a postal carrier for 14 years. His coworkers knew David for his geniality and positive spirit, his sense of humor and willingness to go out of his way for anyone. One coworker remarked, ``He was the guy that made the place a little better.''

David was well known in the local hockey community for his support of and involvement in his son's youth hockey league. He announced and scored the games. He was the ``heart of all of the teams,'' according to his wife, Sandi.

Mr. Speaker, on February 14, 2008, Valentine's Day, David Donafee was walking his mail route in Parma Heights, Ohio. He was delivering the mail to people on his route just like he did every other day, but this day was different. He was struck by a car while in the line of his duties as a postal worker, as a mail carrier, and he was killed. His tragic death resounded in the community and resounded with his coworkers.

He left behind his wife, Sandi, and their two sons, Derek and Liam. And my thoughts and the thoughts of the people in the community continue to be with the Donafee family as they adjust to life without their beloved David.

In honoring David John Donafee by naming a post office building after him, we actually honor all of those who deliver the mail, showing that when something like an unexpected tragedy happens, that this Congress does appreciate the work of those who make it possible for the commerce of the country to move by virtue of the mail.

So I ask my colleagues to join me in celebrating the life of David John Donafee and honoring his legacy. I urge passage of H.R. 5390.

[From cleveland.com, Sept. 4, 2008]

Southwest Brewfest To Benefit Family of Deceased Letter Carrier David

Donafee

(By Damon Sims)

Neither snow nor rain nor gloom of night kept David Donafee

from his appointed rounds.

Nor could a little foul weather keep the 42-year-old letter

carrier from scoring his son's Padua High School hockey

games, or from the Friday night beer-and-bull session with

his buddies at the Brew Kettle Taproom & Smokehouse in

Strongsville.

``It was like `Cheers,' '' said Donafee's wife, Sandi. ``My

husband was kind of the life of the party, but in a quiet,

gentle way.''

That all changed on a gloomy Valentine's Day this year.

Donafee, a postman for 14 years, was making his rounds about

noon when he was struck by a car and killed while crossing

York Road near Valley Forge High School in Parma Heights. The

driver, a 19-year-old Cleveland man, was questioned. No

charges have been filed, and the accident remains under

investigation.

Donafee, of Brunswick, is survived by his wife, Sandi, and

sons, Derek, 15, and Liam, 11. His death also left a void in

the youth-hockey community, with his postal-worker colleagues

and with his friends at the Brew Kettle, who remember him as

a fun and convivial companion.

``He was one of the happiest, most positive people I've

ever met,'' said the Brew Kettle's owner, Chris McKim. ``When

the world loses a grouch, it's sad. When it loses a guy like

Dave, a guy who was always upbeat and always on his A-game,

it's a tragedy.''

The different forces that helped define Donafee's life--

good friends, good music, good beer--are coming together

Saturday for an event designed to honor his memory and help

his family. McKim has organized the first Southwest Brewfest,

a charity craft-beer festival at the Chalet near the

Cleveland Metroparks' toboggan chutes in the Mill Stream Run

Reservation in Strongsville.

The festival will feature beer from brewers in Cleveland's

southern and western suburbs: Brew Kettle, Rocky River

Brewing Co., Cornerstone Brewing Co. and Buckeye Brewing.

Musicians David Fayne, Woody Leffel and the Armstrong

Bearcat Band will provide the soundtrack to the event, which

takes place from 1 to 7 p.m. The $30 ticket will include a

commemorative glass along with 10 four-ounce beer samples.

Proceeds will help the Donafee family with Derek's $8,300

annual tuition at Padua, a Catholic preparatory school in

Parma Heights.

The annual event will also help send Liam, now a sixth-

grader, to Padua. Leftover money will go directly to Padua to

benefit other students.

That would have meant a lot to Donafee, who said Derek's

experience at Padua turned around his son's academic career,

according to McKim, himself a Padua graduate.

Donafee's death didn't escape the notice of the powers-

that-be. Earlier this year, U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich paid

tribute to the mail carrier on the floor of the House. Sandi

Donafee has the congressman's words inscribed on a plaque in

her living room.

``May his life be an example of how we should lead our

own,'' Kucinich told colleagues.

And what would the genial mailman have thought of all the

attention?

``It would have made Dave smile,'' McKim said with a

chuckle.

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

I rise today in support of H.R. 5390 to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 13301 Smith Road in Cleveland, Ohio, as the David John Donafee Post Office Building.

I appreciate the good work that my colleague Mr. Kucinich has done on this and his heartfelt and sincere approach to recognizing this great gentleman and the tragic situation but also the great life that he led.

Mr. Speaker, it is altogether fitting and proper that we honor Mr. Donafee by naming this post office in Cleveland for him. It was out of this post office that he was based.

On February 14, Valentine's Day, 2008, David Donafee was delivering the mail on foot along his usual route in Parma Heights, Ohio, only minutes from the post office on Smith Road. As he was crossing York Road near Independence Boulevard, Mr. Donafee was struck and killed by a vehicle driving recklessly down the street.

Tragically, the 42-year-old husband and father of two was run over only blocks from the post office to be named in his memory. Mr. Donafee was killed on a route that is notorious among local mail carriers for dangerous drivers. I hope that the tragic circumstances of Mr. Donafee's death will serve as a call for safer driving on all roads across our country.

Prior to his career of delivering mail, Mr. Donafee had worked in a Cleveland area steel mill which he had told family members he felt was too dangerous of a place to work. His older brothers recall that David took the job in the post office so that he could have a safer place to work. Sadly, the 14-year veteran of the postal service couldn't escape the danger he had tried to get way from.

Mr. Donafee is remembered by his wife as a great father and by coworkers as a generous man who ``would do anything for you.'' He had a wonderful sense of humor, and according to fellow mail carriers, he was the guy that made the place a little better.

An active member of his community, Mr. Donafee was very involved with his town of Brunswick's youth hockey league.

Mr. Donafee was born on April 29, 1965, in Parma, Ohio. He leaves behind his wife, Sandi, of almost 18 years, and his two teenage sons, Derek and Liam. Our heart goes out to this family.

Mr. Speaker, it is proper that we pass this resolution to honor the memory of David John Donafee. I call on all Members of this House to support this measure and hope they know that members of the postal community, the greater postal community, those who work and serve every day in their lives, if by this small gesture we can remember them and give some degree of comfort to that family and that we always remember them.

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5390) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 13301 Smith Road in Cleveland, Ohio, as the ``David John Donafee Post Office Building''.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to

the author of this legislation, the gentleman from Cleveland, Ohio, Representative Kucinich.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Ohio, Representative Betty Sutton.

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

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, I rise in support of H.R. 5390, a bill designating the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 13301 Smith Road in Cleveland, Ohio, as the David John Donafee Post Office Building.

H.R. 5390 was introduced by my colleague, the gentleman from Ohio, Representative Dennis Kucinich, on May 25, 2010. It was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which ordered it reported favorably by unanimous consent on June 7, 2010. The measure has the bipartisan support of 17 Members of the Ohio delegation.

Mr. David John Donafee was a letter carrier for the United States Postal Service for 14 years. An active member of his community, Mr. Donafee volunteered with the youth hockey league in his town of Parma, Ohio. Tragically, he passed way on February 14, 2008, at the age of 42, after being struck by the driver of a car while delivering mail on his regular route. He is survived by his wife, Sandi, and two sons, Derek and Liam.

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Donafee's untimely death during the course of his duties as a letter carrier is deeply saddening. Let us now pay tribute to this man's life through the passage of H.R. 5390. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting it.

I yield back the balance of my time.

I thank the gentleman for the time, and I thank my colleague, Congressman Kucinich, for his efforts and leadership on this legislation.

David John Donafee was a 42-year-old letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service who lived in the congressional district that I am so honored to serve. He lived in Medina County, Ohio, in the city of Brunswick; and, sadly, David was crossing the street while walking his route when he was fatally hit by a car on February 14, 2008.

David was a devoted husband, a father, a son, a brother, a brother- in-law and uncle; and he was very involved in the community in children's hockey.

For 14 years, David delivered the mail; and to paraphrase the U.S. Postal Service's motto, he went about his life with duty, honor, and pride. Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night, nor the winds of change, nor a Nation challenged stayed David from the swift completion of his appointed rounds. But tragically, a reckless driver did.

Our hearts remain with Sandi, his wife, his children, and the entire Donafee family. David's death was a tragedy that should not have happened. While we are honoring his life by naming the post office after him, as it should be, we also have a duty to remind drivers to yield to pedestrians crossing the street. We know that this small gesture will not close the hole in the Donafee family's hearts, but we want them to know that we care and we appreciate all that he did for our community. He connected us, one with another.

With this post office naming, we will remind people of David's noble service, and we will remind each other of our obligation to look out one for another.