To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 3894 Crenshaw Boulevard in Los Angeles, California, as the "Tom Bradley Post Office Building".

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5450. I would also like to thank the members of the California delegation for supporting this bill.

H.R. 5450 would designate a Post Office in my district located at 3894 Crenshaw Boulevard in Los Angeles, California, as the Tom Bradley Post Office Building.

Tom Bradley served as the mayor of Los Angeles for an unprecedented 20 years, as a city councilman for 10 years, and as a Los Angeles police officer for 21 years. Tom Bradley, the son of sharecroppers and the grandson of a former slave, was born on December 29, 1917, to Lee and Crenner Bradley in Calvert, Texas. In 1924, the Bradleys moved to Los Angeles near Temple and Alvarado Streets.

A young Tom Bradley attended Polytechnic High School, where he starred in track and was an all-city football player. Upon graduating from high school in 1937, Bradley attended the University of California at Los Angeles on a track scholarship. During his junior year at UCLA, Bradley dropped out to attend the Los Angeles Police Academy.

After becoming a police officer in 1940 and serving many years in the department, Tom Bradley would rise to the rank of lieutenant, which was the highest rank for an African American at that time.

While working for the Los Angeles Police Department, Bradley studied at night at Southwestern University School of Law and received his law degree in 1956. He later passed the State bar, and in 1961 he would leave the LAPD to practice law.

In 1963, Tom Bradley, along with Billy Mills, would become the first African Americans elected to the Los Angeles City Council. Bradley would serve on the City Council until the year 1972. During his tenure on the City Council, he would speak out against racial segregation within the LAPD, as well as the department's handling of the Watts riots in 1965.

In 1969, Tom Bradley first challenged incumbent mayor Sam Yorty. Armed with key endorsements, Bradley held a substantial lead over Yorty in the primary, but was a few percentage points shy of winning the race outright. However, in the runoff, Yorty pulled an amazing come-from- behind victory to win reelection, primarily because he played racial politics.

In 1973, Tom Bradley would unseat Sam Yorty to become Los Angeles' first African American mayor and the second African American to be mayor of a major United States city.

During Tom Bradley's tenure as mayor, Los Angeles overtook San Francisco as the financial capital of the State and much of the West. The

City of Los Angeles sprouted a skyline of new and impressive office buildings, and with a booming international airport and Port of Los Angeles, the city became a transportation hub and gateway to the Pacific rim.

In 1982, as the Democratic Party nominee, Tom Bradley lost the race for California governor to George Deukmejian by less than 1 percentage point of the vote. The racial dynamics that appeared to underlie his narrow and unexpected loss in 1982 gave rise to the political term ``the Tom Bradley effect.''

In 1984, amid a chorus of people predicting disaster, Tom Bradley championed Los Angeles as the host of the Summer Olympics. The games were a huge success, bringing the city not only great publicity, but a $250 million surplus, and I am happy to announce that that surplus has grown and it still remains around $300 million.

Tom Bradley's most difficult moments as mayor came in the last years of his tenure. During the 1992 Los Angeles riots, more than 50 people were killed in the civil unrest following the acquittal of the police officers involved in the Rodney King beating.

During a speech in September of 1992 when Bradley announced he would not seek a sixth term as mayor, he stated, ``The April unrest tore at my heart, and I will not be at peace until we have healed our wounds and rebuilt our neighborhoods. Let us all, every one of us, pledge to make Los Angeles a beacon of mutual respect, justice and tolerance from this day forward.''

The words of tolerance, justice, and respect were how Tom Bradley lived his life, governed the city of Los Angeles, and created coalitions with people from every race, religion, and ethnic background.

At the age of 80, Tom Bradley died on September 29, 1998. He was survived by his late wife, Ethel Bradley, and their two daughters, Lorraine and Phyllis. The city of Los Angeles will never have a mayor that served as long as Tom Bradley and had the type of impact and influence he commanded. For this Congress to give Tom Bradley this honor would be fitting, due to his life's work as a public servant working to bring justice and prosperity to all citizens of Los Angeles.

And I proudly, Mr. Speaker, would like all of you to know Tom Bradley followed my father, who was a police officer in Los Angeles, and he was proud to say that he helped to train him.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 5450.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5450, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 3894 Crenshaw Boulevard in Los Angeles, California, as the ``Tom Bradley Post Office Building.'' Mr. Speaker, it is altogether fitting and proper that we name this for the late Mayor Tom Bradley, a man who tirelessly and selflessly served the citizens of Los Angeles, and who truly embodies the quintessential American success story.

Born in Calvert, Texas, on December 29, 1917, Mayor Bradley was the son of sharecroppers and the grandson of a slave. In 1924, he moved to Los Angeles, where he was raised by his single mother and excelled in school and athletics. Upon graduation from high school, Mayor Bradley attended the University of California at Los Angeles, or UCLA, where he ran track and field, as well as achieving multiple records, and eventually became the team captain. When he graduated from UCLA in 1940, Mayor Bradley joined the Los Angeles Police Department and eventually was promoted to the rank of lieutenant. He was the first African American in the department's history to attain that rank. While working for the LAPD, Mr. Bradley attended Southwestern Law School at night and graduated in 1956. He passed the State Bar of California on the first try, and in 1961 resigned from the LAPD so he could practice law full time.

Mr. Speaker, like so many of us, Tom Bradley entered politics because he cared about the community in which he resided. In 1949, he volunteered for an Los Angeles City Council campaign and during his time at the LAPD he became active in the Democratic Minority Conference and the California Democratic Council. In 1963, he threw his hat into the political ring and was elected to the Los Angeles City Council, representing the city's 10th District. That year marked the first time in the city's history that an African American was elected to the city council, Bradley being one of those three.

After winning reelection in 1967, the always ambitious Bradley ran for mayor of Los Angeles in 1969. After winning the primary, Bradley lost in a runoff in his bid for mayor to Sam Yorty. Not discouraged by the outcome of his first try for mayor, Bradley ran again in 1973, this time beating Sam Yorty. Bradley became the first African American elected as mayor of Los Angeles. Mayor Bradley was able to win by building a multiethnic coalition that transcended race and united residents from all walks of life.

Tom Bradley would go on to serve five consecutive terms. During his 20 years in office, Mayor Bradley did much for the citizens of Los Angeles. Under his stewardship, Los Angeles became the financial capital of California and gained international prominence as the gateway to the Pacific Rim. Not only did Bradley promote and expand international trade and travel through Los Angeles, he improved social services and the lives of those struggling most in the inner city. Mayor Bradley doubled the number of minorities and women working in City Hall. And though he endured much opposition, he successfully brought civilian control over the Los Angeles Police Department.

Aside from the economic development and skyline of new and impressive buildings in downtown Los Angeles, many would argue that Mayor Bradley's greatest accomplishment surrounded the 1984 Summer Olympics hosted in Los Angeles. Amid much skepticism, Mayor Bradley was able to not only bring the games to Los Angeles, but he helped make them a huge success. Los Angeles received fame and publicity. And when the games left town, Los Angeles had a $250 million surplus that evidently continues to grow. After serving five terms as mayor, Tom Bradley resigned in 1993. He was the city's longest-serving mayor.

Tragically, in 1996, Mayor Bradley suffered a debilitating stroke that left him partially paralyzed and not able to speak. Then, on September 29, 1998, Mayor Bradley passed away after suffering a heart attack. He was 80 years old. Surviving him was his wife of 57 years, Ethel Arnold Bradley, as well as his two daughters, Lorraine and Phyllis.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, I leave this body with a quote from Mayor Bradley upon his resignation as mayor, where he said, ``Let us all, every one of us, pledge to make Los Angeles a beacon of mutual respect, justice, and tolerance from this day forward.'' I firmly believe this is a pledge that not only Angelenos should take, but that all Americans should consider.

Mr. Speaker, it is proper that we pass this legislation in honor of the memory of Mayor Tom Bradley, a true American hero and success story. I urge all Members to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5450) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 3894 Crenshaw Boulevard in Los Angeles, California, as the ``Tom Bradley 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 she may consume to the gentlewoman from Los Angeles, California (Ms. Watson), the author of this legislation.

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 am pleased to present H.R. 5450 for consideration. This measure would designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 3894 Crenshaw Boulevard in Los Angeles California as the ``Tom Bradley Post Office Building.''

H.R. 5450 was introduced by my colleague, the gentlewoman from California, Representative Diane Watson, on May 27, 2010. It was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which ordered it reported favorably by unanimous consent on June 17, 2010. The measure enjoys the bipartisan support of 52 members of the California delegation.

Mr. Speaker, Tom Bradley was born on December 29, 1917, in Calvert, Texas. The son of a sharecropper and the grandson of former slaves, Mr. Bradley achieved many firsts over the course of his career in Los Angeles, where he moved with his family as a child. He

was the first African American lieutenant in the Los Angeles Police Department, where he served for 22 years. He took night classes at the Southwestern University School of Law during this time and received a law degree in 1956. In 1963, he was elected to the Los Angeles City Council and was its first African American member. He was also the city's first African American mayor as well as the longest-serving mayor in the city's history, serving from 1974 to 1994.

Mr. Bradley was a physically imposing figure, standing well over 6 feet tall, but his manner was soft, low-key, and calming. He helped lead Los Angeles through difficult times, including the first energy crisis of 1973 to 1974, and helped to boost economic development and investment in the city. Following the riots associated with the Rodney King incident in 1992, Mr. Bradley, along with then-Governor Pete Wilson, formed the Rebuild Los Angeles Task Force, an extensive effort to revitalize the city. Mr. Bradley also formed the Christopher Commission in July of 1991, charging it with conducting ``a full and fair examination of the structure and operation of the Los Angeles Police Department, including its recruitment and training practices, internal disciplinary system, and citizen complaint system.''

And so, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Bradley's leadership, vision for his community, and skill as a conscientious administrator are inspirations to us all. Let us now pay tribute to this great American through the passage of H.R. 5450. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting it.

Again, I commend Representative Diane Watson for introducing this legislation. It deserves all of our votes, and I would urge its passage.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5450, which honors long-time Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley by designating the United States Postal Service located at 3894 Crenshaw Boulevard in Los Angeles, California, the ``Tom Bradley Post Office Building.'' H.R. 5450 is an important measure that commends a man who has left a lasting and positive impact on the Los Angeles community and our nation.

I would like to thank Chairman Towns for his leadership in bringing this bill to the floor. I also thank the sponsor of this legislation, Congresswoman Watson, for taking the time to honor Tom Bradley and his historic contributions to our ration's social and economic progress.

Mr. Speaker, Mayor Tom Bradley did much to improve the city of Los Angeles during his record five terms as mayor. In his 20 years in office, Los Angeles successfully hosted the 1984 Olympics and passed Chicago to become the second most populous city in the country. These changing dynamics brought social challenges that demanded incredible leadership from Mayor Bradley. After the 1992 Rodney King riots he worked tirelessly to rebuild Los Angeles and continue the process of racial reconciliation. Mayor Bradley famously stated, ``The April unrest tore at my heart, and I will not be at peace until we have healed our wounds and rebuilt our neighborhoods. Let us all, every one of us, pledge to make Los Angeles a beacon of mutual respect, justice and tolerance from this day forward.''

Prior to his record five terms as mayor of Los Angeles, Tom Bradley served on the Los Angeles City Council from 1963 to 1972. In 1963, he and Mr. Billy G. Mills became the first African Americans elected to the City Council. The district that he represented was based around the ethnically diverse Crenshaw neighborhood. During his tenure, he spoke out against racial segregation within the LAPD, as well as the department's mishandling of the Watts Riots in 1965.

Growing up in the Los Angeles area, Mayor Tom Bradley had a positive impact on my life. His service to our community, commitment to social and economic progress, and hard work to bring about racial reconciliation was an example that inspired me to get involved in public service. I am grateful for the progress that he led in the Los Angeles community.

Mr. Speaker, it is entirely fitting that we honor and express our national gratitude for Mayor Tom Bradley's record service, during which time he worked on behalf of millions of Americans and helped fight poverty, inequality, and social injustice. The U.S. Postal Service building at 3894 Crenshaw Boulevard will honor a great humanitarian, politician, and all around remarkable individual. Naming a post office in his honor is the least we can do to recognize Mayor Tom Bradley's great contributions to the Los Angeles community and our nation.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 5450.