To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 122 North Holderrieth Boulevard in Tomball, Texas, as the "Tomball Veterans Post Office".

I thank my good friend and colleague from Texas (Mr. Farenthold) for his support of my legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of our Nation's veterans and in support of this legislation, which would designate the post office located at 122 North Holderrieth Boulevard in Tomball, Texas, as the ``Tomball Veterans Post Office.''

It is appropriate, Mr. Speaker, that on the first legislative day after Veterans Day that this House would honor its veterans for their sacrifice and fidelity to our country. I cannot think of a more deserving community than Tomball, Texas, in my district.

Mr. Speaker, I just returned this weekend from visiting our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and meeting with the President of Pakistan. I also visited our wounded warriors at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany on Veterans Day.

I'm pleased to report that our men and women in uniform are doing tremendous work and have made extraordinary progress in the war on terror. I was also humbled by our troops' sacrifice and unwavering commitment to our mission.

In Afghanistan, I witnessed the fruits of our soldiers' labor. For the first time, women are being educated and Afghans are enjoying freedoms, the likes of which they could only dream about under the Taliban's brutal regime.

In Iraq, where Saddam Hussein and his henchmen once brutalized the Iraqi people and silenced their voices, democracy is beginning to take shape. Today the Iraqi people are free to express their diverse points of view and engage in the same kind of political discourse that we are engaged in here right now in this very Chamber.

It is because of our soldiers that this is possible; that the American people can be safe from terror and tyranny; and that others around the world, for the first time in their lives, experience the freedoms which we so often take for granted.

I am so proud of our soldiers and what they have accomplished-- soldiers like Marine Corporal Jeffrey Johnson of Tomball, who lost his life in Afghanistan in 2010 defending America and what our country stands for in the world.

Last year I attended Jeffrey's funeral in the small town of Tomball, where over 30,000 people--30,000 grateful Americans--lined up in the streets to show their respect for a true American hero. This unbelievable outpouring of support demonstrated that patriotism and love of country are still alive and well in America.

It's thanks to veterans like Jeffrey Johnson and so many others from Texas and across this great country that this is possible; and, for that, we must honor our men and women who have served in uniform.

That is also why I'm active with the Veterans History Project at the Library of Congress, which preserves and makes accessible the personal accounts of American war veterans so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand the realities of war.

My father, a World War II veteran who flew bombing missions over Nazi Germany, always reminded me that his generation, often called the Greatest Generation, handed down a better America to my generation.

That same can be said for today's veterans, such as Tomball heroes like Jeffery Johnson, whose sacrifices are building a better America today.

And so to all of America's veterans, let me say on behalf of this distinguished body, thank you for your service, and I urge my colleagues to join me in passing this legislation.

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

I rise in strong support of H.R. 2660, a bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 122 North Holderrieth Boulevard in Tomball, Texas, as the ``Tomball Veterans Post Office.'' This past Friday, our Nation celebrated and honored the heroic service of all our Nation's veterans. Continuing that celebration, I urge that we enact H.R. 2660, introduced by Congressman Michael Grimm.

This legislation is supported by all of the members of the Texas delegation, and was considered and reported favorably by the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on November 3, 2011.

According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, an estimated 1.7 million of our Nation's 22.5 million veterans live in the State of Texas. The legislation before us will commemorate the service of veterans of Tomball, Texas, by naming their local post office in their honor.

Such commemoration is but a small token of the debt our Nation owes its veterans. At a time when veterans returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan face higher unemployment rates than the general population and when our veterans urgently need a range of services as they recover from both physical and psychological wounds, we must make it our highest priority to ensure our veterans have quick and easy access to all the services and benefits they have earned by the commitments they have made and kept to our Nation.

That said, Mr. Speaker, let us come together in support of dedicating the Tomball, Texas, Post Office to its hometown veterans by passing

Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2660) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 122 North Holderrieth Boulevard in Tomball, Texas, as the ``Tomball Veterans Post Office''.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

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

H.R. 2660, introduced by the gentleman from Texas (Mr. McCaul), would designate the facility of the United States Postal Service at 122 North Holderrieth Boulevard in Tomball, Texas, as the ``Tomball Veterans Post Office.'' The bill is cosponsored by the entire Texas delegation,

and, Mr. Speaker, I am proud to be an original cosponsor myself.

There's no way a grateful nation can adequately express our thanks to those who serve. However, naming this post office in Tomball after those who serve is a small but fitting gesture to the brave men and women who are the reason this country is free.

I commend my colleague from Texas for introducing this legislation.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield such time as he may consume to my distinguished colleague and friend from the great State of Texas, the sponsor of this bill, Mr. McCaul.

Mr. Speaker, I join my colleagues in urging strong support for this bill honoring our heroic veterans. There are never enough ways we can thank the veterans who served so bravely this country.

I yield back the balance of my time.