To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 260 California Drive in Yountville, California, as the "Private First Class Alejandro R. Ruiz Post Office Building".

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3004) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 260 California Drive in Yountville, California, as the ``Private First Class Alejandro R. Ruiz Post Office Building''.

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

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

H.R. 3004, introduced by the gentleman from California (Mr. Thompson), would designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 260 California Drive in Yountville, California, as the Private First Class Alejandro R. Ruiz Post Office Building. This bill is cosponsored by the entire California State delegation and was reported by the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on November 3.

Madam Speaker, it is altogether fitting and proper that we name this post office in honor of Private First Class Ruiz. Born on April 26, 1924, in Loving, New Mexico, PFC Ruiz enlisted in the Army during World War II and was deployed to the island of Okinawa in 1945. On April 28, 1945, PFC Ruiz and his platoon were ambushed by Japanese soldiers hiding in fortified bunkers. Under a hail of machine gun fire, with enemy grenades being lobbed from every direction, PFC Ruiz single- handedly killed 12 Japanese soldiers and completely destroyed the enemy machine gun nest.

In the face of overwhelming odds, PFC Ruiz acted with the utmost courage, risking his own life to save the lives of many of his fellow soldiers. While he was shot in the leg during the battle, PFC Ruiz and his squad leader were the only two men to escape death or serious injury that day. For his bravery and valor, Private First Class Ruiz was presented with the Medal of Honor by President Truman in June of 1946. He went on to continue his service in the Army, fighting in the Korean War and retired a master sergeant in the mid-1960s.

Sadly, Madam Speaker, on November 23, 2009, Private First Class Ruiz died of congestive heart failure at a hospital in Napa, California, at 85 years of age. I am truly grateful for the service of Private First Class Ruiz and all the men and women who put their lives on the line to protect and defend our country each day. I urge all Members to join me in strong support of this bill.

With that, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, so I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I urge all Members to support the passage of this bill, H.R. 3004, and I yield back the balance of my time.

I thank the gentleman from Texas for bringing this bill to the floor. I also thank the ranking member for his good work on this and for yielding me time to speak on this.

This is very near and dear to me. The California Veterans Home in Yountville, California, is in the heart of my district and my home county. I've known it my entire life, and it's been home to many brave men and women who have served courageously in our military. These are heroes and heroines who put their lives on the line for everything that we as Americans believe in and everything that we enjoy today.

There is a post office on that facility that provides mail service for 1,100 heroes and heroines at the California Veterans Home. These guys get their mail there every day. It saves them from having to make an impossible trek to the closest town. If they were forced to do that, it would put them again in harm's way because it is a very dangerous route to travel; and in their advanced age, it makes no sense for them to have to do that. So this is a very, very important facility.

And here just recently, a very distinguished hero at the California Veterans Home, Alejandro Ruiz, passed away. The reason we want to name the post office after Alejandro Ruiz is because he earned a Congressional Medal of Honor. Now, it has already been noted on the floor the heroic activities of the day in question, but here's a man who, without any concern for his own safety, charged an enemy pillbox filled with enemy combatants, avoiding rifle fire, avoiding grenades, and took this responsibility on to save his comrades who were there fighting with him.

When his weapon became disabled, he returned, got another weapon, more ammunition, and again charged this pillbox. On the second attempt, he was able to reach the pillbox, get on top of it, and dispatch all those who were trying to kill his comrades. Had it not been for his activities, many Americans would have lost their lives that day, and the advancement of the American troops would have been stopped.

This man is a true hero, and that is probably redundant given he has received the Congressional Medal of Honor, and I think it is the appropriate tribute to name this postal facility after Alejandro Ruiz.

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

I am pleased to join my colleagues in supporting H.R. 3004, which designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 260 California Drive in Yountville, California, as the Private First Class Alejandro R. Ruiz Post Office Building.

This measure was introduced on September 21, 2011, by our colleague from California, Representative Mike Thompson, and has been cosponsored by all members of the California delegation. H.R. 3004 was favorably reported out of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on November 3, 2011.

Alejandro R. Ruiz served his country valiantly for nearly 20 years, reaching the rank of master sergeant by the time of his retirement.

Born in New Mexico, Mr. Ruiz served our Nation with exceptional courage and valor. During service in World War II, his unit, the 27th Infantry Division of the 165th Infantry, was ambushed by Japanese troops sheltered in a camouflaged pillbox on Okinawa. Private First Class Ruiz grabbed an automatic rifle and charged forward through a storm of bullets and grenades. As an enemy soldier rushed toward him, his weapon jammed. After clubbing the enemy with the butt of his rifle, Private First Class Ruiz grabbed a different rifle, charged the pillbox and killed 12 enemy soldiers stationed inside. He was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions.

Mr. Ruiz died on November 23, 2009, of heart failure in Yountville, California. He was 85 years old.

I ask that we pass H.R. 3004 to honor Alejandro Ruiz' heroic actions in defense of our Nation as well as the long and productive life he lived thereafter.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California and sponsor of the bill, Congressman Mike Thompson.

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

Madam 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.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in recognition of H.R. 3004, to designate a United States Post Office in Yountville, California as the ``Private First Class Alejandro R. Ruiz Post Office Building.''

Pfc. Ruiz was a former United States Army soldier who served our nation honorably between 1944 to 1964.

He received the Medal of Honor on June 26, 1946 for his actions in the Battle of Okinawa in the Ryukyu Islands during World War II.

President Harry S. Truman presented Pfc. Ruiz with the highest military decoration the United States has to offer.

Pfc. Ruiz's unit was stopped by a camouflaged enemy pillbox where these soldiers encountered machinegun fire and grenade attacks.

Pfc. Ruiz was able to destroy the pillbox under heavy fire and save the lives of many comrades.

He faced overwhelming odds and not only served his unit bravely, but also served his country admirably.

As a Member of Congress, and a veteran, I am proud to stand here before you because of the efforts of Pfc. Ruiz, and soldiers like him.