To redesignate the railroad station located at 2955 Market Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, commonly known as "30th Street Station", as the "William H. Gray III 30th Street Station".

Well, I thank the gentlewoman, and I thank the chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. As an appropriator, we were going to proceed in an appropriations bill with this naming, but after consulting with the chairman, he felt that it was important that we proceed under regular order and that this was important enough that we have an actual piece of legislation, and he guided me through this process.

I want to thank the chairman for his advice on the matter, and also, we were able to round up every single member of the Federal delegation from our State who were enthusiastic in their support for this, and our cosponsors--and our two United States Senators have introduced a companion bill in the Senate, Senator Toomey, and our senior Senator, Senator Casey. We thank Senators Toomey and Casey for their support.

Mr. Speaker, Bill Gray served for 12 years as Budget Committee chair and as majority whip. He was an accomplished lawmaker and leader in a bipartisan way. He helped to lead the budget negotiations with President Reagan's administration, which at first sought to eliminate Amtrak, but in the conclusion, it was Secretary Stockman who said that it was Bill Gray's leadership that allowed for necessary cuts to be made in other areas of the budget, but for Amtrak to continue to receive the necessary support, so that it could be a vital part of our transportation infrastructure.

He also, as the chairman has indicated, directly impacted the station in Philadelphia by arranging for some urban development action grants to be the focus of revitalization of the station at 30th Street.

Now, I live in a city in which we have the Betsy Ross Bridge, the Walt Whitman Bridge, and the Ben Franklin Parkway, but to add to this now the Bill Gray Station at 30th Street I think appropriately recognizes the historical contribution of a young man who was elected at 38, who served in this Congress, and provided extraordinary service.

When he left here, he went on to lead the Nation's most aggressive effort ever in terms of scholarships for students to pursue colleges who were coming from underrepresented categories.

He served as a special envoy for President Clinton, in terms of interacting around challenges in Haiti, and on a day where we had the Young African Leaders summit here in Washington, some 500 young leaders, Gray is most remembered in Africa because he championed and passed successfully the divestiture of South Africa, the legislation that would effect the divestiture of stock to end apartheid, and as a freshman, he passed a bill that created the African Development Bank. Freshmen at that point, and even today, find it difficult to pass major legislation in our House.

So I think it is great that we have come to this moment, and even though I passed other very important pieces of legislation, I am extraordinarily and personally honored to be able to carry this bill. I thank the gentlewoman from Florida, the ranking member, and the chairman for all of the courtesies that have been extended.

Will the gentlewoman yield?

I am aware that he was raised by educators and that his father was the president of a great college in Florida. I think it is appropriate that you would come in from Florida to help us move this bill forward. But Bill Gray loved you, and he loved the State of Florida. He made that his home once he retired from the Congress representing Pennsylvania.

I am convinced, in terms of someone mounting a pulpit, there are very few people who could claim the mantle that he claimed as pastor of Bright Hope Baptist Church. He was just an extraordinary figure. There are so many stories on a bipartisan basis that could be told. I think it is great that years--decades--after his service and before a year has passed since his passing that the House is taking this step today to honor his service. It honors us that he served here.

Will the gentleman yield?

I was aware of that, and he constantly reminded those of us from Philadelphia that it wasn't Penn or some of these other institutions in which he got fortified for his national service role.

Mr. Speaker, I rise is strong support of H.R. 4838, which designates the railway station located at 2955 Market St. in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, commonly known as the ``30th Street Station,'' as the ``William H. Gray III 30th Street Station.''

This is a fitting tribute to the late Congressman William H. ``Bill'' Gray III, who was a legislator, a politician, a pastor, a teacher, a public servant, and a larger-than-life patriot.

Congressman Bill Gray was born on August 20, 1943 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, but he spent most of his childhood in Florida, where his father was president of Florida Normal and Industrial College, which later became Florida A & M University.

Congressman Gray, like his father, was a strong supporter of education and leading advocate for strengthening America's educational systems.

He earned several degrees: a bachelor's degree in 1963 from Franklin and Marshall College, a Master's of Divinity in 1966 from Drew Theological Seminary, and another Master's in Church History from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1970.

Additionally, he was awarded more than 65 honorary degrees from America's leading colleges and universities.

At an early age, he accepted his calling to become a preacher, and from that day, he proclaimed the Gospel of Jesus in the church, in the community, and even in the halls of Congress. His faith was unshakable. It was evident that he lived his life based upon what he preached.

Congressman Gray was the pastor of Bright Hope Baptist Church in Philadelphia for more than 25 years, a church pastored by his father and grandfather.

Elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1978, Congressman Gray was a persistent voice for equal rights, educational access, and opportunity for all persons, in the United States and abroad.

In 1985, Congressman Gray became the first African American in history to chair the House Budget Committee, where he introduced H. R. 1460, the ``Anti-Apartheid Action Act of 1985,'' which prohibited loans and new investment in South Africa and imposed sanctions on imports and exports with South Africa.

In 1989, Congressman Gray was elected by his colleagues Chairman of the Democratic Caucus and later that year was elected Majority Whip.

As the first African American to hold these two senior leadership positions, Bill Gray's success inspired a generation of African American elected officials.

In 1991, Congressman Gray resigned from Congress to become the president and chief executive officer of the United Negro College Fund (UNCF).

Approximately one-half of the more than $1.6 billion raised in UNCF's history was collected during Congressman Gray's tenure.

During the Clinton Administration, Congressman Gray served as President Clinton's special adviser on Haiti.

As a result of his commitment to Haiti, Congressman Gray and President Clinton received the Medal of Honor from Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

Mr. Speaker, there is only one word to convey the sweep and scope of Congressman Gray's life of service: giant. He was a giant of Philadelphia, of the Congress, and in the history of our country.

By designating ``30th Street Station'' to ``William H. Gray 30th Street Station,'' the American people, not just the residents of Philadelphia, will be reminded of Congressman Gray's illustrious legacy of public service to his city, his state, his country, and the world.

I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting passage of H.R. 2430.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4838) to redesignate the railroad station located at 2955 Market Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, commonly known as ``30th Street Station'', as the ``William H. Gray III 30th Street Station''.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on H.R. 4838.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4838, and I am honored to rise in support of H.R. 4838, which renames Amtrak's 30th Street Station for William H. Gray III.

I am proud to be a Pennsylvanian and proud to have known Mr. Gray. Mr. Gray led a life of service in his church and to the Second District of Pennsylvania, to the education community, and to America.

Representative Gray served the Second District for six terms and was the first African American House Budget Committee chairman and first African American House majority whip.

He also helped provide Federal resources for the renovation of Amtrak's 30th Street Station, so it is only appropriate today that we have a bill on the floor that would rename the 30th Street Station for him. As I understand it, this will have no cost to the taxpayers, but, again, I probably have used the 30th Street Station more than any other station, whether traveling from Union Station to Philadelphia or traveling from the Harrisburg terminal to Philadelphia.

Again, it is a beautiful building, and, again, with the renaming of it, I think it is very appropriate that we name it for William Gray.

With that, I urge the support of H.R. 4838, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, our side has no more speakers, so I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

I appreciate the gentlelady yielding back the balance of her time so I get the final word. Sometimes I don't always get the final word with the gentlelady from Florida. I didn't know if you knew he was a graduate of Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. So he was educated at a great school in central Pennsylvania, so we would like to take some credit.

I yield to the gentleman.

I appreciate the gentleman pointing that out. I am a graduate of Dickinson College, which used to be in the MAC, Middle Atlantic Conference, which F&M was in, so I share that heritage of the MAC conference with Mr. Gray.

The other thing I wanted to point out, his family moved to Philadelphia in 1949. His father took over the church of his grandfather, and then Bill Gray led that church, and so he was a third- generation pastor at the Bright Hope Baptist Church in Philadelphia. After pointing that out, some folks around here know my heritage.

I spoke to my father this weekend and asked him what he remembered about Bill Gray. My father said he was smart, he was hardworking and tough, and he was a true gentleman. So he sent his best down here for this debate also.

Finally, I just want to thank Amtrak for working with us to be able to move this forward. The president of Amtrak, Joe Boardman, and his staff worked very hard to ensure this became a reality. Being able to name the station for a Pennsylvanian, someone with a tremendous background and experience, it has been an honor for me to take part in this.

With that, I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 4838, which designates Amtrak's 30th Street Station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as the William H. Gray III 30th Street Station.

For those who did not know him, Bill Gray was a tireless advocate for both the people of the Second District of Philadelphia and Amtrak. He was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1978 and served with distinction until 1991, when he went on to serve as president of the United Negro College Fund, before founding Gray Global Advisors.

During his tenure in the House, Bill Gray served as the first African American to chair the Budget Committee and the first to serve as the majority whip from 1989 to 1991. His role on the Budget Committee and, later, the Appropriations Committee enabled him to help boost Federal spending on public housing and revitalize Amtrak's 30th Street Station, one of the busiest intercity passenger rail service in the United States.

I want to thank Congressman Chaka Fattah for introducing this important legislation recognizing the chairman's great accomplishments.

In 2011, Amtrak renamed its Wilmington station stop the Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Railroad Station. Amtrak was able to accomplish this without any disruption to operations, including its ticketing and reservation systems, training, schedule, and other references to the station, and we expect Amtrak will carry this renaming in the same manner.

Mr. Speaker, again, I want to congratulate and thank Congressman Fattah for honoring the great legend

of Bill Gray's strong leadership and steadfast support of Amtrak. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from Pennsylvania, Congressman Chaka Fattah.

Mr. Speaker, I have one quick question.

Mr. Fattah, were you aware that the gentleman was raised on the campus of Florida A&M University where his father was the president?

I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania.

Were you also aware that he was one of the most outstanding preachers that this country has ever known?

I thank you, and I thank his wife, his children, and his family.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, Bill Gray was a friend and mentor.

With his unwavering dedication to public service, Bill made an indelible mark on the history of Philadelphia and the U.S. House of Representatives.

Bill was a trailblazer and was truly one of the most remarkable public figures in Philadelphia.

He was a proud leader and representative of the people of Philadelphia and a staunch advocate for the working families and those less fortunate in Pennsylvania and across the nation.

In the House, Bill was the first African American to serve as Chairman of the Budget Committee and the first to rise to the rank of Majority Whip.

I am proud to support this measure to name Philadelphia's 30th Street Station in his honor.