To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 9801 Apollo Drive in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, as the "Wayne K. Curry Post Office Building".

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from the Virgin Islands for yielding time.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the committee for its consideration in support of H.R. 4890 as well as thank all the members of the Maryland delegation for their steadfast support.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4890, which designates the post office at 9801 Apollo Drive in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, in Maryland's Fourth Congressional District the Wayne K. Curry Post Office in honor of our late county executive.

Wayne Keith Curry was born in Brooklyn, New York, and grew up in a racially segregated neighborhood in Cheverly, Maryland. His family was among the first non-White families to integrate the community in the early 1950s. He and his older brother were the first African American students to integrate Cheverly Tuxedo Elementary School and then Bladensburg High School.

Wayne began his career in public service in the administration of Prince George's County Executive Winfield Kelly, Jr., from 1975 to 1978. Through his vision, devotion, and tireless work ethic to make a better Prince George's County, he quickly rose through the ranks of county government.

He went on to serve in various roles, including community affairs assistant, administrative assistant to the county's chief administrative officer, and senior assistant to the executive.

Mr. Curry commuted nightly to Baltimore, eventually graduating with honors from the University of Maryland Law School, receiving his juris doctorate in 1980.

From 1980 until 1983, Wayne worked as counsel for a large real estate development company in Prince George's County, and later decided to start his own law practice in 1984. During this time, he served as general counsel for Dimensions Health Corporation, among other high- profile clients.

Although he was a partner at a lucrative law firm, public service had a strong grasp on his heart. He served as chairman of the United Way Campaign of Prince George's County, president of the Prince George's County Chamber of Commerce, chairman of the School Superintendent's Advisory Committee on Black Male Achievement, and chairman of the Prince George's County Substance Abuse Advisory Board.

When the opportunity presented itself, he ran for Prince George's County executive in 1994. Running as the underdog, he ultimately prevailed. He made history when he became the first African American to serve in the county's highest elected office.

He brought a renewed vitality to the office and focused his administration on the economic empowerment of his constituents.

The transformation of Prince George's Count reflected Wayne Curry's own life from a sleepy southern hollow that was rural and all White to a large African American majority and increasingly cosmopolitan.

County Executive Curry presided over a period of unprecedented population growth, development, and modernization of Prince George's County and making it the national standard of African American success in local governance. Under Wayne's leadership, Prince George's County became the first county in our history where education and income levels rose as it transitioned from majority White to majority African American.

His business-friendly approach led Prince George's County through a severe financial crisis, the end of court-mandated bussing, the construction of 26 new schools and a new stadium for the Washington Redskins.

He saw the county go from a deficit of $108 million to enjoying a $120 million surplus, protecting the county's AAA bond rating.

County Executive Wayne K. Curry passed away on July 2, 2014, at the age of 63 after losing his battle to lung cancer. He is survived by his wife, Sheila Curry; his son, Julian Curry; and daughter, Taylor Curry.

Wayne Curry never sought to make history, but simply to serve the community and the people and to better their lives. He was always about the future and getting it right.

Wayne K. Curry will live on through his historical impact on the people that I represent, and this bill will honor the vision, contribution, and legacy of the iconic Wayne K. Curry and will be a daily remainder in the heart of the county he cared so deeply about.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 4890, a bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 9801 Apollo Drive in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, as the ``Wayne K. Curry Post Office Building.'' I thank my colleague from Maryland, Congressman Anthony Brown, for his leadership in introducing this bill, which I am proud to co-sponsor.

Wayne Curry was an exceptional leader whose vision and commitment led to many of the groundbreaking developments that have helped make Prince George's County such a vibrant and dynamic county today. He was also a trailblazer committed to opening the doors of opportunity for African Americans in business and government.

Mr. Curry was a graduate of Western Maryland College and of the University of Maryland Law School in Baltimore. He worked for many years in commercial real estate and then eventually led the Prince George's Chamber of Commerce. Early in his career, he served as an aide to former County Executive Winfield M. Kelly.

Mr. Curry was elected the County Executive of Prince George's County in 1994--one of the first African Americans to be elected to lead a county in the nation--and was re-elected in 1998. As County Executive, he was a fierce advocate for Prince George's County and for its residents, and fought to increase funding for public schools, to ensure that economic development in the county benefited all residents, and to ensure that minority contractors had a fair chance to compete for government-funded contracts.

The Washington Post wrote that Mr. Curry was ``A champion of black affluence'' who ``believed that economic power was the last milestone of the civil rights struggle.''

We are blessed to have the memory and example of Wayne Curry to help lead us as we continue to fight to reach that last milestone and achieve the equality of economic opportunity that is essential to making the American dream a reality for minorities across this nation.

I urge all Members to support H.R. 4890 and again thank Congressman Brown for his work on this measure.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4890) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 9801 Apollo Drive in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, as the ``Wayne K. Curry 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 and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4890, a bill to name the post office at 9801 Apollo Drive in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, after Wayne K. Curry.

Mr. Curry was born in Brooklyn in 1951, but grew up in Cheverly, Maryland. After graduating from Western Maryland College, now McDaniel College, Curry began working for Prince George's County while earning his law degree at night. In 1944, Wayne Curry ran and was elected to the position of county executive.

Curry passed away from lung cancer on July 2, 2014, at the age of 63.

He was a dedicated public servant, and we honor him today by naming a post office after him in the county in which he served.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join my colleagues in consideration of H.R. 4890 to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 9801 Apollo Drive in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, as the Wayne K. Curry Post Office Building.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Brown) to tell us more about Mr. Curry.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers at this time.

I urge passage of H.R. 4890, and I yield back the balance of my time.