Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2842) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 120 4th Street in Petaluma, California, as the ``Lynn…
Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2842) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 120 4th Street in Petaluma, California, as the ``Lynn C. Woolsey 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 this measure.
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. 2842 to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 120 4th Street in Petaluma, California, as the Lynn C. Woolsey Post Office Building.
Lynn Woolsey was born Lynn Carol Robinson in Seattle, Washington, on November 3, 1937. A graduate of Seattle's Lincoln High School, Woolsey attended the University of Washington from 1955 to 1957. She left school to marry Terry J. Critchett in 1958, and they eventually settled in Marin County, California. They had three children, Joseph, Ed, and Amy.
After working as a secretary at a technology company and relying partly on welfare assistance, Woolsey opened a personnel services firm and returned to college at the University of San Francisco to earn her bachelor's degree in 1980.
In 1984, Woolsey won a seat on the Petaluma City Council, where she served until 1992, including as vice mayor in her final year. When California Representative Barbara Boxer ran for the Senate in 1992, Woolsey ran to replace her and was elected in 1993 with 65 percent of the vote.
Congresswoman Woolsey served on the House Budget Committee, the Government Operations Committee, and the Education and Labor Committee. As subcommittee chair of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee, she led a measure to provide job-protected leave for family members of injured soldiers.
Among other successes, Congresswoman Woolsey fought legislation that threatened to reduce the scope of welfare programs; advocated for expanding school breakfast programs; and sponsored legislation to encourage young girls to study math and science, her ``Go, Girl'' initiative.
As co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Congresswoman Woolsey advocated for a budget proposal to lower the deficit while supporting the social safety net.
A prominent member of the Out of Iraq Caucus, Woolsey criticized the George W. Bush administration's prosecution of the war, voted consistently to suspend funding for the war, and introduced a bill to redirect $60 billion in Pentagon funds toward domestic civilian programs.
Throughout her congressional career, Woolsey tended to her northern California district. She delivered hundreds of millions of dollars back home for a variety of capital-intensive projects, including $9 million for a Petaluma River flood control project and $52 million for a seismic retrofit of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Naming a post office for Lynn C. Woolsey is entirely appropriate given her distinguished career and contributions to her State and country, and I urge all Members to support this bill.
I will just add what a privilege it was to have a chance to get to know and serve with Lynn Woolsey. She was a fierce advocate for her point of view. She spent every single day on the floor of this body during the Iraq war and spoke out against it every single day without fail. She is a woman of her convictions and someone who fiercely defended making sure that her constituents' voices were heard.
Mr. Speaker, it was a privilege to serve with her, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Huffman), who succeeded Congresswoman Woolsey.
Mr. Speaker, what a gift to be able to help name this post office and give this well-deserved honor to a remarkable woman, who I hope is watching right now, because she deserves every ounce of the respect that this naming represents.
Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of H.R. 2842, and I yield back the balance of my time.
