To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 3900 Crown Road Southwest in Atlanta, Georgia, as the "John R. Lewis Post Office Building".

Mr. Speaker, I rise in enthusiastic support of H.R. 5577, which designates the United States Postal Service facility located at 3900 Crown Road Southwest in Atlanta, Georgia, as the ``John R. Lewis Post Office Building.''

As a senior member of this body, a former colleague of the great and beloved John Lewis, and as a member of a generation that engaged in direct action inspired by his work in the Civil Rights Movement, I am proud to vote for H.R. 5577 in this tribute to an American original.

I thank my colleague, Congresswoman Williams of Georgia, for introducing this historic legislation to honor the memory of our dear friend and one of the greatest Americans, the beloved Congressman John Robert Lewis, who died in July 2020, leaving a big hole in the hearts of freedom loving people everywhere.

To honor John's outstanding contributions to the civil rights community in Atlanta and his extraordinary life of service to others, it is both fitting and proper to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 3900 Crown Road Southwest in Atlanta, Georgia, as the ``John R. Lewis Post Office Building.''

John Lewis was a lifelong warrior for a more just, equitable, fairer, and better America, one of the Original Big Six, and a giant of the Civil Rights Movement.

John Lewis was one of the original Freedom Riders, who in 1961 challenged segregated interstate travel in the South.

He was a founder and early leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, which coordinated lunch-counter sit-ins.

He helped organize and was the last surviving person who addressed the multitude at the March on Washington, where Dr. King delivered his immortal ``I Have A Dream'' speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

John Robert Lewis was born on February 21, 1940, the third of ten children, to Eddie and Willie Mae (Carter) Lewis near the town of Troy on a sharecropping farm owned by a white man.

John was a child when his parents bought their own farm--110 acres for $300.

He performed farm work, leaving school at harvest time to pick cotton, peanuts, and corn.

John Lewis's family members called him ``Preacher,'' and becoming one seemed to be his destiny.

John often said he drew inspiration by listening to a young minister named Martin Luther King on the radio and reading about the 1955-56 Montgomery bus boycott.

John Lewis did not just listen to Martin Luther King, Jr., he took action to follow his example.

The first time John Lewis was arrested was in February 1960, he and other students demanded service at whites-only lunch counters in Nashville, the first prolonged battle of the movement that evolved into the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.

John Lewis's advocacy was fierce and joyful, as embodied in his common refrain to involve oneself in the actions and passions of one's time, `to get in the way, make necessary trouble.

Less than two years after, in the shadow of the Lincoln Memorial, John led over 600 peaceful demonstrators across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, in Selma, Alabama, in a march demanding the right to vote.

That protest was met with violence by Alabama State Troopers, as John Lewis was beaten and his skull left bloodied, the horror left bare for a nation to see on television.

That incident, forever remembered as Bloody Sunday, led to the passage and enactment of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

It was my personal honor to accompany John Lewis on countless pilgrimages to the Edmund Pettus Bridge to remember and acknowledge those common persons with common dreams and uncommon courage and love for the promise of the country.

In 1986, John Lewis was elected to the United States House of Representatives from

Georgia's 6th District and served in that role for 17 terms until the sun set on his heroic and extraordinary life.

John Lewis's moral authority was colossal because he had seen the worst of us, but he always appealed to the best of us and never ceased to inspire us to strive to create the beloved community.

John Lewis was the conscience of the Congress, widely beloved and revered on both sides of the aisle and the Capitol, he became the first African American lawmaker to lie in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol.

John Lewis' moral authority in the United States House of Representatives was in full display when he led members in a 24-hour sit in on the floor of the House of Representatives.

In John Lewis' final act of civic engagement and civil disobedience, he stood in the middle of Black Lives Matter Plaza showing solidarity and the continuity with the now global movement fighting galvanized by the horrific murder of George Floyd to peacefully protest for justice and equal treatment in the criminal justice system.

Mr. Speaker, John Lewis was among the finest Americans this country ever produced, it is no exaggeration to say he was a man, the likes of which we shall not see again.

In 2011, at a White House ceremony, President Barack Obama awarded John Lewis the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.

John Lewis also received the Martin Luther King Jr. Nonviolent Peace Prize, the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's (NAACP) Spingarn Medal.

John Lewis was a true man of honor who dedicated his life to civil and human rights, as he broke down racial barriers while maintaining imperishable perseverance.

John Lewis lived a consequential life, and his legacy is all around us, in the realization of talent and opportunity of millions of persons who walked through the doors of progress that John Lewis helped open.

I hope it is comfort to the family and loved ones of John Lewis that people around the world are celebrating his life, including the act of Congress designating a post office in his name.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5577) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 3900 Crown Road Southwest in Atlanta, Georgia, as the `John R. Lewis 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 rise today in support of H.R. 5577 to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 3900 Crown Road Southwest in Atlanta, Georgia, as the ``John R. Lewis Post Office Building''.

John Lewis was born on February 21, 1940, in Troy, Alabama, to Willie Mae and Eddie Lewis.

Inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., he attended the American Baptist Theological Seminary in Nashville, Tennessee. Lewis then went on to earn his bachelor's degree in religion and philosophy from Fisk University.

As a college student in Nashville, Congressman Lewis was a founder and chairman of the national civil rights organization, Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, or SNCC.

In 1963, John Lewis was involved in planning the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. As a part of the event, Lewis delivered a keynote address at the Lincoln Memorial in which he called on an army of movement activists to ``march through the South'' in a sustained campaign of nonviolent resistance to produce effective civil rights legislation and destroy Jim Crow.

His fight for Federal civil rights legislation continued in 1965, as Congressman Lewis participated in new voter registration drives and peaceful demonstrations in Selma, Alabama, where he sustained a fractured skull as a result of being beaten during what is now known as Bloody Sunday.

President Jimmy Carter appointed Lewis as the associate director of the Federal volunteer agency, ACTION, where he worked to build connections to local volunteer groups and diversify the agency's workforce.

From 1981 to 1986, Congressman Lewis held a seat on the Atlanta City Council, where he tackled local issues, such as public funding for infrastructure, zoning laws, and homelessness.

As a Representative of Georgia, Lewis made monumental strides as he focused on backing or introducing legislation advancing civil rights, environmental justice, education, and healthcare.

In 1991, Lewis proposed legislation to establish the museum of African American history and worked to gather support for the proposal until George W. Bush signed into law a bill creating the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Mr. Speaker, one of the greatest honors of my professional life, and really my life, was the opportunity to get to know and serve with the great John Lewis in this body, and I think if you asked most Members who had the privilege of getting to know him and serve with him in the U.S. House of Representatives, that they would count among their finest honors to be able to have that privilege as well.

Sadly, we lost Congressman Lewis, our beloved John, who died on July 17, 2020, and I encourage all of my colleagues to honor the memory of Congressman John Lewis's legacy and his fight for civil rights through the dedication of the post office at 3900 Crown Road Southwest as the ``John R. Lewis Post Office Building'', and may his memory be for a blessing.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Georgia (Ms. Williams), who has the privilege of not having stepped in the shoes, but to have succeeded the great former Congressman John Lewis.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Cicilline), a member of the Judiciary Committee who chairs the Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law Subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, as I have said, nearly all the Members of this body who had the privilege to get to know Congressman Lewis would count among their finest honors the chance to serve in this esteemed institution with him.

John was really the embodiment of goodness. John Lewis was someone who I never heard cast aspersions, who I never saw angry or directed anger at someone else. He certainly had anger toward injustice and really channeled that energy and his passion to make sure that everyone in the United States had an opportunity to live and experience justice as his life's work.

There were so many times that John's rallying cry for Members of this institution was that we needed to stand up and speak out and make sure that we did not remain silent. That is absolutely essential and is as important today as it was back in the 1960s and before that when he was walking across the Edmund Pettus Bridge and leading the fight for voting rights. We carry on that fight for him to this day in his memory.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), the distinguished Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.

Mr. Speaker, it is an incredible privilege to be able to manage the time on this legislation to name the main post office in the city of Atlanta after the great and late Honorable John R. Lewis.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for bringing this important legislation to the floor of the House in such a bipartisan way.

I rise today in support of legislation to honor the leadership and legacy of Congressman John Robert Lewis.

I thank the gentleman, who is also from Georgia, for presiding. It makes it very special to all of us.

I support this legislation officially and personally, as our beloved John Lewis was the conscience of the Congress and a dear friend to many of us who served with him.

I came in with the same class as John Lewis, so I served with him for decades, and I had the benefit of seeing up close and personal on a daily basis the special nature of this man.

Let us salute Congresswoman Nikema Williams, who has the awesome privilege of serving in John Lewis' seat for Georgia, for her committed leadership in making this legislation possible.

John Lewis was a titan of the civil rights movement--we all know that--a moral giant on Capitol Hill and in the country, and a hero of American history who transformed our Nation with his vision, his persistence, and his courage.

John offered our Nation a clarion voice for freedom and justice from lunch counters in Nashville to the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to the floor of the House. On the floor of the House, John led a demonstration in support of gun violence prevention that was historic.

John's extraordinary sacrifice, indomitable spirit, and endless generosity in the face of unimaginable adversity made him revered in both Houses of Congress, on both sides of the aisle, and across the country.

It was my solemn honor to welcome John back to the Capitol a final time in July 2020 to lie in state.

Then, in July 2021, I had the great privilege of leading a congressional delegation to San Diego to christen the formidable USNS John Lewis.

Today, we again honor John by affixing his name upon a post office in the heart of his beloved Atlanta, another fitting tribute that will inspire generations of Georgians.

It is appropriate we do so today as Americans across the Nation mark the beginning of Black History Month this very day.

As we do so, let us pledge to continue to carry on John's mission to strive for a more perfect Union and to work to build a world worthy of John Lewis' legacy.

Mr. Speaker, I also proudly honor a pioneering spirit and a friend of John Lewis', a progressive champion and a dear longtime friend of so many of us, Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey, with legislation to rename the Petaluma downtown post office in her honor, which I am proud to cosponsor as a Californian.

We pay a proper tribute to an inspiring leader who has improved the lives of countless working families in the bay area and beyond.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Jared Huffman for his committed leadership to bring this legislation to the floor and for carrying on a great legacy that he and Lynn Woolsey shared of leadership on behalf of the families of the north bay.

During Lynn's two decades in the House on the Education and Labor Committee and as co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, she was a leader on welfare reform in the nineties, opposing the war in Iraq since day one, working relentlessly on ending gender discrimination, championing fervently our environment, and, again, bravely protesting the genocide in Darfur.

So the Congress will salute her instrumental leadership. She was one of the leaders who established Women's History Month, an important tradition allowing us to pay homage to the extraordinary women on whose shoulders we now stand.

For two reasons I come to the floor. Of course, one, to share in honoring John Lewis in the naming of the post office, and to honor Lynn Woolsey. I hope we have a strong bipartisan ``aye'' in both cases.

Mr. Speaker, I again thank Chair Wasserman Schultz for affording me this opportunity to speak on behalf of two great champions of the Congress, and I urge an ``aye'' vote.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remember and honor the life of the great John Lewis.

I am honored to have called Congressman Lewis a colleague and, more importantly, a friend. Mr. Speaker, I have many fond memories of serving in Congress, but some of my fondest memories are walking from the Cannon Building over here to the Capitol with John Lewis. Here I am, this kid from south Georgia, walking with an icon over here to the Capitol. And we did it on many occasions. His office was a floor below mine when I was in the Cannon Building.

I also cherish the time that he invited Members of the Georgia delegation to his home, and we had dinner that night. He sat and told us stories, stories of his experiences with Dr. King. I was proud to call John Lewis my friend.

Like all of us in these Halls, we can say that his wisdom, his spirit, and his friendship are deeply missed.

But what can you say about John Lewis that hasn't already been said? He was a giant among men. He fiercely dedicated his life to fighting for equality and for justice for all.

From his early days fighting segregation in Nashville, to the Freedom Rides, and to his service in the Halls of Congress, John Lewis dedicated his life to a more perfect Union.

John Lewis never stopped. And now more than ever, it is encouraging to be reminded of John's unyielding optimism and faith in the American Dream.

My hope is that today's bill would, in a small way, continue his legacy. The bill we are considering today would name Atlanta's central postal facility after this American hero. It is only appropriate to do so for a city shaped so much by Mr. Lewis.

What is more, Mr. Speaker, I am not sure if you have looked at the number of cosponsors on this bill. If you count, this bill has an incredible 341 cosponsors as of this morning. By my estimates, that makes it the most bipartisan bill that Congress has considered. And that is telling of John Lewis' legacy.

I should note that this legislation has the support of Congressman Lewis' family, the John and Lillian Miles

Lewis Foundation, as well as local Atlanta officials.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Nikema Williams, who now represents Mr. Lewis' old district in Atlanta, for sponsoring this effort.

As a Georgian, as a colleague, and as a friend, I am especially honored to support this legislation and urge all of my colleagues to do the same.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5577, legislation that I introduced to rename the main post office on Crown Road in Atlanta after my mentor and predecessor, a friend to many of us, Congressman John Robert Lewis.

Giving the Fifth Congressional District's main United States post office Congressman Lewis' name is a proper, lasting tribute to the life of a civil rights hero. And to have the people's House take this bill up on the first day of Black History Month could not be more fitting.

Congressman Lewis was a Freedom Rider, the youngest speaker at the 1963 March on Washington, a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the conscience of the Congress.

The sacrifices Congressman Lewis made paved the way for me to even stand before you today as a Member of this body.

Congressman Lewis was a natural leader, and nearly 2 years after his passing, his mere memory has united over 360 cosponsors to honor his life and legacy by designating the John R. Lewis Postal Building.

As I reflect on the power of over four-fifths of this body coming together to honor the life of Congressman Lewis, I can only imagine the good we could do by coming together in the same numbers to advance what Congressman Lewis called the beloved community; the good we could do by standing together, fiercely defending the civil rights that Congressman Lewis put his life on the line for; the good we could do if we all said something, did something, whenever we see something that is not right; the good we could all do if we heeded the words in Congressman Lewis' final essay ``to answer the highest calling of your heart and stand up for what you truly believe.''

While it speaks volumes that so many of us have united to commemorate Congressman Lewis, it would shout to the heavens where Mr. Lewis could hear us if we united with the same energy in the spirit of justice and moral obligation.

As we look at the trying times that our country is facing, let us not only honor Congressman Lewis with the post office. Let us channel Congressman Lewis every day in Congress. Let's make sure today's passage of H.R. 5577 is only a starting point for our work ahead in his honor.