Pete Sessions

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Bilirakis and the Energy and Commerce Committee for bringing this bill forward.

My dear friend, the gentleman from Florida, Vern Buchanan, years ago began this process, understanding that it was more than just an issue that Congress would deal with. It is also an issue that is called spring forward, fall back.

You fall back as we get to October, and that means you lose the time, the light that you had all this time. Spring forward is always seen by the American people--and if you serve for Roger Williams and the Republican congressional baseball team--as an opportunity for you to be able to see for the first time in the light what the day is going to look like to catch a fly ball.

The bottom line to this whole thing is spring forward, fall back is something that impacts every single American. It impacts people when they go to work. It impacts people as they try to find time to play with their children at night--just a little bit extra time. It helps people who have retinal or eye issues to be able to see more clearly for longer from the time they get up until the time they work their way home, perhaps after work.

It is no wonder that spring forward, fall back is something that the American people are asking Congress to please standardize and give them more light and opportunity. Spring forward, fall back is an opportunity for the American people to have more time in the light of day to not only live their lives but to accomplish those things, rather than being in the dark.

Mr. Speaker, I will tell you that what this does is it makes it standard across the country, and it does. I think that puts us all with the same opportunity, and that is what the American people want.

I couldn't exactly say it because I didn't want to say it wrong, but ``spring forward, fall back'' is a commonsense opportunity that every single person knows and understands because as we now have enjoyed our spring forward, if we pass this, we do not have to change it to fall back, to fall back to darkness, to fall back to change.

Lastly, it impacts my staff greatly and anyone on Capitol Hill because we are very acutely aware that when we get off work, like hundreds of millions of Americans, they go home in the dark. It means that people go into parking lots in the dark. It means that people go and perhaps walk home or drive in the dark at a time when it would be a safety factor.

There are, of course, those who do not want this. That really does not bother me. For us to address this with fear rather than knowing that the American people want this is the issue about what drives me to be here.

It is big in Texas because we spend a lot of time outside. I want to reiterate to the American people: We are listening. It is something we have taken up for a long time. Finally, Vern Buchanan and the Energy and Commerce Committee have brought this bill to us.

I am very pleased to say I will be an ``aye'' vote. I hope that my colleagues will be the same.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6332) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 10660 Page Avenue in Fairfax, Virginia, as the ``Congressman Gerald E. Connolly 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 materials on that measure.

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

Mr. Speaker, today, I rise in support of a bill which would rename a post office in Fairfax, Virginia, for one of our former colleagues, Congressman Gerald E. Connolly, a father, a husband, friend of mine and to this body, and a lifelong civil public servant, one that dedicated his life to his constituents, his community, and to his country.

Gerald Connolly began his life of service at the Heifer Project International in Little Rock, Arkansas. Arkansas is a beautiful, young State that we have here in the United States, and he chose to move there and to live to work on his project to begin his service.

He then moved to Washington, D.C. in 1972. Gerry rose from the education director to executive director of the American Freedom from Hunger Foundation while simultaneously serving as the executive director of the U.S. Committee on Refugees.

He became a pillar of a person and stalwart for Northern Virginia through his 13 years on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and served for 16 years as our colleague in this body representing Virginia's 11th Congressional District.

In 2025, he was elected as the ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform after serving as a member of the committee since 2009.

In Congress, Gerald Connolly was a friend to many of us and my friend also. He was steadfast in fighting for what he believed in.

He was always committed to bipartisanship where he thought we could agree, and he would find those issues. I worked with him on many. Many of my Republican committee colleagues found Gerry Connolly to be a partner and a friend.

The bottom line is that his exemplary public service will endure, continuing to guide and inspire those committed to serving our Nation. I am sure that his life and the stories of his life are being told with many as an example of public service.

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

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

I, too, while directing my comments directly to the young speaker, will say that I, too, recognize not only Congressman Connolly's family being here, but I equally recognize, as Mr. Walkinshaw does, their contribution of service with their husband and their father and their uncle and those members of the family because service goes beyond just a person. It is extended to the family, who many times is a part of the success that is gleaned from their service, but they are an equal part of it.

I, too, recognize, on behalf of myself and my colleagues on this side, the generosity that they extended by being here today and for the service that they will be rewarded with and thanked for today.

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

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

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

Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Walkinshaw) has very nicely thanked the young chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, James Comer. Mr. Comer, I think, really did work well with the minority to make sure not only that this bill was handled appropriately, but to make sure that it could be scheduled in time so that the families would be here.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues and all of our colleagues to understand that, today, naming this post office is a nice way to remember not just the memory but also the service that our late colleague, Gerald Connolly, provided.

Mr. Speaker, I ask for their support, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 7809) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 201 East Grant Avenue in Georgetown, Ohio, as the ``Ulysses S. Grant 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 this bill, which would rename a post office in Georgetown, Ohio, for Ulysses S. Grant.

As an Ohio native, Grant was born in Point Pleasant and raised in Georgetown before attending the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York.

Upon graduation, he served with distinction in the Mexican-American war.

He later went on to engage in several major battles during the American Civil War, eventually becoming the first officer appointed as lieutenant general of the United States Army.

Grant became the 18th President of the United States in 1869 and served two terms as President of the United States of America.

Over his time in office, President Grant established the Department of Justice and oversaw the adoption of the 15th Amendment and other Reconstruction efforts that were important to this fledgling young Nation. He is remembered as one of the great military geniuses and a symbol of national unity.

I am pleased not only on behalf of Chairman James Comer to bring this bill forward but also the important parts of this that come from the delegation from the great State of Ohio. We will be hearing from them in just a few minutes.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Ohio delegation supports this effort we are undertaking today.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Taylor).

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

Mr. Speaker, at this time, I join Mr. Taylor in thanking the Ohio delegation and really all of our Members for their recognition of service to this great Nation in the naming of this post office.

The effort that the President made to represent the United States, the unity that you heard about his service to the United States military, his service to the Department of Justice, his service to the people of the country to bring them together at a time when many thought we could not survive as a nation, to honor him now is, without question, the right thing to do. Naming this post office in his hometown of Georgetown, Ohio, is a high honor to the people of that town also.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this bill, naming a post office for our 18th President of the United States, Ulysses S. Grant.

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