Designating Certain Buildings of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

DESIGNATING CERTAIN BUILDINGS OF CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION -- (House of Representatives - December 13, 2005)

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Mr. KING of Iowa. Mr. Speaker, I particularly want to thank the gentlewoman from Kentucky (Mrs. Northup) for bringing this piece of legislation before the House Chamber today. This is an important statement to be made on a number of points, one of them being that this bill sends an important message that sitting Members of Congress should not take it upon themselves to name public buildings or infrastructure after themselves or other Members. This violates our House rules.

Mr. Speaker, often in this Chamber we have the opportunity to name Federal buildings after worthy individuals. We are about to do that here today. As we elected officials have a responsibility to our constituents and to the laws that we pass, we must spend our time and the American taxpayers' money wisely, and we have to do so also honestly with the attention and care that I know my constituents in Iowa expect.

When we name Federal buildings, we should do so and insist that they be worthy of our time, our Nation's tax dollars, and the trust of those who elected us. And I think that my record here in this Congress does demonstrate that, and that is why I am here on this floor this afternoon, Mr. Speaker. But most recently, the Centers for Disease Control buildings appeared in the Labor-HHS appropriations bill named after two sitting Senators. And it is in violation of our House rules.

Because that conference report has not yet passed both Houses, both bodies, the buildings are currently unnamed. But under the Labor-HHS conference report that was filed just today, the buildings would be named the Arlen Specter Headquarters and Emergency Operation Center and the Thomas R. Harkin Global Communications Center Building. This provision violates House rule XXI, and that prohibits the naming of a public work after a sitting Member of Congress.

Our bill proposes to name the buildings the Rosa Parks Headquarters and Emergency Operations Center and the Mother Teresa Global Communications Center Building. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation. It prevents abuse of power. It adheres to the rules of the House of Representatives, and it also does a couple of very important things, and that is it honors two of the greatest women in my contemporary time: Rosa Parks, who stood tall and sat down 50 years ago, who inspired generations of Americans and actually was a key player in renovating this concept of segregation that still remain.

And 10 years later, we saw the passage of the Voting Rights Act and piece after piece of the civil rights legislation that came about that same period of time was inspired. And I saw a time when it was a glorious time for the civil rights movement, a glorious time when there were peaceful demonstrations throughout the South. And I watched on a black and white television from up in Iowa wondering really what was going on down there. Now I understand it.

At this stage of my life I appreciate it a great deal. I thought I understood it then, but appreciate it far more today, the movement that was begun in significant part by Rosa Parks, who was honored and lay in state here in this Capitol Building, the first woman ever to be given that honor.

And Mother Teresa, a fine Catholic nun, a sister that through prayer and work and sacrifice and devotion and the power of her personality and her character and self sacrifice, moved millions of people, and her legacy remains today.

I look back on Harkin grants that are granted in my State, and also I think of a building named again in that fashion. I have stated that if we are going to name grants after someone, we should name them after the taxpayers that fund them. And if we are going to name buildings, we should name the buildings after people who are not seated Members of Congress, but people who really stand tall for America and for the world.

So I congratulate the gentlewoman from Kentucky (Mrs. Northup) for bringing this legislation today. I am proud to stand on the floor and join in this request to name these two buildings after Rosa Parks and Mother Teresa.

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