Robert M. La Follette, Sr. Post Office Building Designation Act

ROBERT M. LA FOLLETTE, SR. POST OFFICE BUILDING DESIGNATION ACT -- (House of Representatives - May 16, 2005)

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Mr. KIND. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 1760, to designate the post office located at 215 Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard in Madison, Wisconsin, as the "Robert M. La Follette, Sr. Post Office Building."

"Fighting Bob" La Follette was one of our great American leaders. He spearheaded political reform in both Wisconsin and the Nation, laying the framework for the progressive movement. As governor of Wisconsin, he gained the respect of local farmers, small business owners, and intellectuals with his pledge to break the power of the private monopoly system over the economic life of the American people.

La Follette consistently championed the rights of women, minorities, the working class, and the poor. He called for reform of a tax system that disproportionately burdened middle and lower income Americans, and he campaigned for agricultural reform to relieve the distress of farmers. La Follette's progressive party also called for government control of railroads, the outlawing of child labor, the right of workers to organize unions, and increased protection of civil liberties.

"Fighting Bob" La Follette was a man fierce in his convictions and steeped in the ideals of Lincoln and Jefferson. In 1957, the Senate voted him one of the five most outstanding Senators of all time.

Mr. Speaker, I fully support H.R. 1760 to rename a post office in Madison, Wisconsin in honor of this extraordinary American, Robert La Follette.

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