William T. Coleman, Jr. and Norman Y. Mineta Department of Transportation Headquarters Act

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. DeFAZIO. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 400) to designate the headquarters building of the Department of Transportation located at 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, in Washington, DC, as the ``William T. Coleman, Jr. and Norman Y. Mineta Federal Building'', as amended.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

The text of the bill is as follows: S. 400

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``William T. Coleman, Jr. and Norman Y. Mineta Department of Transportation Headquarters Act''. SEC. 2. DESIGNATION.

The headquarters building of the Department of Transportation located at 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, in Washington, DC, shall be known and designated as the ``William T. Coleman, Jr. and Norman Y. Mineta Federal Building''. SEC. 3. REFERENCES.

Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper, or other record of the United States to the building referred to in subsection (a) shall be deemed to be a reference to the ``William T. Coleman, Jr. and Norman Y. Mineta Federal Building''.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. DeFAZIO. 400, as amended.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

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

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of S. 400, as amended, a bill to name the headquarters building of the Department of Transportation located at 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, in Washington, D.C. as the William T. Coleman, Jr. and Norman Y. Mineta Federal Building.

The text we are considering today represents an agreement reached with the Senate and reconciles the differences between S. 400 and my bill, H.R. 4679, which passed the House last November. This compromise language pays tribute to two American patriots, William T. Coleman, Jr. and Norman Yishio Mineta.

William T. Coleman, Jr. led a life of extraordinary achievement. He attended a segregated elementary school, graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania, and was accepted into Harvard School of Law. He left in 1943 to enlist in the Army Air Forces, trained with the Tuskegee Airmen, after which he returned to Harvard Law School and graduated first in his class.

He was the first African-American clerk on the Supreme Court. He also worked with Thurgood Marshall on the legal team preparing the briefs in Brown v. Board of Education, served as president and chairman of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and argued 19 cases before the Supreme Court. Mr. Coleman was the second African American to serve in a White House Cabinet, after being appointed Transportation Secretary by President Gerald R. Ford in March 1975.

Norman Y. Mineta also has an extraordinary life story. He, along with his family, suffered the grave injustice of being forcibly relocated and interned during World War II, but he was not bitter toward his government. Instead, he spent his career serving his country by participating in and improving government.

For almost 30 years, Norm represented San Jose, California, on the city council, then as mayor, and from 1975 to 1995 as a Member of Congress. He served on the Committee on Public Works and Transportation during his entire time in Congress. He chaired the Subcommittee on Aviation, the Subcommittee on Surface Transportation, and he chaired the full committee for one full term.

Norm's skills and accomplishments were widely recognized. He was President Bill Clinton's Secretary of Commerce and President George W. Bush's Secretary of Transportation, where he was the longest-serving Secretary of Transportation in U.S. history.

Following the terrorist acts of September 11, 2001, Secretary Mineta guided the creation of the Transportation Security Administration, an agency with more than 65,000 employees, the largest mobilization of a new Federal agency since World War II.

For their contributions to this institution, to our government, and to the field of transportation, Secretary William T. Coleman, Jr. and Secretary Mineta deserve this recognition. I strongly support this legislation and urge my colleagues to join me.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. DeFAZIO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume to close.

I have already spoken strongly for this bill, for the Department of Transportation building to be named in honor of William T. Coleman and Norm Mineta.

I just want to add a personal note. I served with Norm Mineta for 8 years, and he was a great chairman and mentor. Between him and Jim Oberstar, I owe them a lot for my success in Congress and for the leadership in this committee, so I am really pleased that we can do this today. I would expect it will pass the House unanimously, but there are inane people on the other side of the aisle who insist on voting on everything for no apparent reason, so I expect we will end up with a recorded vote, but I expect that will be unanimous.

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

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source