In This Section...

	Shuster: Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to bring before the House H.R. 548, introduced by my colleague, the gentleman...
	Rep. Brown [D-FL3]: Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. H.R. 548 is a bill to designate the Federal building and courthouse in Dayton, Ohio, as the Tony Hall Federal...
	Rep. Hobson [R-OH7]: Mr. Speaker, the legislation now under consideration by the House would permanently name the Dayton Ohio Federal building in honor of our good friend and former...
	Rep. Bachus [R-AL6]: Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time. I associate myself with the remarks of the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Hobson) and the gentleman from Illinois...
	Rep. Hobson [R-OH7]: Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to my fellow Ohioan and good friend, Tony Hall. For years, Tony and I have worked together for the benefit of the...
	Rep. Boehner [R-OH8]: Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Hobson) for bringing this resolution to the floor once...
	Rep. Wolf [R-VA10]: Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Hobson) for doing this. It is a tremendous symbol of bipartisanship, Republicans and Democrats coming...
	Rep. Pelosi [D-CA8]: Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of this resolution to name the Federal building in Dayton, Ohio after my friend and former colleague, Tony Hall. Tony...
	Rep. Oberstar [D-MN8]: Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 548, a bill to honor our former colleague Tony Hall by designating the federal building located at 200 West 2nd Street in...
	Rep. Wolf [R-VA10]: Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 548, to designate the Federal Building and United States courthouse at West 2nd Street in Dayton, Ohio, as the "Tony Hall...
	Rep. Honda [D-CA15]: Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 4232 to designate the United States courthouse at 200 West 2nd Street, Dayton, Ohio, as the "Tony Hall Federal...
	Rep. Oxley [R-OH4]: Mr. Speaker, I'm proud to join my colleagues from Ohio in cosponsoring H.R. 548, which will designate the Tony Hall Federal Building and United States Courthouse in...

Record Text

Bill Shuster: Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 548) to designate the Federal building and United States courthouse located at 200 West 2nd Street in Dayton, Ohio, as the "Tony Hall Federal Building and United States Courthouse".

The Clerk read as follows:

Chair: Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Shuster) and the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Corrine Brown) each will control 20 minutes.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to bring before the House H.R. 548, introduced by my colleague, the gentleman from Springfield, Ohio (Mr. Hobson), which designates the Federal building and United States courthouse at 200 West 2nd Street in Dayton, Ohio, as the "Tony Hall Federal Building and United States Courthouse."

Tony Hall's record of service to the United States and the world is well documented. He has served as a teacher of English in Southeast Asia, a member of the Ohio State legislature, a member of the House of Representatives and, now, as an official with the United Nations.

During each of these endeavors, Tony Hall worked to make life better for those less fortunate, whether it was educating a single child who may not otherwise have attended school, or as an administrator of an international organization bringing food to the hungry worldwide.

This is an appropriate honor that has the support of the entire Ohio delegation. Unfortunately, this is the third time that this matter has come to the Floor. During the 107th and 108th Congresses, my predecessor, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. LaTourette), brought this matter before the House and each time it passed by voice vote, but was never considered by the Senate.

As a new subcommittee chairman, it is my pleasure to continue his efforts to get this bill enacted into law. I hope the results of our consideration this year will be more positive.

I support this legislation and encourage my colleagues to do the same.

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

Rep. Corrine Brown [D-FL3]: Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. H.R. 548 is a bill to designate the Federal building and courthouse in Dayton, Ohio, as the Tony Hall Federal building and United States courthouse in honor of our former colleague from Ohio, Tony Hall. This bill has strong bipartisan support.

Tony Hall is a true son of Ohio. He was born in Dayton in 1942. After attending local schools, he graduated from Denison University in 1964. He was accepted into the Peace Corps and served as a volunteer in Thailand from 1966 until 1968. Upon his return, he was elected to the Ohio house of representatives and in 1972 was elected to the Ohio senate. In 1978 he was elected to the House of Representatives where he served for 11 terms.

Tony Hall currently serves as the United States Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture.

Tony Hall was founder and cochair of the Congressional Hunger Center, a nonprofit organization created to bring awareness to the growing and persistent problems of world hunger. He also served as chairman of the House Select Committee on hunger from 1989 until 1993. Congressman Hall sponsored legislation to help immunize the world's children against major diseases and to increase U.S. funding for distribution of vitamins A and C.

His passion for protecting and ensuring human rights and combating hunger brought Congressman Hall to such places as North Korea, Peru, Sudan, Haiti, just to name a few. In 1994 he helped nominate Bishop Carlos Belo for the Nobel Peace Prize for the bishop's role in protecting civilians during armed conflict.

Congressman Hall was an exemplar for his unswerving commitment and sustaining contribution to promoting humanity and peace in a world stricken with poverty and torn by war. This designation is a fitting tribute to his exceptional public service, and I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 548.

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

Bill Shuster: Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Hobson).

Rep. David Hobson [R-OH7]: Mr. Speaker, the legislation now under consideration by the House would permanently name the Dayton Ohio Federal building in honor of our good friend and former colleague, Tony Hall. This legislation which, as I introduced, as you have heard, has been cosponsored by every member on both sides of the aisle of the Ohio delegation. For nearly 24 years Tony Hall represented Ohio's Third Congressional District with honor and distinction. And he currently serves as United States ambassador to the United Nations food and agriculture agencies in Rome. There he has been a tireless advocate on behalf of those who face the hardships of hunger around the world.

In Congress, Tony was always guided by his faith and family. He spent 21 years on the House Rules Committee, was a founding member of the select committee on hunger, and a founder and chairman of the congressional hunger center.

As colleagues, Tony and I worked together in a partnership for the benefit of citizens of the Miami Valley on numerous projects and initiatives, including those involving Wright Patterson Air Force Base and the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historic Park, which is the first bill that I passed in this legislature.

A leading humanitarian, Tony has been nominated three times for the Nobel Peace Prize for his work with hunger, relief aid programs, and improving international human rights conditions.

Tony was a football star, a little All American at Denison, a Peace Corps volunteer, a noted world traveler, and a devoted husband and father and a dedicated public servant.

We are all better people today because Tony Hall was in Congress. The example he set in working to improve the lives of others is something that all of us can learn from.

This legislation is a lasting way to pay tribute to Tony's efforts over the years, and I urge all of my colleagues to support this bill. And I hope we will meet with better success this year in the other body than we did in the two previous years. And I urge all my colleagues to support this legislation.

Rep. Corrine Brown [D-FL3]: Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from Chicago, Illinois (Mr. Davis).

(Mr. DAVIS of Illinois asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Rep. Danny Davis [D-IL7]: Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman from Florida for yielding time. I was thinking last Thursday as I listened to Tony Hall as the keynote speaker for the national prayer breakfast, and as I was rooted to my seat, that I had never heard a more eloquent rendition of a speech. I had never heard a more passionate speech. I had never heard a more meaningful speech. So I simply rise in support of the naming of this courthouse.

Tony Hall is one of the most distinguished and nonpartisan Members this body has ever experienced: protecting human rights, working on behalf of the poor, seeking peace. All of those have been his trademarks.

All of us who have had the opportunity to know and work with him; our individual as well as collective lives have been enriched. And so I urge strong support of the naming of this courthouse for Tony Hall and could think of no better name that it could have.

Bill Shuster: Mr. Speaker I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Bachus).

(Mr. BACHUS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Rep. Spencer Bachus [R-AL6]: Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time. I associate myself with the remarks of the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Hobson) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis).

The gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) mentioned that Tony Hall was a friend to every Democrat and every Republican in this body. He and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf) reached across the aisle united in a goal to alleviate hunger throughout the world, to be a friend to those who were sick and in need of hope. He is not only our friend but every sick child in every poor country of the world has a friend in Tony Hall. Anyone who goes to bed hungry in those countries tonight has an advocate in Tony Hall. And those that do not have a job in these poor countries that only wish to work and help bring up their children and educate them, they all have a tireless supporter in Tony Hall.

If anyone has done what we might say is the work of the Lord or of our God throughout this world it is Tony Hall.

The gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Hobson) last year on the floor of this House described our colleague, former colleague, as the "real deal," and he is the real deal. He was the same back in his district and here in Washington as when he goes to emerging third world countries. Back in his district, where he served for 24 years, the longest-serving Member from Dayton, Ohio, in the history of this Congress, he organized programs to take surplus and leftover food down to the shelters in his district, homeless shelters. And through those programs today on the streets of Dayton and other cities in Ohio, people will go to bed tonight with food in their stomachs because of his efforts in their own hometown.

When he was in Washington, he was a tireless advocate. You may recall in 1993 as chairman of the House Select Committee on Hunger that that committee was abolished. Tony Hall went on a hunger strike not for one day, not for 5 days, not for 10 days, but for 22 days. He fasted and went without food. Now that is commitment. That is a ministry.

Now today he is doing the same thing as our ambassador to the U.N. agency in Rome. He is not riding a desk. He is not sitting back and have others report to him. He is going out. And his average day is not spent in Rome, but it is spent traveling throughout the world, seeing firsthand, witnessing these different programs, finding out those that work and improving them, finding out those that do not work and are failing. And even today, he is doing what he did here. Poor children, those that are sick, those that are without hope, Tony Hall today in his travels throughout the world is making a better life for them and for us.

Let me close by simply discussing two things. One is a 3-page résumé, but it is really a witness to a life well served, a life of commitment and devotion, a ministry and a passion that Tony Hall has to the poor and the hungry and the hopeless of this world. UNICEF awards, Oxfam awards, Bread for the World Award, numbers of awards. But Tony Hall would say, Do not recognize me for that. Recognize me for the hope that I have brought to the world, to the poor and the sick and the hopeless.

I also would like to introduce this 3-page document, a life well lived, a life really which ought to be honored, and a courthouse is the least thing we should do for him, but also a tribute that the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Hobson) gave to this great American, this great individual, Tony Hall. And to him and his wife, Janet, I give my sincere and utmost thanks for everything they have done to make this a better world for all of us.

Ambassador Tony P. Hall

Three times nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, Ambassador Tony P. Hall is a leading advocate for hunger relief programs and improving human rights conditions in the world. In February 2002, President George W. Bush asked him to serve as the United States Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate and was sworn in by Secretary of State Colin Powell in September 2002.

Prior to entering the diplomatic corps the Dayton, Ohio native represented the Third District of Ohio in the U.S. House of Representatives for almost twenty-four years, their longest serving representative in history. During his tenure, he was chairman of the House Select Committee on Hunger and the Democratic Caucus Task Force on Hunger. He founded and was one of two House members on the steering committee of the Congressional Friends of Human Rights Monitors. He authored legislation that supported food aid, child survival, basic education, primary health care, micro-enterprise, and development assistance in the world's poorest countries. Ambassador Hall also founded and chaired the Congressional Hunger Center, a non-governmental organization committed to ending hunger through training and educational programs for emerging leaders.

A founding member of the Select Committee on Hunger, Mr. Hall served as its chairman from 1989 to 1993. During this time, he initiated legislation enacted into law to fight hunger-related diseases in developing nations. He sponsored a successful 1990 emergency measure to assist state-run Women, Infants and Children (WIC) programs. Mr. Hall helped to establish a clearinghouse that provided food through gleaning, a process of gathering grains and produce left on the ground after harvesting. Mr. Hall has worked to promote micro-enterprise to reduce joblessness. In response to the abolishment of the Hunger Committee in April 1993, he fasted for 22 days to draw attention to the needs of hungry people in the United States and around the world.

In his efforts to witness the plight of the poor and hungry first-hand, he has visited poverty-stricken and war-torn regions in more than 100 countries. He was the first Member of Congress to visit Ethiopia during the great famine of 1984-5. He has visited North Korea six times since 1995, and was one of the first Western officials to see the famine outside of the capital, Pyongyang. In 2000, he became the first Member of Congress to visit Iraq to investigate the humanitarian situation. During his second week as Ambassador, he traveled to Zimbabwe and Malawi to see the food deficit crisis in southern Africa.

Mr. Hall has worked actively to improve human rights conditions around the world, especially in the Philippines, East Timor, Paraguay, South Korea, Romania, and the former Soviet Union. In 2000, he introduced legislation to end the importation of conflict diamonds mined in regions of Sierra Leone, Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo. In 1983 he founded the Congressional Friends of Human Rights Monitors. In 1999, he was a leader in Congress calling for the United States to pay its back dues to the United Nations. In 1997 and 2000, Mr. Hall introduced legislation calling on Congress to apologize for slavery. He also has worked at promoting reconciliation among diverse peoples through a number of private initiatives.

In 1964 Mr. Hall graduated from Denison University in Granville, Ohio where he was a Little All-American football player. During 1966 and 1967, Mr. Hall taught English in Thailand as a Peace Corps Volunteer. He returned to Dayton to work as a realtor and he was a small businessman for several years. Mr. Hall and his wife Janet raised two children.

Mr. Hall served in the Ohio House of Representatives from 1969 to 1972, and in the Ohio Senate from 1973 to 1978. On November 7, 1978, Mr. Hall was selected to the 96th Congress. He served on the Foreign Affairs and Small Business Committees before being appointed to the Rules Committee at the beginning of the 97th Congress.

Ambassador Hall was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for 1998, 1999 and 2001 for his humanitarian and hunger-related work. For his hunger legislation and for his proposal for a Humanitarian Summit in the Horn of Africa, Mr. Hall and the Hunger Committee received the 1992 Silver World Food Day Medal from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. Mr. Hall is a recipient of the United States Committee for UNICEF 1995 Children's Legislative Advocate Award, U.S. AID Presidential End Hunger Award, 1992 Oxfam America Partners Award, Bread for the World Distinguished Service Against Hunger Award, and NCAA Silver Anniversary Award. He received honorary Doctor of Laws degrees from Asbury College, Antioch College and Eastern College and a Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Loyola College in Baltimore. In 1994, President Clinton nominated Mr. Hall for the position of UNICEF Executive Director.

Rep. David Hobson [R-OH7]: Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to my fellow Ohioan and good friend, Tony Hall.

For years, Tony and I have worked together for the benefit of the citizens of the Miami Valley on numerous projects and initiatives. I am very happy that he has this new opportunity to work directly on hunger issues at the United Nations, but it is still very said to see him leave the House of Representatives.

Tony is now at the end of a nearly 24-year career representing the people of Montgomery County on Capitol Hill and is taking his crusade against hunger to a global stage.

The youngest son of one of Dayton's most beloved mayors, Tony has been a football star, a Peace Corps volunteer, a noted world traveler, a devoted husband and father, and a dedicated public servant. Tony has become the area's longest-serving Congressman and a three-time Nobel nominee known worldwide for his work against hunger.

In Congress, Hall has been guided by faith and family and never chosen Capitol Hill events over the importance of being home with his wife and children. He has spent 21 years on the House Rules Committee, and I have been pleased to work with Tony on numerous local projects for the Miami Valley: from supporting the National Composites Center, to saving the Air Force Institute of Technology.

Ten years ago, Tony and I worked to establish the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park and we just recently embarked upon a new effort to create the National Aviation Heritage area to preserve Ohio's aviation heritage for the future.

When I first came to Congress, Tony was one of the first Members of Congress to reach out to me, and show me the ropes. He didn't have to do that, and I have always appreciated his willingness to make me feel comfortable in this new environment.

Nobody goes around Capitol Hill grumbling about Tony Hall. He is the genuine article, he works hard for his constituents and he is a man of principle, and of his world.

Tony has managed to be a positive force, despite the difficult challenges he has faced in his personal life. We are all better people because Tony Hall has been here.

As Ohio's Seventh District Representative to the Congress of the United States, I take this opportunity to join with members of the Ohio delegation to honor the efforts and the many outstanding achievements of Rep. Tony Hall. His many contributions as a member of the House of Representatives and leadership will be remembered.

Rep. Corrine Brown [D-FL3]: Mr. Speaker, I have no additional requests for time, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Bill Shuster: Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 1/2 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Boehner).

Rep. John Boehner [R-OH8]: Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Hobson) for bringing this resolution to the floor once again. The gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Hobson) and I and Tony Hall all worked in the Miami Valley area, Greater Dayton area together. And when you think about Tony Hall, there is only one word that comes to mind and that is humanitarian.

When you read the description of humanitarian in the dictionary, it ought to just have Tony Hall's name there. Of all the people I have worked with in the Congress during what is now 15 years, I am not sure that I have worked with someone so dedicated and so focused on trying to help the poor and the needy, not only in his district and around the country but around the world. He is a tireless advocate on behalf of those who are hungry.

The gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Hobson) had a CODEL group of us over in Rome. We met with Tony Hall. Tony took us to the U.N. Food Program, and we had long conversations about the needs in various places around the world. And if it was not in Rome, it used to be right here in the back of the Chamber when Tony would stop any one of us to help describe the problems that people were having around the world and here in our country and the need for better nutrition programs and better food distribution programs. So I cannot think of anyone who we should honor in naming this courthouse in Dayton, Ohio, but my good friend and our former colleague, Tony Hall.

Rep. Corrine Brown [D-FL3]: Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Bill Shuster: Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf).

(Mr. WOLF asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Rep. Frank Wolf [R-VA10]: Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Hobson) for doing this. It is a tremendous symbol of bipartisanship, Republicans and Democrats coming together, nothing to gain. Mr. Hall is gone. And yet the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Hobson) does this. I want to thank him. Also it is interesting that we have Members from both sides, Republican and Democrat, who have come together to agree on the impact that Congressman Hall has had not only on this institution, but also the poor and the hungry of the world.

Tony has said many times that when you give to the poor, and it is from Proverbs, you really lend to God. And no one that I know has taken their faith into the world and into the community, if you will, and had a greater impact on the lives of the poor and the hungry and the naked. His life was almost a kind of symbol of the Matthew 25 where Jesus talks about the poor, the hungry, the naked, and those in prison. Tony has taken that.

He has also had an impact on the lives of a lot of Members in this body. There is a statement by Francis of Assisi that, I would rather see a sermon than hear a sermon. And by watching Tony Hall, and not listening but watching it, we have seen the sermon whereby he has taken his life, as the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Bachus) has said.

Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate Tony and his wife, Janet, and their daughter Jill for the life here, but the life is just kind of beginning.

Tony has now left this institution and is in Rome and doing as much there, and we are going to hear a lot more about Tony Hall. This is not like we get some bills whereby somebody has come to the end and is moving back to their district, they are buying a retirement home down in wherever they are. This guy is just kind of moving out. He is a young man, just beginning, and we will see a lot from Tony.

Lastly, I want to personally thank Tony Hall. He asked me to go to Ethiopia in 1984 and took me to Romania in 1985, which literally changed the direction of my life in this institution. So on behalf of all the Members on both sides of the aisle, we thank Tony for the impact he has had on this institution and on our lives, and particularly for taking care of the poor and hungry around the world.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 548, to designate the Federal Building and United States courthouse at West 2nd Street in Dayton, Ohio, as the "Tony Hall Federal Building and United States Courthouse."

Our former colleague Tony Hall, the representative of the 3rd District of Ohio for nearly 24 years, continues to serve as the United States Ambassador to the United Nations food and agriculture agencies located in Rome, Italy, since his appointment by President Bush in 2002. As you may recall, Tony resigned his House seat to take up the ambassadorial post in Rome, where he is continuing his passionate work as a leading advocate for ending hunger and promoting food security around the world.

I want to thank Congressman DAVID HOBSON of Ohio for introducing H.R. 548 to honor Tony in his hometown of Dayton by attaching his name to the Federal building and courthouse there. It is an appropriate recognition for the nearly 24 years of service in the House and the 10 years of service in the Ohio General Assembly that Tony Hall provided to the people of Dayton and surrounding areas.

I miss my dear friend Tony very much as our colleague in the House, but I know that he is absolutely the right person to be serving as the United States Representative to the World Food Programme, the Food and Agriculture Organization, and International Fund for Agricultural Development, all agencies of the United Nations which assist international hunger-relief efforts.

Tony Hall's name is synonymous with the cause of alleviating hunger both domestically and worldwide. He believes that food is the most basic of human needs, the most basic of human rights.

He passionately worked to convince others that the cause of hunger, which often gets lost in the legislative shuffle and pushed aside by more visible issues, deserved a prominent share of attention and resources to assist people who are the most at risk and too often the least defended.

He also worked as a tireless advocate for the cause of human rights around the world and focused his attention on the illicit diamond trade in Sierra Leone. He convinced me to travel with him to Sierra Leone in late 1999 to see how the machete-wielding rebels there intimidated men, women and children by hacking off arms, legs, and ears. He led the effort in bringing to the attention of Congress the conflict diamond trade and authoring legislation to certify that the diamonds Americans buy are not tainted with the blood of the people of Sierra Leone and other African nations.

We also traveled together in January 2002 to Afghanistan with Congressman JOE PITTS as the first congressional delegation to that country after the launch of the war on terrorism. We visited hospitals, an orphanage, schools, and refugee camps. We met with U.S. diplomats and soldiers; with local leaders and officials with direct responsibility for humanitarian problems and refugees; with representatives of the United Nations and private relief organizations; and in Pakistan with refugees and members of religious minority groups.

Tony is never deterred in his effort to help make a positive difference in the lives of suffering people. In his years in Congress, he traveled to wherever the need arose and met with whomever he could to effect change, taking risks few would take, with his own comfort and safety never entering his mind.

I believe Tony's life destiny is to be a servant. During 1966 and 1967, he taught English in Thailand as a Peace Corps volunteer.

He returned to Dayton to work as a realtor and small businessman for several years, but before long, he was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives where he served from 1969 to 1972, and then to the Ohio Senate, serving from 1973 to 1978. On November 7, 1978, Tony was elected to the House of Representatives from the 3rd District of Ohio and served with distinction for over two decades.

Tony Hall is an inspiration to everyone fortunate enough to know him. He has a wonderful combination of compassion and passion filled with spiritual purpose--compassion to see the suffering in the less fortunate in the world and the passion to work to do something about it.

I urge a unanimous vote in support of H.R. 548, to recognize the dedicated public service of Tony Hall by naming the Federal building and courthouse in Dayton, OH, in his honor.

Rep. Corrine Brown [D-FL3]: Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Bill Shuster: Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula).

(Mr. REGULA asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Rep. Ralph Regula [R-OH16]: Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me the time.

A United States courthouse and Federal building is a symbol of liberty and justice for all. Tony Hall's career has been marked with a lifetime of working for the goals of justice and liberty for all people. A courthouse named after Tony Hall is a fitting tribute to a life well lived. All of us in Ohio take special pride in the accomplishments of our friend and colleague, Tony Hall.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi [D-CA8]: Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of this resolution to name the Federal building in Dayton, Ohio after my friend and former colleague, Tony Hall.

Tony Hall took great pride in representing his hometown of Dayton in Congress for nearly 24 years. His father had served as Mayor of Dayton, and the strong values he learned growing up in that community were reflected in everything that he did. Tony fought hard for the people of Dayton.

But Tony Hall is also a citizen of the world. His first job out of college was as Peace Corps volunteer, teaching English in Thailand from 1966 to 1968. He has visited more than 100 countries in his effort to see, understand, and improve the lives of the world's least fortunate. He has fought to end the importation of conflict-diamonds from Africa. And he was a leader in Congress in asking that the U.S. pay its dues to the United Nations.

Perhaps the issue we most associate with Tony Hall is his heroic and tireless work to end hunger. Tony understands that it is by virtue of our humanity--not our citizenship in one country or another--that we have certain inalienable rights. And Tony knows in his heart that it is wrong, in this age of abundance, to let anyone go hungry--whether they live across town in Dayton or across the world in North Korea. In 1993, when the Select Committee on Hunger, which he chaired, was eliminated, Tony fasted for 22 days in protest.

I was honored to work with Tony Hall on a number of human rights issues in Congress, particularly on issues involving the repressive regime in China. He brought to these causes a seriousness of purpose and a generosity of spirit that were a constant source of inspiration, on issues where inspiration is in short supply.

Since he left the Congress, we have followed his work with pride as he has served with distinction as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture.

Throughout his career, Tony has never shied away from suffering, but he has refused to accept it as inevitable. As Tony says over and over: "Hunger has a cure." As a member of Congress, and now as an Ambassador, Tony Hall has always been part of that cure.

I urge my colleagues to support this fitting tribute to a good and great man who has lifted the lives of so many here and around the world.

Rep. James Oberstar [D-MN8]: Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 548, a bill to honor our former colleague Tony Hall by designating the federal building located at 200 West 2nd Street in Dayton, Ohio as the "Tony Hall Federal Building and United States Courthouse." The House introduced and passed two similar bills with strong bipartisan support in the 107th and 108th Congresses. Unfortunately, the other body did not vote on either bill. We reintroduced this legislation early in this session and are considering it today to ensure that Congress has the opportunity to complete action on it in the 109th Congress.

Tony Hall was elected to his first term in Congress in 1978. He went on to serve 11 consecutive terms. Congressman Hall spent 21 years on the House Rules Committee and was chairman of the House Democratic Caucus Task Force on Hunger. Congressman Hall's long career in public service is distinguished by his unwavering commitment to humanitarian causes, in particular to combating hunger issues not only in this country, but also among the world population. His early commitment to helping others and serving this Nation began in the Peace Corps, which he joined in 1966 after graduating from Denison University in Ohio.

I witnessed this commitment first hand in 1983 when I traveled with Congressman Hall and two other colleagues to Kansas City. At a time of high unemployment in our country, the Federal Government was storing surplus milk, butter and cheese in Kansas City. Congressman Hall was determined to focus national attention on this issue and press for the release of this surplus food into general distribution. He even personally went on a hunger strike to compel the government to release the stored food. As a result of these efforts, the stored food was eventually distributed to homeless shelters and the general public.

Throughout his career, Congressman Hall focused on helping those in need. He promoted economic development that created jobs, championed efforts to ease food-stamp reductions, and in 1997, spearheaded the "Hunger Has A Cure" campaign.

In the international arena, Congressman Hall visited numerous countries around the world in an effort to focus attention on the problems of world hunger and to promote international aid. He took part in one of the first Congressional delegation trips to Ethiopia in the 99th Congress, and he traveled to Bangladesh to observe disaster relief programs in the 100th Congress. Congressman Hall also helped create the Select Committee on Hunger, which focused on the problem of hunger both domestically and internationally. He served as Chairman of that Select Committee from 1988 until its elimination in 1993. He was also founder and co-chair of the Congressional Hunger Center, a nonprofit organization created to bring awareness to world hunger concerns. Tony Hall made numerous other trips across the world to serve as an advocate for human rights, including a trip to draw attention to the illicit diamond trade in Sierra Leone.

Congressman Hall continues to work to banish world hunger and promote developmental assistance. In 2002, President Bush appointed him Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture. He was once aptly described by former colleague Eva Clayton as "the moral conscience of Congress on issues of hunger and poverty." This bill to designate the "Tony Hall Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse" is a fitting tribute to the compassion and humanity with which Ambassador Hall conducts his public service.

I urge all of my colleagues to honor Tony Hall and to support H.R. 548.

Rep. Frank Wolf [R-VA10]: Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 548, to designate the Federal Building and United States courthouse at West 2nd Street in Dayton, Ohio, as the "Tony Hall Federal Building and United States Courthouse."

Our former colleague Tony Hall, the representative of the 3rd District of Ohio for nearly 24 years, continues to serve as the United States ambassador to the United Nations food and agriculture agencies located in Rome, Italy, since his appointment by President Bush in 2002. As you may recall, Tony resigned his House seat to take up the ambassadorial post in Rome, where he is continuing his passionate work as a leading advocate for ending hunger and promoting food security around the world.

I want to thank Congressman DAVID HOBSON of Ohio for introducing H.R. 548 to honor Tony in his hometown of Dayton by attaching his name to the Federal building and courthouse there. It is an appropriate recognition for the nearly 24 years of service in the House and the 10 years of service in the Ohio General Assembly that Tony Hall provided to the people of Dayton and surrounding areas.

I miss my dear friend Tony very much as our colleague in the House, but I know that he is absolutely the right person to be serving as the United States representative to the World Food Programme, the Food and Agriculture Organization, and International Fund for Agricultural Development, all agencies of the United Nations which assist international hunger-relief efforts.

Tony Hall's name is synonymous with the cause of alleviating hunger both domestically and worldwide. He believes that food is the most basic of human needs, the most basic of human rights.

He passionately worked to convince others that the cause of hunger, which often gets lost in the legislative shuffle and pushed aside by more visible issues, deserved a prominent share of attention and resources to assist people who are the most at risk and too often the least defended.

He also worked as a tireless advocate for the cause of human rights around the world and focused his attention on the illicit diamond trade in Sierra Leone. He convinced me to travel with him to Sierra Leone in late 1999 to see how the machete-wielding rebels there intimidated men, women and children by hacking off arms, legs, and ears. He led the effort in bringing to the attention of Congress the conflict, diamond trade and authoring legislation to certify that the diamonds Americans buy are not tainted with the blood of the people of Sierra Leone and other African nations.

We also traveled together in January 2002 to Afghanistan with Congressman JOE PITTS as the first congressional delegation to that country after the launch of the war on terrorism. We visited hospitals, an orphanage, schools, and refugee camps. We met with U.S. diplomats and soldiers; with local leaders and officials with direct responsibility for humanitarian problems and refugees; with representatives of United Nations and private relief organizations; and in Pakistan with refugees and members of religious minority groups.

Tony is never deterred in his effort to help make a positive difference in the lives of suffering people. In his years in Congress, he traveled to wherever the need arose and met with whomever he could to effect change, taking risks few would take, with his own comfort and safety never entering his mind.

I believe Tony's life destiny is to be a servant. During 1966 and 1967, he taught English in Thailand as a Peace Corps volunteer.

He returned to Dayton to work as a realtor and small businessman for several years, but before long, he was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives where he served from 1969 to 1972, and then to the Ohio Senate, serving from 1973 to 1978. On November 7, 1978, Tony was elected to the House of Representatives from the 3rd District of Ohio and served with distinction for over two decades.

Tony Hall is an inspiration to everyone fortunate enough to know him. He has a wonderful combination of compassion and passion filled with spiritual purpose--compassion to see the suffering in the less fortunate in the world and the passion to work to do something about it.

I urge a unanimous vote in support of H.R. 548, to recognize the dedicated public service of Tony Hall by naming the Federal building and courthouse in Dayton, Ohio, in his honor.

Rep. Michael Honda [D-CA15]: Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 4232 to designate the United States courthouse at 200 West 2nd Street, Dayton, Ohio, as the "Tony Hall Federal Building and United States Courthouse."

Ambassador Tony Hall served in Congress for 26 years before accepting an appointment to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture in Rome, Italy, where he oversees the World Food Program, the Food and Agriculture Organization and the International Fund for Agricultural Development.

During his time as Member of Congress, in his pursuit to eliminate hunger worldwide, Ambassador Hall chaired the House Select Committee on Hunger and founded the Congressional Hunger Center. Ambassador Hall has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize three times for his humanitarian efforts and his work to prevent hunger worldwide. Today we honor the compassion, faith, and commitment of the man who once raised public awareness and attention on hunger issues by fasting for over three weeks.

I came to know of Ambassador Hall's work through my role as Chair of the Ethiopian Caucus. He was the first Member of Congress to visit Ethiopia during the great famine of 1984. Since then his commitment to Ethiopia has remained steadfast and he has succeeded in directing international aid and awareness to the dire hunger situation that the region faces. Much of the Caucus' work is predicated on the foundation that he built and Ethiopians and the Ethiopian Caucus are indebted to him for his contributions to the region.

Ambassador Hall possesses conviction and compassion befitting a public servant and we are fortunate that he represents the United States abroad.

Rep. Michael Oxley [R-OH4]: Mr. Speaker, I'm proud to join my colleagues from Ohio in cosponsoring H.R. 548, which will designate the Tony Hall Federal Building and United States Courthouse in his hometown of Dayton. I thank the gentleman from Springfield, Mr. HOBSON, for introducing this legislation to honor our exemplary former colleague.

Tony Hall continues to be a tireless advocate for human rights around the world. His dedication to combating world hunger and helping the poor and needy made him the ideal choice to oversee the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture, a job for which he was tapped in 2002. While we miss his leadership and friendship here in the House, we know that President Bush could not have picked a greater humanitarian or man of faith for this vital role.

I was honored to serve with Tony for more than two decades, and was grateful for the leading role he played and the stellar example he provided to all of us. In 2000, when Ohio's official State motto--"With God All things Are Possible"--was struck down by the courts, I was proud to join with Tony in a House resolution supporting our State's expression of optimism and faith.

Mr. Speaker, this resolution is a fitting tribute to a true public servant and Nobel Peace Prize nominee who has committed his life's work to helping those in need. I urge all my colleagues to support this bill to honor our good friend and former colleague whose service to others is an example for us all.

Bill Shuster: Mr. Speaker, we have no more speakers at this time. Again, Mr. Speaker, I ask all my colleagues to support H.R. 548 in honor of Tony Hall and for what he has done for this Nation.

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

Chair: The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Shuster) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 548.

The question was taken.

Chair: In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of those present have voted in the affirmative.

Bill Shuster: Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

The yeas and nays were ordered.

Chair: Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed.