Pelosi Floor Speech on Legislation to Designate the John R. Lewis Post Office Building and the Lynn C. Woolsey Post Office Building

Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi delivered remarks on the Floor of the House of Representatives in support of designating the facility of the United States Postal Service in Atlanta, Georgia as the "John R. Lewis Post Office Building" and the facility in Petaluma, California as the "Lynn C. Woolsey Post Office Building." Below are the Speaker's remarks:

Speaker Pelosi.Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. Thank you, Madam Chair, for bringing this important legislation to the Floor of the House in such a bipartisan way.

I rise today in support of legislation to honor the leadership and legacy of Congressman John Robert Lewis. Being from Georgia, presiding, it makes it very special to all of us. Thank you, Mr. Johnson.

I do so officially, and I do so personally, as our beloved John Lewis was the conscience of the Congress and a dear friend to many of us who served with him. I came in with the same class as John Lewis. I served with him for decades and had the benefit of seeingup close and personal on a daily basis the special nature of this man.

Let us salute Congresswoman Nikema Williams, who has the awesome privilege of serving on John Lewis' – in that seat in Georgia – for her committed leadership in making this legislation possible.

John Lewis was a titan of the Civil Rights Movement – we all know that. A moral giant on Capitol Hill and in the country. And, a hero of American history, who transformed our nation with his vision, his persistence and his courage.

John offered our nation a clarion voice for freedom and justice, from lunch counters in Nashville to the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to the Floor of the House. On the Floor of the House, he led a demonstration in support of gun violence prevention that was historic. His extraordinary sacrifice, indomitable spirit and endless generosity, in the face of unimaginable adversity, made him revered in both houses of the Congress, on both sides of the aisle and across the country.

It was my solemn honor to welcome John back to the Capitol a final time on July [2020] to lie in state. Then, in July 2021, I had the great privilege of leading a Congressional Delegation to San Diego to christen the formidable USNS John Lewis – US Navy John Lewis. Today, we again honor him by affixing his name upon a post office in the heart of his beloved Atlanta, another fitting tribute that will inspire, inspire generations of Georgians.

And, it's appropriate we do so as Americans across the nation mark the beginning of Black History Month this very day – February. And, as we do so, let us pledge to carry on John's mission: to strive for a more perfect union and to work to build a world worthy of John Lewis' legacy.

And, if I may, Mr. Speaker, I would like to also proudly honor a pioneering spirit, a friend of John Lewis, a progressive champion, a dear friend of so many of us: Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey. With legislation to rename the Petaluma downtown post office in her honor, which I am proud to cosponsor as a Californian, we pay a proper tribute to an inspiring leader, who has improved the lives of countless working families in the Bay Area and beyond.

I thank Congressman Jared Huffman for his committed leadership to bring this legislation to the Floor and to be – for carrying on a great legacy that he and Lynn Woolsey shared of leadership on behalf of the families of the North Bay.

I just wanted, though, to say that her two decades in the House – on Education and Labor and as Co-Chair of the Progressive Caucus, she was a leader on welfare reform in the 90's; opposing the war in Iraq since Day One; working relentlessly on gender discrimination – ending gender discrimination; championing fervently the environment; and, again, bravely protesting the genocide in Darfur.

So, the Congress will salute her instrumental leadership in establishing – she was one of the leaders who established Women's History Month, an important tradition allowing us to pay homage to many extraordinary women on whose shoulders we all stand.

So, for this – for two reasons I come to the Floor. Of course, one, to share in honoring John Lewis, the naming of a post office, and to honor Lynn Woolsey. I hope we have a strong bipartisan ‘aye' in both cases.

Thank you again, Madam Chair Wasserman Schultz, for giving – affording me this opportunity to speak on behalf of two great champions of the Congress. With that, I urge an ‘aye vote' and yield back the balance of my time.