FRANCIS C. FLAHERTY POST OFFICE BUILDING

On 2026-09-16, Representative Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA-10) delivered a floor speech titled "FRANCIS C. FLAHERTY POST OFFICE BUILDING" in the House.

FRANCIS C. FLAHERTY POST OFFICE BUILDING

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 146 (Wednesday, September 16, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 146 (Wednesday, September 16, 2026)] [House] [Pages H5935-H5936] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] FRANCIS C. FLAHERTY POST OFFICE BUILDING Mr. COMER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 9570) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 117 West Lovett Street in Charlotte, Michigan, as the ``Francis C. Flaherty Post Office Building.'' The Clerk read the title of the bill. The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 9570 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. FRANCIS C. FLAHERTY POST OFFICE BUILDING. (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal Service located at 117 West Lovett Street in Charlotte, Michigan, shall be known and designated as the ``Francis C. Flaherty Post Office Building''. (b) References.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper, or other record of the United States to the facility referred to in subsection (a) shall be deemed to be a reference to the ``Francis C. Flaherty Post Office Building''. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Comer) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Subramanyam) each will control 20 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Kentucky. General Leave Mr. COMER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this measure. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Kentucky? There was no objection. Mr. COMER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Barrett), the sponsor of the bill. Mr. BARRETT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill, H.R. 9570, to designate the post office in my hometown of Charlotte, Michigan, after Francis Flaherty, a decorated war hero who sacrificed himself to save others during the attacks on Pearl Harbor nearly 85 years ago. [[Page H5936]] Francis Charles Flaherty was born on March 15, 1919, in Charlotte, Michigan. He grew up on East Harris Street and was a parishioner at St. Mary's Catholic Church, the same parish that my family and I attend today. This portrait of Francis Flaherty hangs just outside of our parish hall. After graduating from Charlotte High School, he went on to study at the University of Michigan, and after graduating was commissioned as an ensign in the Navy in December of that year. On December 7, 1941, Flaherty, at the young age of 22, was on board the USS Oklahoma when the attacks on Pearl Harbor began. During the attacks, the battleship was struck by multiple torpedoes and began to overturn. Although the order to evacuate had been given, Flaherty remained inside the ship's turrets, holding a flashlight, and allowing others to escape while he stayed behind. {time} 1510 Eventually, the USS Oklahoma rolled over completely. He became trapped inside the hull, going down with the ship. Flaherty was 1 of 429 men who sank in the USS Oklahoma. After the ship was raised in 1943, his unidentified remains were interred in the National Memorial Cemetery in Honolulu. For his heroic actions, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, as well as the Purple Heart. Ensign Flaherty is the reason that the death count was not higher, for the lives that he saved. Because of his selfless sacrifices, fellow sailors lived to continue the fight. For those of us in Charlotte, Francis Flaherty truly is the definition of a hometown hero. Through a miraculous occasion, his remains were eventually identified using DNA technology nearly 80 years after his death, and his family and our community then brought him home. I was honored to play a part in that effort. On August 21, 2021, thousands of people from Charlotte and across Michigan came together in a solemn procession through town for a man they never had the chance to meet, concluding with the burial in Maple Hill Cemetery. We finally laid Ensign Flaherty to rest in Charlotte alongside his parents. That same year, I led the effort to rename a portion of M-50 through Charlotte the Ensign Francis Flaherty Memorial Highway. That bill passed the Michigan Legislature unanimously, and this bill, H.R. 9570, can honor him once again. Naming the post office in Charlotte the ``Francis C. Flaherty Post Office Building'' is another small token of our Nation's and our community's eternal gratitude for his selfless devotion to duty, exceptional bravery, and the ultimate sacrifice he made for our Nation. I thank the entire Michigan delegation for joining this bipartisan effort to honor Ensign Flaherty and memorialize his bravery during one of the most tragic events in our Nation's history, and special thanks to Senator Peters, who is committed to moving this bill through the Senate. Finally, I thank Ensign Flaherty's family for working with me to make this a reality. Stories like his deserve to be told and honored, and his family has been committed to doing just that. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 9570. Mr. SUBRAMANYAM. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today also in support of H.R. 9570 to name the post office in Charlotte, Michigan, the ``Francis C. Flaherty Post Office Building.'' Francis Flaherty was an officer of the United States Naval Reserve from Charlotte, Michigan, and he was serving aboard the USS Oklahoma in Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, when the Japanese attacked the naval base. He gave his own life to save others, and he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his courage and sacrifice. Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of this bill to honor Francis Flaherty, and I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. COMER. Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time. Mr. SUBRAMANYAM. Mr. Speaker, I also urge passage of this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Comer) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 9570. The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed. A motion to reconsider was laid on the table. ____________________

Referenced legislation: HR9570, HR9570