CONGRESSMAN GERALD E. CONNOLLY POST OFFICE BUILDING

On 2026-07-13, Representative James R. Walkinshaw (D-VA-11) delivered a floor speech titled "CONGRESSMAN GERALD E. CONNOLLY POST OFFICE BUILDING" in the House.

CONGRESSMAN GERALD E. CONNOLLY POST OFFICE BUILDING

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 113 (Monday, July 13, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 113 (Monday, July 13, 2026)] [House] [Pages H4386-H4387] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] CONGRESSMAN GERALD E. CONNOLLY POST OFFICE BUILDING Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6332) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 10660 Page Avenue in Fairfax, Virginia, as the ``Congressman Gerald E. Connolly Post Office Building''. The Clerk read the title of the bill. The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 6332 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. CONGRESSMAN GERALD E. CONNOLLY POST OFFICE BUILDING. (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal Service located at 10660 Page Avenue in Fairfax, Virginia, shall be known and designated as the ``Congressman Gerald E. Connolly 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 ``Congressman Gerald E. Connolly Post Office Building''. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Sessions) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Walkinshaw) each will control 20 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas. General Leave Mr. SESSIONS. 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 materials on that measure. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Texas? There was no objection. Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, today, I rise in support of a bill which would rename a post office in Fairfax, Virginia, for one of our former colleagues, Congressman Gerald E. Connolly, a father, a husband, friend of mine and to this body, and a lifelong civil public servant, one that dedicated his life to his constituents, his community, and to his country. Gerald Connolly began his life of service at the Heifer Project International in Little Rock, Arkansas. Arkansas is a beautiful, young State that we have here in the United States, and he chose to move there and to live to work on his project to begin his service. He then moved to Washington, D.C. in 1972. Gerry rose from the education director to executive director of the American Freedom from Hunger Foundation while simultaneously serving as the executive director of the U.S. Committee on Refugees. He became a pillar of a person and stalwart for Northern Virginia through his 13 years on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and served for 16 years as our colleague in this body representing Virginia's 11th Congressional District. In 2025, he was elected as the ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform after serving as a member of the committee since 2009. In Congress, Gerald Connolly was a friend to many of us and my friend also. He was steadfast in fighting for what he believed in. He was always committed to bipartisanship where he thought we could agree, and he would find those issues. I worked with him on many. Many of my Republican committee colleagues found Gerry Connolly to be a partner and a friend. The bottom line is that his exemplary public service will endure, continuing to guide and inspire those committed to serving our Nation. I am sure that his life and the stories of his life are being told with many as an example of public service. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. WALKINSHAW. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his eloquent remarks. This legislation is a tribute to a giant of public service, a man whose legacy is written across Northern Virginia and across this institution. Gerry Connolly believed deeply in public service. He believed in this institution, in the work of representative democracy, and in the responsibility that comes with the oath of office. He knew that democracy doesn't sustain itself. It takes people willing to do the hard, unglamorous work of governing, legislating, organizing, compromising, and showing up for the communities they serve. Gerry was a singular force for good in Fairfax, and for 11 years, I had the privilege of serving as his chief of staff. I saw up close how he poured his significant intellect, his integrity, and his energy into serving our community every single day. He is somebody who served the public with every fiber of his being until his last day. He was widely respected here as one of Congress' most effective lawmakers. He was a champion for the Federal workers he represented, a champion for the Postal Service, a principled statesman who represented our Nation at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. I am confident he is the only person in history who will have served twice as president of the Fairfax County Federation of Citizens Associations and twice as the president of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. Before he served in Congress, he shaped the Fairfax County that my constituents know and enjoy today. He served on the board of supervisors from 1995 to 2008, including 5 years as chairman. He took enormous pride in that work and had a passion for the work of local government. Under his leadership, Fairfax County invested in smart growth, in transit, in environmental stewardship, in libraries, trails, and affordable housing. It is the public infrastructure that has transformed Fairfax and Northern Virginia into an economic engine and a national model. His legacy can be seen in the Silver Line metro extension, the Mosaic District in Merrifield, the Gerry Connolly Cross County Trail, and the Oakton Library. Gerry was an institutionalist in the best sense. He respected this House not as a monument but as a living instrument of democracy, one that must be used to hold power accountable, to protect the dignity of public service, to defend those who don't have a voice, and to stand up for our democratic values at home and abroad. Mr. Speaker, Gerry had a heart as big as his intellect. He loved people. He loved animals. He loved our community. He loved a good conversation, a good story, and even good gossip, sometimes to the frustration of those who were trying to keep him on schedule. Above all, Gerry was a family man. He loved his wife, Smitty, who is here with us today in the gallery, with a devotion that everyone around him could see. He was endlessly proud of his daughter, Caitlin, and welcomed his son-in-law, Mark, into that circle of love and loyalty that defined him. For all of his accomplishments in public, the center of his world was always his family and the joy he took in [[Page H4387]] them. It revealed the same warmth and humanity that made him so beloved by those he represented. For me he was more than a Member of Congress. He was a mentor, a best friend, and a formative figure. Because of him, I am a better public servant, but more importantly, a better husband, father, and friend. I will carry his wisdom and his love for this community, for this institution with me for the rest of my life. Naming this post office for Congressman Gerald E. Connolly will ensure that generations of Fairfax residents are reminded of what public service looks like when it is rooted in integrity, vision, humor, and love of community. We lost a giant last year, and we honor Gerry's legacy by continuing the work he loved by serving others, speaking the truth, defending democracy, and never forgetting those who sent us here. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 6332, and I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I, too, while directing my comments directly to the young speaker, will say that I, too, recognize not only Congressman Connolly's family being here, but I equally recognize, as Mr. Walkinshaw does, their contribution of service with their husband and their father and their uncle and those members of the family because service goes beyond just a person. It is extended to the family, who many times is a part of the success that is gleaned from their service, but they are an equal part of it. I, too, recognize, on behalf of myself and my colleagues on this side, the generosity that they extended by being here today and for the service that they will be rewarded with and thanked for today. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. {time} 1540 Mr. WALKINSHAW. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Beyer). Mr. BEYER. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Walkinshaw for the time. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 6332. As Mr. Walkinshaw has said, this legislation would name the post office at 10660 Page Avenue in Fairfax as the Gerald E. Connolly Post Office in honor of my dear friend and former colleague, the late Congressman Gerry Connolly. Mr. Speaker, I used to tease Gerry all the time about the 41-mile Gerry Connolly Cross County Trail in Fairfax County that was a hiking, biking, and bridle trail. It went the whole arc, from one side of Fairfax County to another, but it is difficult to imagine a more fitting tribute to Gerry's lifetime of public service than this post office because of what he has done. He wrote, sponsored, and passed the most important postal reform in this century, literally this millennium. He loved the Postal Service. He fought for it year after year. He served on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform for 15 years and, again, was an immensely important leader on that committee. He fiercely believed in the Federal Government's commitment to the American public for affordable and reliable mail deliver

Referenced legislation: HR6332, HR6332