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

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.