69–006 

115TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 1st Session 115–84 

R. JESS BROWN UNITED STATES COURTHOUSE 

APRIL 6, 2017.—Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be printed 

Mr. SHUSTER, from the Committee on Transportation and 

Infrastructure, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 455] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, to whom 

was referred the bill (H.R. 455) to designate the United States 

courthouse located at 501 East Court Street in Jackson, Mississippi, as the ‘‘R. Jess Brown United States Courthouse’’, having 

considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment 

and recommend that the bill do pass. 

CONTENTS 

Page 

Purpose of Legislation ............................................................................................. 2 

Background and Need for Legislation .................................................................... 2 

Hearings ................................................................................................................... 2 

Legislative History and Consideration .................................................................. 2 

Committee Votes ...................................................................................................... 2 

Committee Oversight Findings ............................................................................... 2 

New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures ...................................................... 3 

Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate .......................................................... 3 

Performance Goals and Objectives ......................................................................... 3 

Advisory of Earmarks .............................................................................................. 3 

Duplication of Federal Programs ............................................................................ 4 

Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings ..................................................................... 4 

Federal Mandate Statement ................................................................................... 4 

Preemption Clarification ......................................................................................... 4 

Advisory Committee Statement .............................................................................. 4 

Applicability of Legislative Branch ........................................................................ 4 

Section-by-Section Analysis of Legislation ............................................................ 4 

Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported ..................................... 5 

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PURPOSE OF LEGISLATION

H.R. 455 designates the United States courthouse located at 501 

East Court Street in Jackson, Mississippi, as the ‘‘R. Jess Brown 

United States Courthouse’’. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

H.R. 455 designates the United States courthouse located at 501 

East Court Street in Jackson, Mississippi, as the ‘‘R. Jess Brown 

United States Courthouse’’. 

Mr. R. Jess Brown was a civil rights lawyer who worked against 

segregationist laws and was credited in the 1950s with filing the 

first civil rights suit in Mississippi. Mr. Brown, a native of 

Muskogee, Oklahoma, attended Illinois State University, Indiana 

University, and the Texas Southern University Law School. In the 

1960s he was one of only four African-American lawyers in Mississippi, and one of three who took civil rights cases. In 1962, he 

worked on behalf of James Meredith, whose successful lawsuit allowed him to be the first African-American student to enroll at the 

University of Mississippi. 

By the time of James Meredith’s case, Mr. Brown already had an 

established history of litigating for civil rights stretching back to 

1948, when he sued on behalf of African-American teachers in 

Jackson, Mississippi who sought equal pay with their white colleagues. 

Later, Mr. Brown worked with the NAACP Legal Defense and 

Educational Fund in fighting discrimination in transportation and 

other public accommodations in the 1960s. Mr. R. Jess Brown died 

December 31, 1989, due to cancer. 

HEARINGS

No hearings were held on H.R. 455. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY AND CONSIDERATION

On January 11, 2017, Congressman Bennie G. Thompson (D–MS) 

introduced H.R. 455, a bill to designate the United States courthouse located at 501 East Court Street in Jackson, Mississippi, as 

the ‘‘R. Jess Brown United States Courthouse’’. 

On March 29, 2017, the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure met in open session and ordered the bill reported favorably to the House by voice vote with a quorum present. 

COMMITTEE VOTES

Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives requires each committee report to include the total number of 

votes cast for and against on each record vote on a motion to report 

and on any amendment offered to the measure or matter, and the 

names of those members voting for and against. There were no recorded votes taken in connection with consideration of H.R. 455. 

COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS

With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of 

the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee’s oversight findings and recommendations are reflected in this report. 

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NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY AND TAX EXPENDITURES

Clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives does not apply where a cost estimate and comparison prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 has been timely 

submitted prior to the filing of the report and is included in the report. Such a cost estimate is included in this report. 

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of 

the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 402 of the 

Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has received the 

enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 455 from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office: 

U.S. CONGRESS, CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, Washington, DC, April 4, 2017. 

Hon. BILL SHUSTER, Chairman, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, 

House of Representatives, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has reviewed H.R. 455, a bill to designate the United States Courthouse 

located at 501 East Court Street in Jackson, Mississippi, as the ‘‘R. 

Jess Brown United States Courthouse,’’ as ordered reported by the 

House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on March 

29, 2017. 

CBO estimates that enacting this legislation would have no significant effect on the federal budget and would not affect direct 

spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not 

apply. CBO estimates that enacting the legislation would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four 

consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028. 

The bill contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would 

not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments. 

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Matthew Pickford. 

Sincerely, 

KEITH HALL. 

PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of 

the Rules of the House of Representatives, the performance goal 

and objective of this legislation is to designate the United States 

courthouse located at 501 East Court Street in Jackson, Mississippi, as the ‘‘R. Jess Brown United States Courthouse’’. 

ADVISORY OF EARMARKS

Pursuant to clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the House of 

Representatives, the Committee is required to include a list of congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits 

as defined in clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of 

the House of Representatives. No provision in the bill includes an 

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earmark, limited tax benefit, or limited tariff benefit under clause 

9(e), 9(f), or 9(g) of rule XXI. 

DUPLICATION OF FEDERAL PROGRAMS

Pursuant to clause 3(c)(5) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House 

of Representatives, the Committee finds that no provision of H.R. 

455 establishes or reauthorizes a program of the federal government known to be duplicative of another federal program, a program that was included in any report from the Government Accountability Office to Congress pursuant to section 21 of Public 

Law 111–139, or a program related to a program identified in the 

most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance. 

DISCLOSURE OF DIRECTED RULE MAKINGS

Pursuant to section 3(i) of H. Res. 5, 115th Cong. (2017), the 

Committee finds that enacting H.R. 455 does not direct the completion of a specific rule making within the meaning of section 551 of 

title 5, United States Code. 

FEDERAL MANDATE STATEMENT

The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of federal mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office 

pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

(Public Law 104–4). 

PREEMPTION CLARIFICATION

Section 423 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 requires the 

report of any Committee on a bill or joint resolution to include a 

statement on the extent to which the bill or joint resolution is intended to preempt state, local, or tribal law. The Committee states 

that H.R. 455 does not preempt any state, local, or tribal law. 

ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT

No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b) of the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act are created by this legislation. 

APPLICABILITY OF LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to the 

terms and conditions of employment or access to public services or 

accommodations within the meaning of section 102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act (Public Law 104–1). 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF LEGISLATION

Section 1. Designation 

Section 1 designates the United States courthouse located at 501 

East Court Street in Jackson, Mississippi, as the ‘‘R. Jess Brown 

United States Courthouse’’. 

Section. 2. References 

Section 2 deems any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper, or other record of the United States to the federal 

building and United States courthouse referred to in section 1 as 

a reference to the ‘‘R. Jess Brown United States Courthouse’’. 

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CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

H.R. 455 makes no changes in existing law. 

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