Joseph Woodrow Hatchett United States Courthouse and Federal Building

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. CARBAJAL. Madam Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 1119, I call up the bill (S. 2938) to designate the United States Courthouse and Federal Building located at 111 North Adams Street in Tallahassee, Florida, as the ``Joseph Woodrow Hatchett United States Courthouse and Federal Building'', and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. CARBAJAL. 2938.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. CARBAJAL. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of S. 2938 which designates the Federal building at 111 North Adams Street in Tallahassee, Florida, as the Joseph Woodrow Hatchett United States Courthouse and Federal Building, and the United States Postal Service facility located at 120 4th Street in Petaluma, California, as the Lynn C. Woolsey Post Office Building.

Born during the days of segregation, Judge Hatchett grew up in Clearwater, Florida. He graduated from Florida A&M University in 1954 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Army. He entered Howard University School of Law in 1956, and when he took the Florida bar exam in 1959, Jim Crow regulations prevented him from staying in the hotel where the test was being administered.

After admission to the Florida bar, Judge Hatchett entered private practice in Daytona Beach, practicing criminal, civil, administrative, and civil rights law in State and Federal courts.

A series of judicial appointments that began in 1971 ultimately led to his placement on the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals by President Jimmy Carter in 1979, making Judge Hatchett the first Black man appointed to a Federal appeals court in the Deep South. Judge Hatchett retired from the bench in 1999 and passed away in April 2021 at the age of 88.

Former Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey brought her unique voice and experience to the House of Representatives when she won her seat in 1993. Earlier in her life, a divorce had left her supporting three young children, and she worked at low-paying jobs and received various forms of public assistance.

Describing herself as the first former welfare mom to serve in Congress, Woolsey advocated for expanding school breakfast programs; encouraged girls to study math, science, and engineering; fought attempts to reduce welfare benefits; sponsored legislation that required the Internal Revenue Service to help enforce child support payments; and secured job-protected family leave for family members of injured soldiers. Woolsey retired from Congress in 2013 after serving 20 years.

Madam Speaker, I support S. 2938, which recognizes two great Americans: Judge Joseph Hatchett and Representative Lynn Woolsey, and I reserve the balance of my time.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. CARBAJAL. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Castor).

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. CARBAJAL. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Huffman).

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. CARBAJAL. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Lawson).

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. CARBAJAL. Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. CARBAJAL. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support S. 2938, which recognizes the tremendous contributions of Judge Hatchett and Representative Woolsey. I yield back the balance of my time.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source