M E M O R A N D U M
TO: Iowa Reporters and Editors
RE: Neal Smith Building
DA: Thursday, December 20, 2007
Senator Chuck Grassley today made the following statement after the Senate late Wednesday passed legislation naming the Des Moines federal building the “Neal Smith Federal Building.” The bill now must be signed by the president.
Grassley joined Senator Tom Harkin to introduce legislation in March to name the Des Moines Federal Building as the “Neal Smith Federal Building” and Harkin joined Grassley in introducing a bill to name the Davenport U.S. Courthouse as the “James A. Leach U.S. Courthouse.” When the legislation was introduced it was expected that the two bills would be considered in tandem. Due to an obscure rule in the Environment and Public Works Committee, the Committee will not report a bill to the full Senate that names a federal building after a former member of Congress less than 70 years of age. Thus, the legislation honoring Jim Leach could not be considered by the Senate.
Here is Grassley’s comment.
“Neal Smith was a great representative for his district in the U.S. Congress. I had the opportunity to serve with him in the House of Representatives and it was easy to see why he was so popular with his constituents. I hope this is a small token of appreciation for his work on behalf of Iowans. For the same reasons, I also thought it was appropriate to pay a similar tribute to Jim Leach for his service to Iowa. I will continue to work to finish that job as well.”
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