The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“WILLIAM J. SCHERLE POST OFFICE BUILDING” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Agriculture was published in the Senate section on pages S9618-S9619 on July 17, 2003.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
WILLIAM J. SCHERLE POST OFFICE BUILDING
Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Governmental Affairs Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. 1399 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk will report the bill by title.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
A bill (S. 1399) to redesignate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 101 South Vine Street in Glenwood, Iowa, as the ``William J. Scherle Post Office Building''.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I rise in support of S. 1399, a bill I am happy to cosponsor with Senator Harkin, to name the post office in Glenwood, IA, the William J. Scherle Post Office Building. Former Congressman Bill Scherle served in the U.S. House of Representatives for four terms, from 1967-1975. Before that, we served together in the Iowa House of Representatives. Bill Scherle is originally from New York State, so he was not born an Iowan, but you would never know it. He acclimated well to Iowa, living on a farm near the small southwestern Iowa town of Henderson. Bill is a farmer through and through. He was a plainspoken conservative voice in Congress and he represented his largely rural western Iowa district well. He then went on to serve his country in the Department of Agriculture. Bill Scherle has given a good portion of his life to public service and it is fitting that a post office near his home be named in his honor. In fact, Bill Scherle's legacy as a public servant is demonstrated by the fact that this bill to honor him is a bipartisan initiative. Both Senator Harkin and I recognize the contribution made by Bill Scherle to Iowa and to the United States. I was very sorry when I recently learned that Bill is in poor health. I wish him the best and my prayers are with him and his family. I am glad that we have this opportunity now to recognize Bill and his service to his State and his Nation. I would like to thank Chairman Collins for her help in allowing this bill to be moved quickly through the Government Affairs Committee and the Senate. I know that Congressman King, who follows in Congressman Scherle's footsteps, has sponsored a similar measure in the House with the support of others from the Iowa delegation. Those who know Bill Scherle or know of his legacy understand why this honor is so appropriate and I hope this bill can be enacted very soon.
Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I am very pleased that the Senate is moving towards passage today of legislation that would name the Glenwood, IA, post office for former Iowa Congressman, William J. Scherle. Bill Scherle and his wife Jane live on their family farm just outside of Henderson, IA, in Mills County. Glenwood is the county seat of Mills County. Bill served four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, beginning with three terms in 1967 in what was then Iowa's 7th Congressional District, and a term in the re-districted 5th Congressional District. I think it is appropriate that Glenwood's Post Office will soon permanently bear Congressman Scherle's name.
Bill long served his Nation. He started with military service in the Navy and Coast Guard during World War II, then afterwards served in the Naval Reserve. He chaired the Mills County Republican Party for almost a decade starting in 1956. He served in the Iowa legislature from 1960 through 1966. He then was elected to the U.S. Congress and served through 1974, including service on the Education and Labor Committee and the Appropriations Committee. His public service continued in 1975 and 1976, when he was appointed to a senior position at the Department of Agriculture.
In January 1968, North Korea seized the USS Pueblo, imprisoned and tortured the crew. Congressman Scherle led the effort in Congress to free the crew of the Pueblo. I have always admired Bill's tenacity in never letting the Pueblo crew be forgotten. Bill was the only Member of Congress invited to attend Pueblo reunions and as their health has allowed, Bill and Jane always have attended.
Bill and I are at different places on the political spectrum, and I ran against him for Congress twice. He wont the first time, and I won the re-match. We disagreed on many issues, but I always understood that he acted on the basis of strong-held views about what he considered were the best interests of those he represented and of the Nation.
Long after we ran as opponents, I got to know Bill and visited him on his farm. He is a good person who cares deeply about his community and rural America. Politics has always had a certain amount of rough and tumble. But while Bill was certainly a good Republican who wanted to see consistent victories for the GOP, he also could see the good in all people.
One area of our mutual interest was the Iowa School for the Deaf in Council Bluffs. Bill always did what he could for the school my brother attended years ago, and for deaf people in general.
Congressman Scherle always cared about children and their welfare. He wrote a children's book. ``The Happy Barn.'' He gave away thousands of copies to schools, hospitals and individual families in Southwest Iowa and the Omaha area, reading to young children time after time. He had lots of fun reading to children, and I believe that there are few more valuable things we can do as adults than to read to children and get them started on that most important activity.
Bill was a businessman and farmer, proud of both professions. He received the Alegent Health Mercy Hospital Heritage Award for his contributions to business in Southwest Iowa.
He remains a good father to his two sons, and a good husband to his wife of 55 years, Jane. He is blessed with 6 grandchildren--five girls and a boy. Bill has lived a dedicated, patriotic, family and public service life.
I am pleased that my colleague, Senator Grassley, joins me in sponsoring this legislation. Congressman King has introduced similar legislation in the House of Representatives.
Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read a third time and passed, that the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and any statements relating to the bill be printed in the Record.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The bill (S. 1399) was read the third time and passed, as follows:
S. 1399
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. WILLIAM J. SCHERLE POST OFFICE BUILDING.
(a) Redesignation.--The facility of the United States Postal Service located at 101 South Vine Street in Glenwood, Iowa, and known as the Glenwood Main Office, shall be known and designated as the ``William J. Scherle 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 William J. Scherle Post Office Building.
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