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.
“THE CALENDAR” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the Senate section on pages S11299-S11300 on Nov. 9, 2009.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
THE CALENDAR
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of the following postal naming bills en bloc: Calendar Nos. 198 through 207: H.R. 955, H.R. 1516, H.R. 1713, H.R. 2004, H.R. 2215, H.R. 2760, H.R. 2972, H.R. 3119, H.R. 3386, and H.R. 3547.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to the bills en bloc.
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I will make a brief comment. I had the good fortune of serving with Wes Watkins, a Member of the House of Representatives from Oklahoma. It is a very good thing that there is going to be a building named after him.
Finally, Rex Lee was my neighbor when I first came back to Congress. His son and my boy Josh were best friends. They still are. Rex Lee was one of America's all-time great legal minds. He argued numerous cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. He was stricken as a young man with an incurable type of cancer and died at a much too early age. He was first dean of the BYU Law School and then president of BYU. His No. 1 qualification was his legal mind, which was outstanding, and he had such a wonderful family. I think that is wonderful that there is going to be a building named after Rex Lee in Provo, UT. He deserves that.
Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to Rex E. Lee, a man whose legacy we recognize today by renaming the post office in Provo, UT in his honor. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Conner captured my own feelings about Rex when she said:
Knowing him [Rex] was one of the greatest privileges of my life. Remembering him will be one of the easiest.
Graduating first in his class from the University of Chicago Law School in 1963, Rex went on to serve as a law clerk for Byron White on the U.S. Supreme Court. Then, just 4 years out of law school, Rex argued his first case before the Supreme Court in 1967, and went on in 1972 to become the Founding Dean of the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University.
In addition to serving as an Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Civil Division at the Department of Justice in the middle of the 1970s, Rex served as the Solicitor General of the United States from 1981 to 1985. In fact, over the span of his life, Rex argued 59 cases before the Supreme Court of the United States and his record as the Solicitor General is impressive. Never one to rest, Rex was then named as the 10th president of Brigham Young University in 1989, where he served thousands of students, faculty, and administrators faithfully for over 6 years. As a man, Rex is someone I respected; as a dedicated husband, father, and friend, Rex is someone who is deeply missed.
Anyone who had the privilege of knowing Rex, as I did, well remembers his stellar service to his community, our State, and to the Nation as a whole. Long after his passing, his influence still lingers and is keenly felt everywhere from the classrooms at BYU to the corridors of our government's most revered institutions. Renaming the Provo Post Office in Rex's honor befits a public servant of his stature, and I am pleased to support this legislation in the Senate to honor Rex's legacy.
In short, Rex Lee was a great man and I am proud to see the Provo Post Office named after him. There are thousands of Utahns throughout the State who join me in celebrating this man's great life with this fitting tribute.
Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that the bills be read the third time and passed en bloc; that the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table en bloc; and that any statements related to these bills be printed in the Record.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
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