{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://rubengallego.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/house-passes-bill-name-phoenix-post-office-after-congressman-ed-pastor", "House Passes Bill to Name Phoenix Post Office After Congressman Ed Pastor", "2016-06-21", "2016", "2016-06", "Democrat", "House", "AZ", "Ruben Gallego", "G000574", "rubengallego.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, DC \u2013 Today, the House of Representatives passed a bill (HR 4010 ) to rename the United States Post Office located at 522 North Central Ave in Phoenix as the \u201cEd Pastor Post Office.\u201d\nThe proposal was introduced by Rep. Ruben Gallego (AZ-07), and was strongly supported by the entire Arizona Congressional delegation.\nCongressman Pastor represented the people of Arizona for twelve terms, from 1991 until his retirement in 2015. He was the first Hispanic American elected to Congress from the State of Arizona.\nHR 4010 will now proceed to the U.S. Senate for consideration.\nA video of Rep. Gallego\u2019s floor speech in support of the proposal can be found here.\nRep. Gallego\u2019s remarks, as prepared:\n\u201cMr. Speaker,\n\u201cI rise in support of a bill that \u2013 in a small but significant way \u2013 honors the legacy of a Latino trailblazer and a great Arizonan, Congressman Ed Pastor.\u00a0\n\u201cMr. Speaker, Congressman Pastor dedicated his life to fighting for working families.\u00a0\n\u201cRenaming a post office in the district he represented with distinction for 12 terms is the very least that we can do to recognize his more than three decades of outstanding public service.\u00a0\u00a0\n\u201cI want to thank my colleagues in the Arizona delegation for their enthusiastic support.\n\u201cI\u2019m also grateful to Chairman Chaffetz and Ranking Member Cummings for enabling this bill to come to the floor today.\u00a0\n\u201cMr. Speaker, Congressman Ed Pastor\u2019s life embodies the American Dream.\u00a0 And throughout his time in Congress, Mr. Pastor fought to make that Dream accessible to everyone, including the most vulnerable in our society.\u00a0\n\u201cAs Leader Pelosi once wrote, \u2018Ed Pastor never forgot his roots, and always worked to build a brighter future for the children of our nation.\u2019\u00a0\n\u201cThe son of a miner, Mr. Pastor was the first member of his family to go to college and received his Bachelor\u2019s degree from Arizona State University in 1966.\n\u201cAfter graduation, he taught at North High School in Phoenix before returning to ASU in 1971 to earn his law degree.\u00a0\n\u201cMr. Pastor subsequently worked on the staff of Arizona\u2019s first Latino governor, Raul Castro \u2013 a job that cemented his lifelong commitment to public service.\n\u201cMr. Pastor later served three terms on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors before being elected to the 102nd Congress in a special election in 1991.\n\u201cCongressman Pastor spent twenty-four years in this body, earning a reputation as a tireless advocate for the people of Arizona.\n\u201cI\u2019m proud to say that Mr. Pastor is the first Latino elected to Congress from our great state.\n\u201cHe was also one of the founding members of the Progressive Caucus and chaired the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in the 104th Congress.\u00a0\n\u201cIn addition, he served on the House Appropriations Committee and as Chief Deputy Whip of the Democratic Caucus.\n\u201cThroughout his career, Congressman Pastor was a passionate advocate for fixing our broken immigrating system, investing in our nation\u2019s transportation infrastructure, and protecting the civil rights of every American.\u00a0\n\u201cPerhaps even more importantly, as President Obama noted, Congressman Pastor \u2018\u2026served as a mentor and role model to young Latinos and Latinas throughout Arizona and our country.\u2019\n\u201cHe was supported in this groundbreaking work by his loving wife, Verma.\u00a0\n\u201cCongressman Pastor retired in 2014 and remains a beloved and respected figure in the City of Phoenix.\u00a0\n\u201cI\u2019m incredibly proud to follow in his footsteps as the 7th district\u2019s representative here in Washington.\n\u201cThe Pastor Post Office will join Ed and Verma Pastor Elementary School and the Pastor School of Politics and Public Service at ASU as monuments to his outstanding service to our nation.\u00a0\n\u201cYet, Congressman Pastor\u2019s legacy lives on not just in these buildings, but in the transportation projects he championed, the legislation he authored, the working families he helped and the young people he inspired.\u00a0\u00a0\n\u201cMr. Speaker, I respectfully request the support of every Member in recognizing a legendary Arizonan, Congressman Ed Pastor.\u201d\n\u00a0\n\u00a0\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://rubengallego.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/house-passes-bill-name-phoenix-post-office-after-congressman-ed-pastor"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7075429894030094, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}