{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.kim.senate.gov/press_release/senators-kim-and-booker-introduce-legislation-to-rename-new-jersey-post-office-after-tuskegee-airman-and-willingboro-trailblazer-chief-master-sergeant-james-a-cotten/", "Senators Kim and Booker Introduce Legislation to Rename New Jersey Post Office After Tuskegee Airman and Willingboro Trailblazer Chief Master Sergeant James A. Cotten", "2026-07-29", "2026", "2026-07", "Democrat", "Senate", "NJ", "Andy Kim", "K000394", "www.kim.senate.gov", "kim", "https://www.kim.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 Yesterday, in celebration of the United States Postal Service\u2019s 250 years of delivering mail to the American people, U.S. Senators Andy Kim (D-NJ), member of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs, and Cory Booker (D-NJ), introduced legislation to rename a post office in New Jersey\u2019s 3rd Congressional District in honor of the late Chief Master Sergeant James A. Cotten, a Tuskegee Airman and decorated military trailblazer whose decades of service to his country were matched by decades of service to the Willingboro community he called home. Congressman Herb Conaway Jr., M.D. (NJ-03), along with Representatives Frank Pallone Jr. (NJ-06), LaMonica McIver (NJ-10), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), and Rob Menendez (NJ-08), introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives.\n\n\u201cJames Cotten was a hero and a leader that made Willingboro proud and our country safer. He is a reminder that the impact of public service ripples across generations. This isn\u2019t just the renaming of a post office, it\u2019s a reminder of work done to break down racial barriers and build community. Mr. Cotten represented the best of America and I\u2019m proud to work with my colleagues to make sure his name is never forgotten,\u201d said Senator Kim.\n\n\u201cChief Master Sergeant James A. Cotten did not simply serve his country\u2014he helped transform it. As a Tuskegee Airman, a military trailblazer, and a pillar of the Willingboro community, he broke barriers that were meant to hold people back and opened doors for generations to come,\u201d said Senator Booker. \u201cHis life is a powerful reminder that service is not defined by a title or a single moment, but by a lifelong commitment to lifting up others and strengthening the communities we call home. Renaming this post office in his honor ensures that his heroism, perseverance, and extraordinary legacy will continue to inspire all who learn his story.\u201d\n\nCotten\u2019s story spans nearly seven decades of service. Drafted into the Army in 1945, he was assigned to the Army Air Corps as an air operations specialist with the 332nd Fighter Interceptor Squadron \u2014 part of the storied Tuskegee Airmen \u2014 before integrating the 334th Fighter Interceptor Squadron when the military desegregated. Over a military career spanning more than 20 years, he rose through the ranks before retiring from active duty in 1965 at McGuire Air Force Base. He then spent another 45 years serving the Department of Defense as a civilian.\n\nHis impact didn\u2019t end at the base gates. Back home in Willingboro, Cotten became one of the first African Americans to deliver mail in the community and remained active for years in local civic and financial institutions. His life\u2019s work has been recognized at the highest levels: a Congressional Gold Medal in 2012, and personal recognition from President Barack Obama in 2013 as one of the nation\u2019s honored veterans.\n\nNaming a post office after Cotten ensures that every piece of mail passing through Willingboro carries forward the memory of a man who fought for his country twice: once against a foreign enemy, and once against the barriers his own country put in front of him.\n\nRead the full text of the legislation here.\n\n###", 1, "2026-07-30T07:32:48Z", "2026-07-30T07:34:08Z"]], "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://www.kim.senate.gov/press_release/senators-kim-and-booker-introduce-legislation-to-rename-new-jersey-post-office-after-tuskegee-airman-and-willingboro-trailblazer-chief-master-sergeant-james-a-cotten/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7712780497968197, "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"}