Legislation passes House to honor Dolph Briscoe

Congressman Ciro Rodriguez (photo)

House approves Rodriguez legislation honoring former Texas Governor Dolph Briscoe

H.R. 2688 will designate Uvalde PO as "Dolph Briscoe, Jr. Post Office Building"

(Washington, D.C.) - Today, the United States Post Office on 103 South Getty Street in Uvalde, Texas is one step closer to being named in honor of Former Governor Dolph Briscoe. The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 2688, introduced by Congressman Ciro D. Rodriguez (TX-23), by voice vote on Monday.

The bill to rename the post office in Uvalde after Former Governor Briscoe, must now pass the Senate where Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison has introduced an identical bill. The bill will then be sent to the President for his signature.

Congressman Rodriguez delivered the following remarks today on behalf of H.R. 2688 and the renaming of the Uvalde post office for the esteemed Texan, Dolph Briscoe: "Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this legislation, which names the Uvalde Post Office in my district after an esteemed Texan, Dolph Briscoe.

"Dolph Briscoe is a true Texan who graduated from the University of Texas at Austin, served in the State Legislature and was eventually elected governor of Texas.

"Briscoe's roots in Texas stretch back to the days of the Alamo. He is a direct descendant of Andrew Briscoe, an original signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence. "Dolph Briscoe is also a dedicated American who served this country as an army officer during World War II.

"Born in Uvalde to a self-made cattle rancher, Dolph Briscoe has strong roots in Texas and in the agricultural community. He was long a champion of cattle ranchers and the agricultural community as a whole. Serving as the youngest ever president of the Texas and Southwest Cattle Raisers Association, Briscoe spearheaded the effort to eradicate the screw worm from cattle in the southwest, a great achievement for the livestock industry.

"Once elected to the Texas State Legislature, Briscoe also led the initiative to create the farm-to-market road system. The road system was a great improvement to the rural infrastructure of Texas, finally allowing farmers direct access to the cities and it is still in use today.

"After serving in the legislature, Briscoe was elected Governor of Texas. As a pro-business Democrat, he was the only modern Governor of Texas to enact a balanced budget without raising or creating new taxes.

"The Briscoe family remains active in Texas, especially in Uvalde where Dolph Briscoe continues to work as a cattle rancher and also serves the community as the Senior Chairman of the First State Bank of Uvalde.

"Dolph Briscoe has been committed to the city of Uvalde for decades and deserves to be honored in this way. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation."