On the recordMarch 5, 2012
Senate bill 1710 would designate the United States courthouse located at 222 West Seventh Avenue, Anchorage, Alaska, as the James M. Fitzgerald United States Courthouse. Just last week, the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management, which I chair, marked up the House companion bill introduced by Congressman Don Young of Alaska, and I want to thank him for his leadership on this issue. Judge James M. Fitzgerald had 47 years of experience as a judge, both in the State of Alaska and on the Federal bench. He was one of the first judges appointed to the Superior Court in Alaska when Alaska became a State in 1959 and was later appointed to the Alaska Supreme Court in 1972. In 1974, President Ford appointed Judge Fitzgerald to the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska, where he remained until his retirement in 2006. I think it is more than fitting that a Federal courthouse in Anchorage bear his name. I support passage of this legislation and urge my colleagues to do the same. I reserve the balance of my time.
