| Sponsor | Rep. Higgins, Brian |
| Date | July 23, 2012 (112th Congress, 2nd Session) |
| Staff Contact | Jon Hiler |
On Monday, July 23, 2012, the House is scheduled to consider H.R. 3556, under a suspension of the rules requiring a two-thirds majority vote for passage. H.R. 3556 was introduced by Rep. Brian Higgins (D-NY) on December 2, 2011, and was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, which reported the bill by voice vote on March 8, 2012.
H.R. 3556 would designate the new United States courthouse in Buffalo, New York, as the “Robert H. Jackson United States Courthouse.”
According to a Committee Report accompanying the legislation: Justice Jackson was born on February 13, 1892 in Pennsylvania and was raised in Frewsburg, New York. He did not attend college but attended the Albany School of Law for one year and apprenticed in a law firm. At the age of 21, he was admitted to the New York Bar and joined a law practice in Jamestown, New York. He later moved to practice in Buffalo where he also served as city corporation counsel.
In 1934, President Franklin D. Roosevelt designated him as general counsel at the Internal Revenue Service. Subsequently, he served as the U.S. Solicitor General and the U.S. Attorney General. And, in 1941, President Roosevelt nominated him as an associate justice on the U.S. Supreme Court where he served until his death in 1954.
In 1945, President Harry S. Truman appointed Justice Jackson as the chief prosecutor for the United States in the Nuremberg trials of Nazi war criminals. Before his death, Justice Jackson participated in the unanimous decision in the desegregation case of Brown v. Board of Education in 1954.
According to CBO, H.R. 3556 would have no significant impact on the federal budget and would not affect direct spending or revenues.