WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the House passed U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Rob Portman’s (R-OH) bill to rename the federal building and courthouse on West 2nd Street in downtown Dayton after Senior United States District Court Judge Walter H. Rice. U.S. Rep. Michael Turner (R-OH-10) introduced the companion legislation in the House. The bill is now headed to the President’s desk to be signed into law.

“Judge Rice has spent his legal career in service to Montgomery County, and it is fitting that the Dayton Federal Building, where he has devoted nearly four decades of his life, bears his name,” said Brown. “I join Sen. Portman and Rep. Turner in gratitude for Judge Rice’s service to Dayton as we work together to honor his legacy.”  

“For more than four decades, Judge Rice has been a tireless advocate for justice, the people of Dayton, and the state of Ohio,” said Portman.  “This is a fitting tribute to his life’s work, and I join Senator Brown and Rep. Turner in thanking him for his service.”

“I assembled a panel to recommend who to honor in naming the federal building in downtown Dayton, and they unanimously chose Judge Walter Rice,” said Congressman Turner. “With the help of Senators Brown and Portman, we were able to get this bill across the finish line and to the President’s desk. Judge Rice is one of our community’s most dedicated public servants and this is a fitting tribute and honor he wholly deserves.”

President Carter appointed Judge Rice to the U.S District Court for the Southern District of Ohio in 1980. Judge Rice served as Chief Judge of the court from 1996 until 2003. Before joining the federal bench, he served Montgomery County as an Assistant County Prosecutor, a Municipal Court Judge, and a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas.

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