Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-Petaluma)issued the following statement after President Barack Obama signed legislation officially naming the post office in Inverness, California after Army Specialist Jake Robert Velloza:

“I am so pleased that the President has chosen to honor the memory of one of the North Bay’s finest by signing my legislation.  Jake Velloza, like so many brave men and women before him, signed up for some of the most difficult and dangerous work imaginable.  He loved his country enough to give his life for it, and his community and the entire nation are grateful.  America is strong and great because of selfless patriots like him. 

“With his signature today, the President has ensured that Jake Velloza’s name, and a reminder of his service, will be permanently displayed in his hometown.  Future generations will now know how Jake Velloza sacrificed for them.”

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H.R. 793 is the first post office naming bill to pass Congress and be signed by the President this year. 

Information about a public ceremony at the Specialist Jake Robert Velloza Post Office will be available soon.

The Velloza family asks, out of respect for their privacy, that members of the media refrain from contacting them.

Army Spc. Jake Robert Velloza

• Born:   June 21, 1986 in Santa Rosa, California

• Died:   May 2, 2009 near Mosul, Iraq

•  Grew up in Inverness, California

•  Only child of Bob and Susan Velloza

•  Fiancé of Danielle Erwin

•  Attended Tomales High School

•  Joined the Army in 2006

•  Assigned to 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas

•  Buried at Olema Cemetery

H.R. 793 to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 12781 Sir Francis Drake Boulevard in Inverness, California, as the “Specialist Jake Robert Velloza Post Office”

Legislation introduced:

February 17, 2011 

Reported out of House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform:

March 10, 2011

Passed the U.S. House of Representatives:

March 14, 2011

Reported out of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs:

May 12, 2011

Passed the U.S. Senate:

May 16, 2011

Signed by President Barack Obama:

May 31, 2011