Congressman Dan Meuser (R-PA9) has introduced a bill to the United States House of Representatives that would designate Lebanon’s 8th Street post office as the “Lieutenant William D. Lebo Post Office Building.”
Lt. William Lebo – who was just a month shy of retirement when he was shot and killed while responding to a residential break-in on March 31, 2022 – was remembered earlier this year with a ceremony at Lebanon City Hall on the one-year anniversary of his death. Lebo was the first city officer to die in the line of duty since 1903.
Read More: 1 year since tragic line of duty death, Lebanon remembers Lt. William Lebo
The bill, introduced as H.R.3865 on June 6, is currently being reviewed by the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability. According to the Congressional Research Service, the House oversight committee has an informal policy that all members from the state where the post office is located must sign on as co-sponsors.
Already joining Meuser as co-sponsors at present are Representatives Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA14), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA1), Brendan Boyle (D-PA2), and Lloyd Smucker (R-PA11).
In a June 8 interview with Laura LeBeau, Meuser said he is currently working on getting the other members of the Pennsylvania delegation to co-sponsor the bill.
“Once the members from Pennsylvania – Republican and Democrat – understand and appreciate who Lt. Lebo was and the reason behind it, my plan is that we will have all of those on board and submitting to the committee within the next few weeks,” said Meuser.
Meuser noted it’s not always a “slam dunk” to get yeses from members. But based on everything he knows about Lebo, the late Lebanon police lieutenant is deserving of the recognition, and the Lebanon community is supportive. Meuser said he hopes the renaming is complete before the end of 2023.
“We’re going to move the process along in the most proper way that needs to be done, and it should be done by the end of the year,” said Meuser to LeBeau.
Meuser said he is sponsoring the bill because Lebo was such an important figure in the Lebanon community for more than 30 years.
“Certainly, under the circumstances of him serving as one of Lebanon’s bravest for all that time, and one of its finest, it seemed very appropriate, and again the community was certainly favorable to it, as was the District Attorney Pier Hess Graf, who’s been working through this terrible event that occurred a little over a year ago with Lt. Lebo losing his life trying to protect and serve,” said Meuser.
After the bill is voted out of committee, it will go to the Speaker of the House’s offices for scheduling of a vote in front of the entire House, after which it would need to get passed by the Senate and then signed by the President. Meuser said he’s pretty confident that once the bill gets through the House, it will become law.
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