Max Cleland Va Medical Center Act
Floor Speech
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Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 3369) to designate the medical center of the Department of Veterans Affairs in metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia, as the ``Joseph Maxwell Cleland Atlanta Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center''.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows: S. 3369
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Max Cleland VA Medical Center Act''. SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Joseph Maxwell Cleland was born August 24, 1942, in Atlanta, Georgia, the child of Juanita Kesler Cleland and Joseph Hughie Cleland, a World War II veteran, and grew up in Lithonia, Georgia.
(2) Joseph Maxwell Cleland graduated from Stetson University in Florida in 1964, and received his Master's Degree in history from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.
(3) Following his graduation from Stetson University, Joseph Maxwell Cleland received a Second Lieutenant's Commission in the Army through its Reserve Officers' Training Corps program.
(4) Joseph Maxwell Cleland volunteered for duty in the Vietnam War in 1967, serving with the 1st Cavalry Division.
(5) On April 8, 1968, during combat at the mountain base at Khe Sanh, Joseph Maxwell Cleland was gravely injured by the blast of a grenade, eventually losing both his legs and right arm.
(6) Joseph Maxwell Cleland was awarded the Bronze Star for meritorious service and the Silver Star for gallantry in action.
(7) In 1970, Joseph Maxwell Cleland was elected to the Georgia Senate as the youngest member and the only Vietnam veteran, where he served until 1975.
(8) As a Georgia State Senator, Joseph Maxwell Cleland authored and advanced legislation to ensure access to public facilities in Georgia for elderly and handicapped individuals.
(9) In 1976, Joseph Maxwell Cleland began serving as a staffer on the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the United States Senate.
(10) In 1977, Joseph Maxwell Cleland was appointed by President Jimmy Carter to lead the Veterans Administration.
(11) He was the youngest Administrator of the Veterans Administration ever and the first Vietnam veteran to head the agency.
(12) He served as a champion for veterans and led the Veterans Administration to recognize, and begin to treat, post-traumatic stress disorder in veterans suffering the invisible wounds of war.
(13) Joseph Maxwell Cleland was elected in 1982 as Secretary of State of Georgia, the youngest individual to hold the office, and served in that position for 14 years.
(14) In 1996, Joseph Maxwell Cleland was elected to the United States Senate representing Georgia.
(15) As a member of the Committee on Armed Services, Joseph Maxwell Cleland advocated for Georgia's military bases, members of the Armed Forces, and veterans, including by championing key personnel issues, playing a critical role in the effort to allow members of the Armed Forces to pass their GI Bill education benefits to their children, and establishing a new veterans cemetery in Canton, Georgia.
(16) In 2002, Joseph Maxwell Cleland was appointed to the 9/11 Commission.
(17) In 2003, Joseph Maxwell Cleland was appointed by President George W. Bush to the Board of Directors for the Export-Import Bank of the United States, where he served until 2007.
(18) In 2009, Joseph Maxwell Cleland was appointed by President Barack Obama as Secretary of the American Battle Monuments Commission overseeing United States military cemeteries and monuments overseas, where he served until 2017.
(19) In 2010, Joseph Maxwell Cleland was appointed Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Arlington National Cemetery, where he served until 2017.
(20) Joseph Maxwell Cleland authored three books: Strong at the Broken Places, Going for the Max: 12 Principles for Living Life to the Fullest, and Heart of a Patriot.
(21) Joseph Maxwell Cleland received numerous honors and awards over the course of his long and distinguished career.
(22) Joseph Maxwell Cleland was a patriot, veteran, and lifelong civil servant who proudly served Georgia, the United States, and all veterans and members of the Armed Forces of the United States.
(23) On November 9, 2021, at the age of 79, Joseph Maxwell Cleland died, leaving behind a legacy of service, sacrifice, and joy. SEC. 3. JOSEPH MAXWELL CLELAND ATLANTA DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS MEDICAL CENTER.
(a) Designation.--The medical center of the Department of Veterans Affairs in metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia, shall after the date of the enactment of this Act be known and designated as the ``Joseph Maxwell Cleland Atlanta Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center'' or the ``Joseph Maxwell Cleland Atlanta VA Medical Center''.
(b) Reference.--Any reference in a law, regulation, map, document, paper, or other record of the United States to the medical center referred to in subsection (a) shall be deemed to be a reference to the Joseph Maxwell Cleland Atlanta Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
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Mr. TAKANO. 3369.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to offer my support for S. 3369, a bill that will appropriately rename the Atlanta VA Medical Center in Decatur, Georgia, in honor of Joseph Maxwell Cleland, an Army veteran, an American statesman, and a distinguished public servant for more than 50 years.
Senator Cleland, who died a year ago this month, long displayed a commitment to assisting disabled American veterans, so it is fitting that part of his enduring legacy includes the naming of this facility, which provides care to so many Georgia men and women who raised their hands and answered the call to serve.
I thank Senator Raphael Warnock for championing this legislation, which unanimously passed the Senate this summer, and I also acknowledge the work of my colleague Representative Nikema Williams for introducing a House companion to the bill.
Senator Cleland was born in Atlanta in 1942 and raised a couple of hours away in Lithonia, Georgia. He was an exemplary student at Lithonia High School and went on to study American history at Stetson University in central Florida and Emory University in Atlanta.
Senator Cleland received a military commission through Stetson's ROTC program. He volunteered for service in the Vietnam war in 1967 and was promoted to Army captain.
On April 8, 1968, with a month left on his tour, Senator Cleland and other members of the 2nd Battalion, 12th Calvary Regiment were dropped by helicopter on a hillside outside Khe Sanh to set up a radio relay station. Senator Cleland reached down to pick up a grenade he thought had fallen from his flak jacket when the grenade exploded, causing several injuries to his lower body. Both of Senator Cleland's legs and his right forearm were amputated, and the Senator, then just 25 years old, used a wheelchair for the rest of his life.
For his meritorious service and gallantry in action, Senator Cleland was awarded the Bronze and Silver Stars.
Upon his return to the U.S., Senator Cleland was elected to the Georgia Senate, becoming the youngest member and only Vietnam veteran in that body.
In 1976, he was appointed to the staff of the U.S. Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, where he investigated hospitals in the Veterans Administration healthcare system and their treatment of wounded servicemembers returning from Vietnam.
The following year, at age 34, President Carter tapped Senator Cleland to head the Veterans Administration, making him the youngest administrator in VA history and the first Vietnam veteran to serve in this role.
As VA administrator, Senator Cleland was instrumental in creating the Vet Center program, which decades later still provides a wide range of counseling services to veterans who experience trauma, loss, grief, and pain as a result of their military service. In doing so, Senator Cleland saved and improved the lives of an untold number of veterans. He advanced the conversation around the unseen wounds of war and helped reduce the stigma that all too often surrounds a veteran who seeks needed mental health care.
Following 12 years of service as Georgia's Secretary of State, Senator Cleland was elected to the United States Senate in 1996.
As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Cleland continued to be a forceful advocate for veterans and sought to improve military recruitment and retention, pay, and compensation, and pension and health benefits.
He played a critical role in the effort to allow former servicemembers to pass unused GI Bill benefits on to their dependent children, an initiative that has given generations of veteran families the opportunity to receive an affordable education.
Following his electoral defeat in 2002, Senator Cleland was appointed to the 9/11 Commission but resigned shortly thereafter and was critical of the George W. Bush administration's lack of transparency regarding key documents and government witnesses the Commission requested.
In 2009, President Obama selected Senator Cleland to lead the American Battle Monuments Commission, an independent government agency that manages 26 American cemeteries and 30 memorials, monuments, and markers abroad.
For those who have not visited any of these sites, I highly recommend that you do so.
This past Memorial Day, I led a congressional delegation to two ABMC cemeteries: the North Africa American Cemetery in Tunisia and the Cambridge American Cemetery in the United Kingdom. These sites serve as a solemn reminder of those who made the ultimate sacrifice to our Nation during the First and Second World Wars, and they truly uphold the words of General John J. Pershing, Commander of the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I and the first chairman of the ABMC who promised that, through these monuments, ``time will not dim the glory of their deeds.''
It is my hope that the same will be true in naming this hospital, one of the largest in the VA healthcare system, in Senator Cleland's memory.
S. 3369 has been strongly endorsed by The American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and Disabled American Veterans, and I implore all of my colleagues to pass this bill today without further delay.
Mr. Speaker, I again thank Senator Warnock and Representative Williams for proposing this legislation and for their tireless work on behalf of our Nation's veterans.
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Mr. TAKANO. Chairman Sanford Bishop is a very good friend who serves as a subcommittee chair on the Appropriations Committee. He is a cardinal and also a former member of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee.
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Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I will just say that I take note that Senator Cleland had much to do with the establishment of vet centers. I know from the experience of my own veterans how much vet centers make a difference in their lives.
Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record letters of support for S. 3369 from The American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and Disabled American Veterans, as well as the Georgia delegation. The American Legion, Department of Georgia, Stockbridge, GA, May 16, 2022. Representative Nikema Williams, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Representative Williams and Senator Warnock: The American Legion Department of Georgia is in full support of H.R. 6244 and S. 3369: the Max Cleland VA Medical Center Act.
We respectfully implore and sincerely request that the U.S. Congress rename the Atlanta Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center as: ``The Joseph Maxwell Cleland Atlanta Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center.''
Senator Cleland's distinguished service and noble legacy are still remembered by his fellow Georgians, the nation, and the countless veterans whose lives were greatly improved as a result of his commitment to better healthcare and veterans' services. Renaming the Atlanta VA Medical Center is but a fraction of the tremendous gratitude that our U.S. Congress can do to honor a true champion of veteran affairs.
For God and Country. . . Mark Shreve, State Commander, Department of Georgia. ____ Veterans of Foreign Wars, April 18, 2022. Hon. Nikema Williams, U.S. Representative (GA-05), Washington, DC.
Dear Representative Williams: On Behalf of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Department of Georgia and as Commander of the Department of Georgia (2021-2022), I am writing to support the legislation as proposed by Representative Williams and Senator Warnock (H.R. 6244/S.3369), that will rename the Atlanta Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, to the Joseph Maxwell Cleland Atlanta Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Kevin Hammond, Commander Department of Georgia. ____ DAV, April 13, 2022. REF: Support of Renaming Atlanta VA Medical Center Matt Alexis, Legislative Assistant, Rep. Nikema Williams (GA-05).
Georgia Delegation in the United States Congress: U.S. Representative Nikema Williams and Senator Rev. Raphael Warnock introduced (H.R. 6244/S. 3369) which will name the Atlanta Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Atlanta, Georgia, ``the Joseph Maxwell Cleland Atlanta department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center.''
Disabled American Veterans Department of Georgia gives our full support in naming the Atlanta VAMC for the late Senator Joseph Maxwell Cleland.
Senator Cleland distinguished himself with numerous meritorious accolades during his lifetime. Naming the Medical center in his honor would be a tribute to his life's work for veterans.
Thank you to his family and friends and for your service to this country. Sincerely, Sadie Hill, Sr. Vice Commander. ____ Congress of the United States, Washington, DC, July 7, 2022. Hon. Jon Tester, Chairman, Committee on Veterans Affairs, Washington, DC. Hon. Jerry Moran, Ranking Member, Committee on Veterans Affairs, Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Tester and Ranking Member Moran: We are writing to request your support to name the Atlanta Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Atlanta, Georgia, the Joseph Maxwell Cleland Atlanta Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
Senator Max Cleland was a veteran who fought for veterans and whose efforts indelibly changed how our nation cares for veterans today. He volunteered for service in Vietnam in 1967 and suffered severe combat injuries in 1968, eventually losing three of his limbs. He was awarded the Bronze Star and Silver Star. In 1977, Senator Cleland was appointed by fellow-Georgian President Jimmy Carter to be the youngest ever Administrator of the Veterans Administration (VA). Because of his efforts, the VA revamped its care of the invisible wounds of veterans, recognized, and began to treat post-traumatic stress disorder.
Senator Cleland was also a tireless champion of Georgia and Georgians. Born in Atlanta and raised in Lithonia, he served as a Georgia State Senator, Georgia Secretary of State, and eventually U.S. Senator from Georgia. As a member of the Armed Services Committee, he fought for Georgia's military installations while also focused on the personnel needs of the military. Senator Cleland played a critical role in the expansion of GI Bill education benefits.
On November 9, 2021, at the age of 79, Senator Cleland died, leaving behind a legacy of service, sacrifice, and joy. He served Georgia, the nation, and, in particular, veterans continuously during his 50 years of public service, improving their lives in countless ways. We believe renaming the Atlanta VA Medical Center for Senator Cleland is most appropriate for a man who spent his live serving those who walk its halls. We hope that the Senate Committee on Veteran Affairs will give our request immediate consideration. Sincerely,
Raphael Warnock, Jon Ossoff, Nikema Williams, Hank Johnson, Andrew S. Clyde, Lucy McBath, Austin Scott, David Scott, Barry Loudermilk, Carolyn Bourdeaux, Sanford D. Bishop Jr., A. Drew Ferguson IV, Earl L. ``Buddy'' Carter, Rick W. Allen, Majorie Taylor Greene, Jody Hice, Members of Congress.
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Mr. TAKANO. So, Mr. Speaker, this is a fitting tribute. I ask all of my colleagues to join me in passing S. 3369, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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