IC 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 49 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 6, 2019 

Referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

AN ACT 

To designate the outstation of the Department of Veterans 

Affairs in North Ogden, Utah, as the Major Brent Taylor Vet Center Outstation. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
2 

S 49 RFH

1 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) Major Brent Taylor began his military serv4 ice following the attacks of September 11, 2001. He 

5 joined the Army National Guard in 2003, three days 

6 after his engagement to his wife, Jennie. Five of his 

7 brothers would eventually serve in the Armed Forces 

8 following the deadly attacks. 

9 (2) During his time in the Army National 

10 Guard, Major Taylor distinguished himself in service 

11 to the United States and the State of Utah. He re12 ceived a commission as a second lieutenant from the 

13 Brigham Young University Reserve Officer Training 

14 Corps in 2006, while graduating as a member of the 

15 National Society of Collegiate Scholars. 

16 (3) During his impressive career with the Utah 

17 National Guard, Major Taylor distinguished himself 

18 in multiple specialties, including Intelligence and 

19 Military Police. One of his earliest assignments in20 cluded analyzing foreign language documents in sup21 port of the Defense Intelligence Agency. He also led 

22 document exploitation efforts in multiple European 

23 and South American languages for a variety of intel24 ligence community customers. Major Taylor also 

25 managed a team that assessed security vulnerabili26 ties at high-profile facilities across the United 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
3 

S 49 RFH

1 States, all while maintaining a successful private 

2 sector career in Utah. 

3 (4) Major Taylor was continuously ready to 

4 take up a call to arms from the United States and 

5 deployed four times in support of operations in Iraq 

6 and Afghanistan. His deployed duties varied from 

7 Platoon Leader and Combat Advisor to Chief of 

8 Staff to the Special Operations Advisory Group, re9 sponsible for leading a joint task force advising and 

10 assisting an elite Afghan special operations unit. 

11 (5) Throughout his deployments, Major Taylor 

12 distinguished himself on several occasions, earning a 

13 multitude of awards including the Bronze Star. The 

14 citation credits the ability of Major Taylor to think 

15 calmly and decisively to keep his subordinates safe 

16 while traversing 600,000 miles of roads in Iraq, 

17 laden with improvised explosive devices (commonly 

18 referred to as ‘‘IED’’) and ripe for ambush. 

19 (6) During one particularly harrowing mission, 

20 Major Taylor’s vehicle was struck by an IED. Al21 though he survived the attack, the wounds he re22 ceived earned him the Purple Heart. 

23 (7) Major Taylor’s amazing record of service 

24 was not limited to the battlefield. In 2010, he served 

25 as a member of the North Ogden City Council and, 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
4 

S 49 RFH

1 in 2013, Major Taylor was elected mayor. His stead2 fast leadership led to the city being recognized as 

3 ‘‘Business Friendly’’ by the Governor of Utah, and 

4 as one of the safest, freest cities in the United 

5 States by several organizations. His initiatives in6 cluded improvements to public works and infrastruc7 ture, attracting businesses to the area, developing a 

8 local community center, and increasing trans9 parency. His action led his constituents to reelect 

10 Major Taylor in 2017. 

11 (8) In 2018, Major Taylor placed himself on a 

12 leave of absence from his mayoral duties in order to 

13 deploy to Afghanistan, explaining to his constituents, 

14 ‘‘Service is what leadership is all about.’’. 

15 (9) While serving in Afghanistan, a dear col16 league, Afghani Lieutenant Kefayatullah, was killed 

17 shortly before the Afghan elections. Major Taylor 

18 wrote, ‘‘The strong turnout at that election, despite 

19 the attacks and challenges, was a success for the 

20 long-suffering people of Afghanistan, and for the 

21 cause of human freedom. I am proud of the brave 

22 Afghan and U.S. soldiers I serve with. Many Amer23 ican, NATO and Afghan troops have died to make 

24 moments like this election possible.’’. He also 

25 extolled the American public to embrace its civic 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
5 

S 49 RFH

1 duty, stating, ‘‘I hope everyone back home exercises 

2 their precious right to vote. And that whether the 

3 Republicans or Democrats win, that we all remem4 ber that we have far more as Americans that unites 

5 us than divides us.’’. 

6 (10) Tragically, on Saturday, November 3, 

7 2018, Major Taylor was killed in an attack in Af8 ghanistan. He was survived by his wife, Jennie, and 

9 his seven children, Megan, Lincoln, Alex, Jacob, 

10 Ellie, Jonathan, and Caroline. 

11 (11) The impression that Major Taylor left was 

12 indelible. An Afghan officer who had served with 

13 Major Taylor penned a letter to his wife, stating, 

14 ‘‘Your husband taught me to love my wife Hamida 

15 as an equal and treat my children as treasured gifts, 

16 to be a better father, to be a better husband, and 

17 to be a better man.’’. That officer further com18 mented that, ‘‘He died on our soil but he died for 

19 the success of freedom and democracy in both of our 

20 countries.’’. 

21 (12) It is only well and fitting that, as a tribute 

22 to the amazing life of Major Taylor, Congress name 

23 a facility in honor of Major Taylor’s shining example 

24 of service and sacrifice. 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
6 

S 49 RFH

1 SEC. 2. DESIGNATION OF MAJOR BRENT TAYLOR VET CEN2 TER OUTSTATION IN NORTH OGDEN, UTAH. 

3 (a) DESIGNATION.—The outstation of the Depart4 ment of Veterans Affairs located at 2357 North 400 East 

5 Washington Boulevard, North Ogden, Utah, shall after 

6 the date of the enactment of this Act be known and des7 ignated as the ‘‘Major Brent Taylor Vet Center 

8 Outstation’’. 

9 (b) REFERENCE.—Any reference in any law, regula10 tion, map, document, paper, or other record of the United 

11 States to the facility referred to in subsection (a) shall 

12 be considered to be a reference to the Major Brent Taylor 

13 Vet Center Outstation. 

Passed the Senate February 5, 2019. 

Attest: JULIE E. ADAMS, 

Secretary. 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS