S. 49 

One Hundred Sixteenth Congress 

of the 

United States of America 

AT THE FIRST SESSION 

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Thursday, 

the third day of January, two thousand and nineteen 

An Act 

To designate the outstation of the Department of Veterans Affairs in North Ogden, 

Utah, as the Major Brent Taylor Vet Center Outstation. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 

the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 

Congress finds the following: 

(1) Major Brent Taylor began his military service following 

the attacks of September 11, 2001. He joined the Army National 

Guard in 2003, three days after his engagement to his wife, 

Jennie. Five of his brothers would eventually serve in the 

Armed Forces following the deadly attacks. 

(2) During his time in the Army National Guard, Major 

Taylor distinguished himself in service to the United States 

and the State of Utah. He received a commission as a second 

lieutenant from the Brigham Young University Reserve Officer 

Training Corps in 2006, while graduating as a member of 

the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. 

(3) During his impressive career with the Utah National 

Guard, Major Taylor distinguished himself in multiple specialties, including Intelligence and Military Police. One of his earliest assignments included analyzing foreign language documents in support of the Defense Intelligence Agency. He also 

led document exploitation efforts in multiple European and 

South American languages for a variety of intelligence community customers. Major Taylor also managed a team that 

assessed security vulnerabilities at high-profile facilities across 

the United States, all while maintaining a successful private 

sector career in Utah. 

(4) Major Taylor was continuously ready to take up a 

call to arms from the United States and deployed four times 

in support of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. His deployed 

duties varied from Platoon Leader and Combat Advisor to Chief 

of Staff to the Special Operations Advisory Group, responsible 

for leading a joint task force advising and assisting an elite 

Afghan special operations unit. 

(5) Throughout his deployments, Major Taylor distinguished himself on several occasions, earning a multitude of 

awards including the Bronze Star. The citation credits the 

ability of Major Taylor to think calmly and decisively to keep 

his subordinates safe while traversing 600,000 miles of roads 

in Iraq, laden with improvised explosive devices (commonly 

referred to as ‘‘IED’’) and ripe for ambush. 
S. 49—2 

(6) During one particularly harrowing mission, Major Taylor’s vehicle was struck by an IED. Although he survived the 

attack, the wounds he received earned him the Purple Heart. 

(7) Major Taylor’s amazing record of service was not limited 

to the battlefield. In 2010, he served as a member of the 

North Ogden City Council and, in 2013, Major Taylor was 

elected mayor. His steadfast leadership led to the city being 

recognized as ‘‘Business Friendly’’ by the Governor of Utah, 

and as one of the safest, freest cities in the United States 

by several organizations. His initiatives included improvements 

to public works and infrastructure, attracting businesses to 

the area, developing a local community center, and increasing 

transparency. His action led his constituents to reelect Major 

Taylor in 2017. 

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

absence from his mayoral duties in order to deploy to Afghanistan, explaining to his constituents, ‘‘Service is what leadership 

is all about.’’. 

(9) While serving in Afghanistan, a dear colleague, Afghani 

Lieutenant Kefayatullah, was killed shortly before the Afghan 

elections. Major Taylor wrote, ‘‘The strong turnout at that 

election, despite the attacks and challenges, was a success 

for the long-suffering people of Afghanistan, and for the cause 

of human freedom. I am proud of the brave Afghan and U.S. 

soldiers I serve with. Many American, NATO and Afghan troops 

have died to make moments like this election possible.’’. He 

also extolled the American public to embrace its civic duty, 

stating, ‘‘I hope everyone back home exercises their precious 

right to vote. And that whether the Republicans or Democrats 

win, that we all remember that we have far more as Americans 

that unites us than divides us.’’. 

(10) Tragically, on Saturday, November 3, 2018, Major 

Taylor was killed in an attack in Afghanistan. He was survived 

by his wife, Jennie, and his seven children, Megan, Lincoln, 

Alex, Jacob, Ellie, Jonathan, and Caroline. 

(11) The impression that Major Taylor left was indelible. 

An Afghan officer who had served with Major Taylor penned 

a letter to his wife, stating, ‘‘Your husband taught me to love 

my wife Hamida as an equal and treat my children as treasured 

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

be a better man.’’. That officer further commented that, ‘‘He 

died on our soil but he died for the success of freedom and 

democracy in both of our countries.’’. 

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

amazing life of Major Taylor, Congress name a facility in honor 

of Major Taylor’s shining example of service and sacrifice. 

SEC. 2. DESIGNATION OF MAJOR BRENT TAYLOR VET CENTER 

OUTSTATION IN NORTH OGDEN, UTAH. 

(a) DESIGNATION.—The outstation of the Department of Veterans Affairs located at 2357 North 400 East Washington Boulevard, North Ogden, Utah, shall after the date of the enactment 

of this Act be known and designated as the ‘‘Major Brent Taylor 

Vet Center Outstation’’. 

(b) REFERENCE.—Any reference in any law, regulation, map, 

document, paper, or other record of the United States to the facility 
S. 49—3 

referred to in subsection (a) shall be considered to be a reference 

to the Major Brent Taylor Vet Center Outstation. 

Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.