S. 3369 

One Hundred Seventeenth Congress 

of the 

United States of America 

AT THE SECOND SESSION 

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday, 

the third day of January, two thousand and twenty two 

An Act 

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’’. 

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. 
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(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, posttraumatic 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’’. 
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(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. 

Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.