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[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3369 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        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.
        (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.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.
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