IIB 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3475 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 21, 2021 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

AN ACT 

To name the Department of Veterans Affairs communitybased outpatient clinic in Columbus, Georgia, as the 

‘‘Robert S. Poydasheff VA Clinic’’. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress makes the following findings: 

3 (1) Former Columbus, Georgia, Mayor Robert 

4 S. Poydasheff died on September 24, 2020. 

5 (2) He earned a B.A. in Political Science from 

6 the Citadel in 1954, a J.D. from Tulane University 

7 Law School in 1957, an M.A. in International Rela8 tions from Boston University’s Graduate Program in 

9 Berlin, Germany, in 1967, and attended the Hague 

10 Academy of International Law in the Netherlands in 

11 preparation for a military and subsequent civilian 

12 career that focused on serving others. 

13 (3) In 1955, he was commissioned as a Second 

14 Lieutenant in the Infantry Branch of the United 

15 States Army, and he was reassigned to the Judge 

16 Advocate General’s Corps. 

17 (4) He was a 1976 graduate of the United 

18 States Army War College and served a total of 24 

19 years, retiring as a Colonel in 1979. 

20 (5) He was decorated with the Legion of Merit 

21 with two Oak Leaf Clusters, the Bronze Star Medal, 

22 and Vietnam Ribbon with Four Battle Stars, and 

23 during his military career and because of his expert 

24 legal acumen he was assigned to work on the biggest 

25 cases of the time in which he served, but during this 


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1 he never lost sight of what he considered his primary 

2 role, which was to take care of soldiers. 

3 (6) Robert S. Poydasheff was appointed as legal 

4 counsel to the Secretary of the Army and served the 

5 needs of all soldiers by helping to shape Army policy. 

6 (7) In 2012, the Army War College Foundation 

7 named Colonel Poydasheff an Outstanding Alumnus 

8 in recognition of his wide-ranging service to his com9 munity after his retirement from active duty. 

10 (8) Colonel Poydasheff served on the Columbus, 

11 Georgia City Council from 1994 to 2002, helping all 

12 citizens of the community he had come to love while 

13 concurrently serving Fort Benning and his beloved 

14 soldiers. 

15 (9) He was elected Mayor of Columbus, Geor16 gia, in 2002, served a four-year term and main17 tained a focus on community-based programs as well 

18 as strengthening the relationship between the city 

19 and Fort Benning. 

20 (10) During that time he made great contribu21 tions to the joint military and civilian communities 

22 of Columbus, Georgia, and Fort Benning, appointing 

23 first a fellow soldier and later the first African 

24 American to the City Manager position, while know25 ing that doing so would be at his own political peril. 


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1 (11) After his service as Mayor of Columbus, 

2 Georgia, Robert S. Poydasheff found continued suc3 cess as a practicing lawyer helping countless citizens 

4 and soldiers living in the city he once led as well as 

5 advocating for many soldiers in the area. 

6 (12) His continued interest in the betterment of 

7 the city as well as his contributions to the Veterans 

8 Action Committee has a continued impact to this 

9 day. 

10 (13) He served as past president of the Chat11 tahoochee Council Boy Scouts of America, past 

12 president of the Chattahoochee Valley Association of 

13 the United Sates Army, past president of the Colum14 bus Symphony Orchestra, member of the Board of 

15 Directors of the Springer Opera Arts Association, 

16 past president of the Ann Elizabeth Shepherd 

17 Home, and member of the Kiwanis Club and Colum18 bus Bar Association. 

19 SEC. 2. NAME OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS 

20 COMMUNITY-BASED OUTPATIENT CLINIC, CO21 LUMBUS, GEORGIA. 

22 The Department of Veterans Affairs community23 based outpatient clinic in Columbus, Georgia, shall after 

24 the date of the enactment of this Act be known and des25 ignated as the ‘‘Robert S. Poydasheff VA Clinic’’. Any refVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:48 Sep 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3475.RFS H3475

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1 erence to such clinic in any law, regulation, map, docu2 ment, record, or other paper of the United States shall 

3 be considered to be a reference to the Robert S. 

4 Poydasheff VA Clinic. 

Passed the House of Representatives September 20, 

2021. 

Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, 

Clerk. 


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