I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3475 

To name the Department of Veterans Affairs community-based outpatient 

clinic in Columbus, Georgia, as the ‘‘Robert S. Poydasheff VA Clinic’’. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 25, 2021 

Mr. BISHOP of Georgia (for himself, Mr. FERGUSON, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. 

CARTER of Georgia, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Mr. ALLEN, Mrs. 

MCBATH, Mr. LOUDERMILK, Ms. BOURDEAUX, Mr. CLYDE, Mr. HICE of 

Georgia, and Mrs. GREENE of Georgia) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

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, 

3 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress makes the following findings: 

5 (1) Former Columbus, Georgia, Mayor Robert 

6 S. Poydasheff died on September 24, 2020. 

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

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


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1 Law School in 1957, an M.A. in International Rela2 tions from Boston University’s Graduate Program in 

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

4 Academy of International Law in the Netherlands in 

5 preparation for a military and subsequent civilian 

6 career that focused on serving others. 

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

8 Lieutenant in the Infantry Branch of the United 

9 States Army, and he was reassigned to the Judge 

10 Advocate General’s Corps. 

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

12 States Army War College and served a total of 24 

13 years, retiring as a Colonel in 1979. 

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

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

16 and Vietnam Ribbon with Four Battle Stars, and 

17 during his military career and because of his expert 

18 legal acumen he was assigned to work on the biggest 

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

20 he never lost sight of what he considered his primary 

21 role, which was to take care of soldiers. 

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

23 counsel to the Secretary of the Army and served the 

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


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

2 named Colonel Poydasheff an Outstanding Alumnus 

3 in recognition of his wide-ranging service to his com4 munity after his retirement from active duty. 

5 (8) Colonel Poydasheff served on the Columbus, 

6 Georgia City Council from 1994 to 2002, helping all 

7 citizens of the community he had come to love while 

8 concurrently serving Fort Benning and his beloved 

9 soldiers. 

10 (9) He was elected Mayor of Columbus, Geor11 gia, in 2002, served a four-year term and main12 tained a focus on community-based programs as well 

13 as strengthening the relationship between the city 

14 and Fort Benning. 

15 (10) During that time he made great contribu16 tions to the joint military and civilian communities 

17 of Columbus, Georgia, and Fort Benning, appointing 

18 first a fellow soldier and later the first African 

19 American to the City Manager position, while know20 ing that doing so would be at his own political peril. 

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

22 Georgia, Robert S. Poydasheff found continued suc23 cess as a practicing lawyer helping countless citizens 

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

25 advocating for many soldiers in the area. 


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1 (12) His continued interest in the betterment of 

2 the city as well as his contributions to the Veterans 

3 Action Committee has a continued impact to this 

4 day. 

5 (13) He served as past president of the Chat6 tahoochee Council Boy Scouts of America, past 

7 president of the Chattahoochee Valley Association of 

8 the United Sates Army, past president of the Colum9 bus Symphony Orchestra, member of the Board of 

10 Directors of the Springer Opera Arts Association, 

11 past president of the Ann Elizabeth Shepherd 

12 Home, and member of the Kiwanis Club and Colum13 bus Bar Association. 

14 SEC. 2. NAME OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS 

15 COMMUNITY-BASED OUTPATIENT CLINIC, CO16 LUMBUS, GEORGIA. 

17 The Department of Veterans Affairs community18 based outpatient clinic in Columbus, Georgia, shall after 

19 the date of the enactment of this Act be known and des20 ignated as the ‘‘Robert S. Poydasheff VA Clinic’’. Any ref21 erence to such clinic in any law, regulation, map, docu22 ment, record, or other paper of the United States shall 

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

24 Poydasheff VA Clinic. 

Æ 


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