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[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3475 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.R.3475

                    One Hundred Seventeenth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America

                          AT THE FIRST SESSION

           Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday,
         the fourth day of January, two thousand and twenty-one

                                 An Act

 
 To name the Department of Veterans Affairs community-based outpatient 
 clinic in Columbus, Georgia, as the ``Robert S. Poydasheff VA Clinic''.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FINDINGS.
    Congress makes the following findings:
        (1) Former Columbus, Georgia, Mayor Robert S. Poydasheff died 
    on September 24, 2020.
        (2) He earned a B.A. in Political Science from the Citadel in 
    1954, a J.D. from Tulane University Law School in 1957, an M.A. in 
    International Relations from Boston University's Graduate Program 
    in Berlin, Germany, in 1967, and attended the Hague Academy of 
    International Law in the Netherlands in preparation for a military 
    and subsequent civilian career that focused on serving others.
        (3) In 1955, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the 
    Infantry Branch of the United States Army, and he was reassigned to 
    the Judge Advocate General's Corps.
        (4) He was a 1976 graduate of the United States Army War 
    College and served a total of 24 years, retiring as a Colonel in 
    1979.
        (5) He was decorated with the Legion of Merit with two Oak Leaf 
    Clusters, the Bronze Star Medal, and Vietnam Ribbon with Four 
    Battle Stars, and during his military career and because of his 
    expert legal acumen he was assigned to work on the biggest cases of 
    the time in which he served, but during this he never lost sight of 
    what he considered his primary role, which was to take care of 
    soldiers.
        (6) Robert S. Poydasheff was appointed as legal counsel to the 
    Secretary of the Army and served the needs of all soldiers by 
    helping to shape Army policy.
        (7) In 2012, the Army War College Foundation named Colonel 
    Poydasheff an Outstanding Alumnus in recognition of his wide-
    ranging service to his community after his retirement from active 
    duty.
        (8) Colonel Poydasheff served on the Columbus, Georgia City 
    Council from 1994 to 2002, helping all citizens of the community he 
    had come to love while concurrently serving Fort Benning and his 
    beloved soldiers.
        (9) He was elected Mayor of Columbus, Georgia, in 2002, served 
    a four-year term and maintained a focus on community-based programs 
    as well as strengthening the relationship between the city and Fort 
    Benning.
        (10) During that time he made great contributions to the joint 
    military and civilian communities of Columbus, Georgia, and Fort 
    Benning, appointing first a fellow soldier and later the first 
    African American to the City Manager position, while knowing that 
    doing so would be at his own political peril.
        (11) After his service as Mayor of Columbus, Georgia, Robert S. 
    Poydasheff found continued success as a practicing lawyer helping 
    countless citizens and soldiers living in the city he once led as 
    well as advocating for many soldiers in the area.
        (12) His continued interest in the betterment of the city as 
    well as his contributions to the Veterans Action Committee has a 
    continued impact to this day.
        (13) He served as past president of the Chattahoochee Council 
    Boy Scouts of America, past president of the Chattahoochee Valley 
    Association of the United Sates Army, past president of the 
    Columbus Symphony Orchestra, member of the Board of Directors of 
    the Springer Opera Arts Association, past president of the Ann 
    Elizabeth Shepherd Home, and member of the Kiwanis Club and 
    Columbus Bar Association.
SEC. 2. NAME OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMUNITY-BASED 
OUTPATIENT CLINIC, COLUMBUS, GEORGIA.
     The Department of Veterans Affairs community-based outpatient 
clinic in Columbus, Georgia, shall after the date of the enactment of 
this Act be known and designated as the ``Robert S. Poydasheff VA 
Clinic''. Any reference to such clinic in any law, regulation, map, 
document, record, or other paper of the United States shall be 
considered to be a reference to the Robert S. Poydasheff VA Clinic.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

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