I 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5561 
To award a Congressional Gold Medal to former United States Senator 
Max Cleland. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 22, 2016 
Mr. BISHOP of Georgia (for himself, Mr. GRAVES of Georgia, Mr. JOHNSON 
of Georgia, Mr. WOODALL, Mr. LOUDERMILK, Mr. LEWIS, Mr. CARTER 
of Georgia, and Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To award a Congressional Gold Medal to former United 
States Senator Max Cleland. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Max Cleland Congres-
sional Gold Medal Act of 2016’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Joseph Maxwell ‘‘Max’’ Cleland has dem-
onstrated the highest degree of professionalism and 
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has served as an inspiration to friends, family, vet-
erans, and many others while dedicating his life to 
the public service of the United States. 
(2) Max Cleland began his career in public serv-
ice when he joined the Reserve Officers’ Training 
Corps as a young college student, went on active 
duty in the United States Army (in this section re-
ferred to as the ‘‘Army’’) in 1965 as a Second Lieu-
tenant, and volunteered for service in Vietnam, ris-
ing to the rank of Captain. 
(3) The Army recognized Max Cleland with a 
Silver Star for his gallantry in action during the 
Battle of Khe Sanh in April of 1968. According to 
the letter of commendation from the Army, ‘‘The 
President of the United States of America, author-
ized by Act of Congress, July 8, 1918 (amended by 
Act of July 25, 1963), takes pleasure in presenting 
the Silver Star to Captain (Signal Corps) Joseph 
Maxwell Cleland, United States Army, for gallantry 
in action while engaged in military operations involv-
ing conflict with an armed hostile force in the Re-
public of Vietnam.’’. 
(4) Max Cleland, a Battalion Signal Officer dis-
patched to set up a radio relay antenna, was severely 
wounded on the battlefield and, as a result, lost both 
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of his legs and his right arm. Cleland would endure 
18 months of extremely difficult rehabilitation and 
recovery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and 
hospitals of the Department of Veterans Affairs (in 
this section referred to as ‘‘VA hospitals’’) in Wash-
ington, DC. In 1969, Cleland testified before the 
Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate on the 
hardships faced by veterans returning home from 
war. 
(5) Upon returning to Georgia, Max Cleland 
was determined to continue his public service and, in 
1970, at the age of 28, was elected as the youngest 
Georgia State senator and helped pass legislation to 
make public facilities accessible for veterans, older 
people, and individuals with disabilities. 
(6) Max Cleland later came to Washington, DC 
and joined the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Af-
fairs as a professional staff member, investigating 
VA hospitals across the country and the treatment 
of servicemembers returning from Vietnam. 
(7) In 1977, President Jimmy Carter named 
Max Cleland, then just 34 years old, the youngest 
ever individual and first Vietnam veteran to serve as 
Administrator of the Veterans Administration. As 
Administrator, Cleland helped create the ‘‘Vet Cen-
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ter’’ counseling program, which later expanded to 
300 facilities nationwide helping veterans and their 
families receive psychological care for post-traumatic 
stress disorders and other problems associated with 
warfare. 
(8) Following his term as Administrator of the 
Veterans Administration, Max Cleland returned to 
elective office in 1982 when he was elected as Sec-
retary of State of the State of Georgia. As Secretary 
of State, Cleland implemented the National Voter 
Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20501 et seq.) 
in Georgia and added almost 1,000,000 new voters 
to the rolls. 
(9) Max Cleland was elected to the United 
States Senate in 1996 and would go on to chair the 
Subcommittee on Personnel of the Committee on 
Armed Services of the Senate. In the Senate, 
Cleland was known for his work in expanding bene-
fits for servicemembers and in improving veterans’ 
health care, education, and the environment. 
(10) After his service in the Senate, Max 
Cleland continued his distinguished career in public 
service by becoming a commissioner on the National 
Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United 
States (commonly referred to as the ‘‘9/11 Commis-
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sion’’) and later as a member of the Board of Direc-
tors of the Export-Import Bank of the United 
States. 
(11) In 2009, President Barack Obama named 
Max Cleland Secretary of the American Battle 
Monuments Commission. As Secretary of the Com-
mission, Cleland is charged with commemorating 
both the permanent cemeteries of the United States 
located in foreign countries and the military memo-
rials, monuments, and markers demonstrating where 
members of the United States Armed Forces have 
served overseas since World War I. 
(12) In 2010, President Obama again called on 
Max Cleland to serve his country and Cleland again 
accepted. This time, Cleland agreed to serve as co- 
chair, and eventually the inaugural chair, of the Ad-
visory Committee on Arlington National Cemetery, 
which was established to help fix the problems facing 
the final resting place for many of the heroes of the 
United States. After his tenure as chair, Cleland was 
awarded the Decoration for Distinguished Civilian 
Service of the Army, the highest honorary award 
that the Secretary of the Army can confer on a civil-
ian. 
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