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 community- 
based outpatient clinic in Columbus, Georgia, as the 
‘‘Robert S. Poydasheff VA Clinic’’. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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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 Rela-
tions 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 
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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 com-
munity 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, Geor-
gia, in 2002, served a four-year term and main-
tained 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 contribu-
tions 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 know-
ing that doing so would be at his own political peril. 
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(11) After his service as Mayor of Columbus, 
Georgia, Robert S. Poydasheff found continued suc-
cess 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 Chat-
tahoochee Council Boy Scouts of America, past 
president of the Chattahoochee Valley Association of 
the United Sates Army, past president of the Colum-
bus 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 Colum-
bus Bar Association. 
SEC. 2. NAME OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS 
COMMUNITY-BASED OUTPATIENT CLINIC, CO-
LUMBUS, 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 des-
ignated as the ‘‘Robert S. Poydasheff VA Clinic’’. Any ref-
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erence to such clinic in any law, regulation, map, docu-
ment, record, or other paper of the United States shall 
be considered to be a reference to the Robert S. 
Poydasheff VA Clinic. 
Passed the House of Representatives September 20, 
2021. 
Attest: 
CHERYL L. JOHNSON, 
Clerk. 
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