To name the Department of Veterans Affairs community-based outpatient clinic in Columbus, Georgia, as the Robert S. Poydasheff VA Clinic.
Bill: H.R.3475 | Sponsor: Rep. Bishop, Sanford D., Jr. (D-GA)
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
This bill designates the community-based outpatient clinic of the Department of Veterans Affairs in Columbus, Georgia, as the Robert S. Poydasheff VA Clinic.

[117th Congress Public Law 56]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



[[Page 135 STAT. 425]]

Public Law 117-56
117th Congress

                                 An Act


 
 To name the Department of Veterans Affairs community-based outpatient 
     clinic in Columbus, Georgia, as the ``Robert S. Poydasheff VA 
            Clinic''. <<NOTE: Nov. 12, 2021 -  [H.R. 3475]>> 

    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.

[[Page 135 STAT. 426]]

            (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. <<NOTE: Effective date.>>  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.

    Approved November 12, 2021.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--H.R. 3475:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 167 (2021):
            Sept. 20, considered and passed House.
            Oct. 28, considered and passed Senate.

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