Max Cleland VA Medical Center Act
PL 117-226 (S.3369), enacted 12/09/2022

[117th Congress Public Law 226]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



[[Page 2299]]

                    MAX CLELAND VA MEDICAL CENTER ACT

[[Page 136 STAT. 2300]]

Public Law 117-226
117th Congress

                                 An Act


 
To designate the medical center of the Department of Veterans Affairs in 
 metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia, as the ``Joseph Maxwell Cleland Atlanta 
    Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center''. <<NOTE: Dec. 9, 
                          2022 -  [S. 3369]>> 

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, <<NOTE: Max Cleland VA 
Medical Center Act.>> 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Max Cleland VA Medical Center Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Joseph Maxwell Cleland was born August 24, 1942, in 
        Atlanta, Georgia, the child of Juanita Kesler Cleland and Joseph 
        Hughie Cleland, a World War II veteran, and grew up in Lithonia, 
        Georgia.
            (2) Joseph Maxwell Cleland graduated from Stetson University 
        in Florida in 1964, and received his Master's Degree in history 
        from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.
            (3) Following his graduation from Stetson University, Joseph 
        Maxwell Cleland received a Second Lieutenant's Commission in the 
        Army through its Reserve Officers' Training Corps program.
            (4) Joseph Maxwell Cleland volunteered for duty in the 
        Vietnam War in 1967, serving with the 1st Cavalry Division.
            (5) On April 8, 1968, during combat at the mountain base at 
        Khe Sanh, Joseph Maxwell Cleland was gravely injured by the 
        blast of a grenade, eventually losing both his legs and right 
        arm.
            (6) Joseph Maxwell Cleland was awarded the Bronze Star for 
        meritorious service and the Silver Star for gallantry in action.
            (7) In 1970, Joseph Maxwell Cleland was elected to the 
        Georgia Senate as the youngest member and the only Vietnam 
        veteran, where he served until 1975.
            (8) As a Georgia State Senator, Joseph Maxwell Cleland 
        authored and advanced legislation to ensure access to public 
        facilities in Georgia for elderly and handicapped individuals.
            (9) In 1976, Joseph Maxwell Cleland began serving as a 
        staffer on the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the United 
        States Senate.
            (10) In 1977, Joseph Maxwell Cleland was appointed by 
        President Jimmy Carter to lead the Veterans Administration.

[[Page 136 STAT. 2301]]

            (11) He was the youngest Administrator of the Veterans 
        Administration ever and the first Vietnam veteran to head the 
        agency.
            (12) He served as a champion for veterans and led the 
        Veterans Administration to recognize, and begin to treat, post-
        traumatic stress disorder in veterans suffering the invisible 
        wounds of war.
            (13) Joseph Maxwell Cleland was elected in 1982 as Secretary 
        of State of Georgia, the youngest individual to hold the office, 
        and served in that position for 14 years.
            (14) In 1996, Joseph Maxwell Cleland was elected to the 
        United States Senate representing Georgia.
            (15) As a member of the Committee on Armed Services, Joseph 
        Maxwell Cleland advocated for Georgia's military bases, members 
        of the Armed Forces, and veterans, including by championing key 
        personnel issues, playing a critical role in the effort to allow 
        members of the Armed Forces to pass their GI Bill education 
        benefits to their children, and establishing a new veterans 
        cemetery in Canton, Georgia.
            (16) In 2002, Joseph Maxwell Cleland was appointed to the 9/
        11 Commission.
            (17) In 2003, Joseph Maxwell Cleland was appointed by 
        President George W. Bush to the Board of Directors for the 
        Export-Import Bank of the United States, where he served until 
        2007.
            (18) In 2009, Joseph Maxwell Cleland was appointed by 
        President Barack Obama as Secretary of the American Battle 
        Monuments Commission overseeing United States military 
        cemeteries and monuments overseas, where he served until 2017.
            (19) In 2010, Joseph Maxwell Cleland was appointed Chairman 
        of the Advisory Committee on Arlington National Cemetery, where 
        he served until 2017.
            (20) Joseph Maxwell Cleland authored three books: Strong at 
        the Broken Places, Going for the Max: 12 Principles for Living 
        Life to the Fullest, and Heart of a Patriot.
            (21) Joseph Maxwell Cleland received numerous honors and 
        awards over the course of his long and distinguished career.
            (22) Joseph Maxwell Cleland was a patriot, veteran, and 
        lifelong civil servant who proudly served Georgia, the United 
        States, and all veterans and members of the Armed Forces of the 
        United States.
            (23) On November 9, 2021, at the age of 79, Joseph Maxwell 
        Cleland died, leaving behind a legacy of service, sacrifice, and 
        joy.
SEC. 3. JOSEPH MAXWELL CLELAND ATLANTA DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 
                    AFFAIRS MEDICAL CENTER.

    (a) Designation.--The medical center of the Department of Veterans 
Affairs in metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia, shall after the date of the 
enactment of this Act be known and designated as the ``Joseph Maxwell 
Cleland Atlanta Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center'' or the 
``Joseph Maxwell Cleland Atlanta VA Medical Center''.

[[Page 136 STAT. 2302]]

    (b) Reference.--Any reference in a law, regulation, map, document, 
paper, or other record of the United States to the medical center 
referred to in subsection (a) shall be deemed to be a reference to the 
Joseph Maxwell Cleland Atlanta Department of Veterans Affairs Medical 
Center.

    Approved December 9, 2022.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--S. 3369:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 168 (2022):
            July 28, considered and passed Senate.
            Nov. 14, 17, considered and passed House.

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