Colonel Mary Louise Rasmuson Campus of the Alaska VA Healthcare System Act of 2022
PL 117-357 (S.5016), enacted 01/05/2023

[117th Congress Public Law 357]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



[[Page 136 STAT. 6283]]

Public Law 117-357
117th Congress

                                 An Act


 
 To designate the medical center of the Department of Veterans Affairs 
  located in Anchorage, Alaska, as the ``Colonel Mary Louise Rasmuson 
       Campus of the Alaska VA Healthcare System'', and for other 
             purposes. <<NOTE: Jan. 5, 2023 -  [S. 5016]>> 

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, <<NOTE: Colonel Mary 
Louise Rasmuson Campus of the Alaska VA Healthcare System Act of 
2022.>> 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Colonel Mary Louise Rasmuson Campus 
of the Alaska VA Healthcare System Act of 2022''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Mary Louise (Milligan) Rasmuson was born April 11, 1911, 
        in East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
            (2) Mary Louise received a Bachelor of Science degree from 
        the Carnegie Institute of Technology and a Master of Education 
        degree from the University of Pittsburgh.
            (3) Mary Louise was one of the first two women to receive an 
        Honorary Doctorate of Laws degree from the Carnegie Institute of 
        Technology.
            (4) In 1942, Mary Louise joined the Women's Army Auxiliary 
        Corps as a Private and was in the first graduating class.
            (5) Mary Louise worked up the ranks, and in 1957, President 
        Dwight Eisenhower appointed Mary Louise as the Fifth Director of 
        the Women's Army Corps and she was reappointed to this position 
        by President John F. Kennedy in 1961.
            (6) In 1962, Colonel Rasmuson retired from the Army.
            (7) Colonel Rasmuson was recognized for her outstanding 
        service in the Women's Army Corps with the Legion of Merit award 
        with two Oak Leaf Clusters for her work in expanding the roles 
        and duties of women in the Army, as well as her role in 
        integrating Black women in the Women's Army Corps.
            (8) Colonel Rasmuson became Director of the Women's Army 
        Corps during tumultuous times and is credited with enhancing the 
        image and recruitment of women into the Women's Army Corps 
        during her years as the Director.
            (9) Colonel Rasmuson expanded opportunities for women to 
        serve in assignments previously reserved only for men, starting 
        with the assignments of 12 enlisted women into the First Missile 
        Master Unit at Fort Meade, Maryland.
            (10) Colonel Rasmuson was instrumental in enabling women to 
        be promoted above the grade of E-7 into the highest enlisted 
        ranks of the Army, E-8 and E-9.

[[Page 136 STAT. 6284]]

            (11) During her time in the Women's Army Corps, Colonel 
        Rasmuson was the guiding force behind the Army opening up the 
        college enlistment option to women under the self-enhancement 
        programs and witnessed the first female enlisted member attend 
        college under those programs.
            (12) The career of Colonel Rasmuson also laid the groundwork 
        for women to be fully integrated into the United States Army 
        when the Women's Army Corps was disbanded in 1978.
            (13) In 1961, Mary Louise married a prominent leader in 
        Alaska, Elmer E. Rasmuson, and she was the first Director of the 
        Women's Army Corps to be married while serving in that position.
            (14) After her retirement from military service in 1962, 
        Mary Louise moved to Alaska where she continued her leadership 
        as a veteran in her community in Alaska.
            (15) Mary Louise served as First Lady of Anchorage after the 
        devastating magnitude 9.2 earthquake in 1964, after her husband, 
        Elmer, was elected as mayor, serving from 1964 to 1967.
            (16) Mary Louise was an advocate of social justice, 
        education, and the arts during her 45 years of work on the Board 
        of the Rasmuson Foundation.
            (17) Mary Louise served as the Honorary Chair and was a 
        major founder to renovate the Anchorage Veterans Memorial on the 
        Delaney Parkstrip in downtown Anchorage.
            (18) Mary Louise also contributed to the Army Women's 
        Museum, the National Museum of the American Indian, and the 
        National Museum of the United States Army.
            (19) Mary Louise was the Chair of the Anchorage Museum 
        Foundation and helped establish the museum in Anchorage, serving 
        as its Chair for 21 years.
            (20) On July 30, 2012, Mary Louise died at her home in 
        Anchorage, at the age of 101, but her legacy of character and 
        leadership will endure as an example to all who serve in the 
        United States military.
SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF COLONEL MARY LOUISE RASMUSON CAMPUS OF THE 
                    ALASKA VA HEALTHCARE SYSTEM.

    (a) Designation.--The medical center of the Department of Veterans 
Affairs in Anchorage, Alaska, shall, after the date of the enactment of 
this Act, be known and designated as the ``Colonel Mary Louise Rasmuson 
Campus of the Alaska VA Healthcare System''.

[[Page 136 STAT. 6285]]

    (b) Reference.--Any reference in any law, regulation, map, document, 
paper, or other record of the United States to the medical center 
referred to in subsection (a) shall be considered to be a reference to 
the Colonel Mary Louise Rasmuson Campus of the Alaska VA Healthcare 
System.

    Approved January 5, 2023.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--S. 5016:
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CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 168 (2022):
            Dec. 6, considered and passed Senate.
            Dec. 21, considered and passed House.

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