Date: 2012-12-19
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

I thank the gentleman. I thank both gentlemen. I rise to offer H.R. 6443. a bill that will designate the Department of Veterans Affairs health clinic located at 9800 West Commercial Boulevard in the city of Sunrise. Florida. as the William "Bill" Kling VA Clinic. I offer this bill. along with the entire Florida House delegation. to honor a beloved member of our south Florida veterans community. William "Bill" Kling. who passed away. sadly. on August 6 at age 84. My deepest appreciation goes out to the Committee on Veterans Affairs and Chairman MILLER. who is a good friend from the great State of Florida. for supporting this effort and helping it to come to the floor. Bill was a member of our greatest generation of Americans. serving our Nation as a radar technician for the Navy during World War II. But Bills service to our Nation was far from over when he returned from war. In fact. it was just beginning. Bill Kling became a national leader and one of the strongest advocates for our Nations veterans. He was dedicated to helping generations of veterans as they returned to civilian life. He worked tirelessly to make sure our veterans were getting the benefits they deserved. from education under the GI Bill to quality health care through our VA system. Im sure my Florida colleagues will agree that Bill was a force to be reckoned with. ever brightening our congressional doorways. pushing the urgency of the issue at hand. I know we are all grateful for the remarkable legacy he leaves behind. and he will be sorely missed. In particular. my thoughts and prayers go out to Bills family. including his children. Marsha Mittentag and Steven Kling. I had the distinct pleasure. Mr. Speaker. of working with Bill for the last 23 years and have witnessed firsthand the many ways he helped thousands of veterans in Florida. Im also proud to have called him my friend. For the past 7 years. Bill served as the chair of my Military Academy Nominations Board. where he helped the next generation of military leaders realize their dream of serving the country they love. For 8 years he served on the Florida Commission on Veterans Affairs. and for the past 27 years. as youve heard. he was the president of the Broward County Veterans Council. He also led the Jewish War Veterans and was a member of the American Legion. Veterans of Foreign Wars. and the Disabled American Veterans. The list of superlatives for Bill is long and shows him as the great American that he was. Bill was inducted into the Broward Senior Hall of Fame. received the Humanitarian of the Year award from the Dolphin Democrats. and changed the scope of veterans services in south Florida. In particular. he helped bring the Alexander "Sandy" Nininger Veterans Nursing Home to Pembroke Pines in 2001 and worked with other veterans to create the South Florida National Cemetery in Palm Beach in 2007. One of Bills greatest accomplishments and lasting legacies was ensuring that veterans would have easy access to quality medical care. Bill noticed that too often veterans in Broward County had to travel too far to go to a VA facility to get the care they needed. With that in mind. he helped open the Oakland Park VA outpatient clinic more than two decades ago. When the building the clinic occupied began deteriorating. Bill worked to open a brand new facility. Even though this effort took years. Bill kept a smile on his face and kept working to overcome every obstacle because thats just how Bill Kling operated. So in 2008. a new 98.000squarefoot clinic opened in Sunrise. and fittingly on Bills birthday. I think its fair to say that without Bill Kling this wonderful center that serves thousands of our veterans each year might not exist. With that in mind. my good friend and colleague. Congressman TED DEUTCH. and I and the rest of the delegation offer this legislation today which will rename the Broward outpatient clinic as the William "Bill" Kling VA Clinic. This is such a fitting way to memorialize and thank Bill Kling. With passage of this bill. every veteran who walks through the doors of the Broward VA Clinic will know the name of the man who did so much for so many. Mr. Speaker. I urge my colleagues to support passage of this legislation so we may pay tribute to a great American. William "Bill" Kling.