An Act To designate the regional office of the Department of Veterans Affairs in metropolitan Atlanta as the “Senator Johnny Isakson Department of Veterans Affairs Atlanta Regional Office”, and for other purposes.

Dec. 9, 2022

[S. 4359]

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

Senator Johnny Isakson VA Regional Office Act of 2022.

Georgia.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the “Senator Johnny Isakson VA Regional Office Act of 2022”.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS. Congress finds the following:(1) John Hardy Isakson, known as “Johnny”, was born December 28, 1944, in Atlanta, Georgia, to Julia Isakson and Edwin Andrew Isakson. (2) Johnny Isakson graduated from the University of Georgia in 1966 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration. (3) In 1966, Johnny Isakson enlisted in the Georgia Air National Guard, serving until 1972 and attaining the rank of Staff Sergeant. (4) Johnny Isakson gained success in private business, serving for 22 years as a real estate executive and growing his business into one of the largest of its kind in both Georgia and in the United States. (5) Johnny Isakson was elected to the Georgia General Assembly in 1976, serving in the State House of Representatives until 1990. (6) Johnny Isakson was elected to the Georgia State Senate in 1992, serving until 1996. (7) In 1996, Governor Zell Miller appointed Johnny Isakson to be Chairman of the Georgia State Board of Education. (8) Johnny Isakson was elected to represent the 6th District of Georgia in the United States House of Representatives in 1999, and served until 2005. (9) During his time in the House of Representatives, Johnny Isakson, as a member of the Committee on Education and Labor of the House of Representatives, worked to improve American education, and was a key advocate for the bipartisan education reforms that became the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Public Law 107–110). (10) Johnny Isakson was elected to the United States Senate in 2004, serving until December 31, 2019.136 STAT. 2304 (11) During his time in the Senate, Johnny Isakson was an exemplar of courtesy, dignity, and kindness, beloved and respected by colleagues regardless of party. (12) Johnny Isakson, during the 111th Congress, demonstrated a bipartisan yearning for peace, and crossed party lines to support the ratification of the 2010 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty between the United States and the Russian Federation, also known as New START. (13) During the 114th, 115th, and 116th Congresses, Johnny Isakson served as Chairman of the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate, a position with which he tirelessly championed reform to improve the benefits and quality of service for our nation’s military veterans. (14) During the 114th, 115th, and 116th Congresses, Johnny Isakson served as Chairman of the Select Committee on Ethics of the Senate. (15) The late Congressman John Lewis once described Johnny Isakson as “A man who has strong belief but also willing to work with others to get things done.”. (16) On December 19, 2021, Johnny Isakson passed away, but his legacy of character and goodwill will endure as an example to all who serve, or will serve, in the United States Senate.

SEC. 3. SENATOR JOHNNY ISAKSON DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS ATLANTA REGIONAL OFFICE.(a) Designation.—The Department of Veterans Affairs Atlanta Regional Office in Georgia shall, after the date of the enactment of this Act, be known and designated as the “Senator Johnny Isakson Department of Veterans Affairs Atlanta Regional Office” or the “Isakson VA Atlanta Regional Office”. (b) Reference.—Any reference in a law, regulation, map, document, paper, or other record of the United States to the Regional Office referred to in subsection (a) shall be deemed to be a reference to the Senator Johnny Isakson Department of Veterans Affairs Atlanta Regional Office.

Approved December 9, 2022.