[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1341 Introduced in Senate (IS)]






108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1341

 To name the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Houston, 
   Texas, as the ``Michael E. DeBakey Department of Veterans Affairs 
                           Medical Center''.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 26, 2003

 Mrs. Hutchison (for herself and Mr. Cornyn) introduced the following 
 bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To name the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Houston, 
   Texas, as the ``Michael E. DeBakey Department of Veterans Affairs 
                           Medical Center''.

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

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

     Congress finds as follows:
            (1) Dr. Michael E. DeBakey played a critical role in 
        establishing and developing the Department of Veterans Affairs 
        Medical Center in Houston, Texas. He has successfully elevated 
        its professional staff and quality healthcare to meet high 
        standards of excellence and encouraged minorities to fulfill 
        their potential in education, and particularly in the health 
        professions.
            (2) Dr. DeBakey's dedication to the Department of Veterans 
        Affairs Medical Center is ongoing. He is still chairman of the 
        Dean's Committee of that medical center, as he has been since 
        the beginning of that institution.
            (3) Dr. DeBakey brought both the City of Houston and the 
        State of Texas international recognition for the Texas Medical 
        Center through his pioneering of medical research, his 
        leadership at Baylor College of Medicine, his national and 
        international medical statesmanship, and his championing of the 
        rights and the welfare of the underprivileged.
            (4) Dr. DeBakey is credited with the development of the 
        Mobile Army Surgical Hospitals (MASH) concepts for the 
        military, which led to saving thousands of lives during the 
        Korean and Vietnam conflicts, as well as the development of 
        specialized medical and surgical center systems in order to 
        treat returning military personnel.
            (5) During World War II, Dr. DeBakey served as a colonel in 
        the United States Army and was assigned to the Surgical 
        Consultant Division in the office of the Surgeon General. His 
        active duty service was from 1942 to 1946. He remained on 
        active duty in 1946 and recruited 100 additional specialists to 
        care for World War II wounded military personnel in Army 
        specialty centers.
            (6) For his service in the Armed Forces, Dr. DeBakey 
        received the Legion of Merit.

SEC. 2. NAME OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS MEDICAL CENTER, HOUSTON, 
              TEXAS.

    (a) Name.--The Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in 
Houston, Texas, shall after the date of the enactment of this Act be 
known and designated as the ``Michael E. DeBakey Department of Veterans 
Affairs Medical Center''.
    (b) References.--Any reference in any law, regulation, map, 
document, record, or other paper of the United States to the medical 
center referred to in subsection (a) shall be considered to be a 
reference to the Michael E. DeBakey Department of Veterans Affairs 
Medical Center.
                                 <all>