[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 49 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 49

 To designate the outstation of the Department of Veterans Affairs in 
  North Ogden, Utah, as the Major Brent Taylor Vet Center Outstation.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 8, 2019

  Mr. Lee (for himself and Mr. Romney) introduced the following bill; 
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To designate the outstation of the Department of Veterans Affairs in 
  North Ogden, Utah, as the Major Brent Taylor Vet Center Outstation.

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

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Major Brent Taylor began his military service following 
        the attacks of September 11, 2001. He joined the Army National 
        Guard in 2003, three days after his engagement to his wife, 
        Jennie. Five of his brothers would eventually serve in the 
        Armed Forces following the deadly attacks.
            (2) During his time in the Army National Guard, Major 
        Taylor distinguished himself in service to the United States 
        and the State of Utah. He received a commission as a second 
        lieutenant from the Brigham Young University Reserve Officer 
        Training Corps in 2006, while graduating as a member of the 
        National Society of Collegiate Scholars.
            (3) During his impressive career with the Utah National 
        Guard, Major Taylor distinguished himself in multiple 
        specialties, including Intelligence and Military Police. One of 
        his earliest assignments included analyzing foreign language 
        documents in support of the Defense Intelligence Agency. He 
        also led document exploitation efforts in multiple European and 
        South American languages for a variety of intelligence 
        community customers. Major Taylor also managed a team that 
        assessed security vulnerabilities at high-profile facilities 
        across the United States, all while maintaining a successful 
        private sector career in Utah.
            (4) Major Taylor was continuously ready to take up a call 
        to arms from the United States and deployed four times in 
        support of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. His deployed 
        duties varied from Platoon Leader and Combat Advisor to Chief 
        of Staff to the Special Operations Advisory Group, responsible 
        for leading a joint task force advising and assisting an elite 
        Afghan special operations unit.
            (5) Throughout his deployments, Major Taylor distinguished 
        himself on several occasions, earning a multitude of awards 
        including the Bronze Star. The citation credits the ability of 
        Major Taylor to think calmly and decisively to keep his 
        subordinates safe while traversing 600,000 miles of roads in 
        Iraq, laden with improvised explosive devices (commonly 
        referred to as ``IED'') and ripe for ambush.
            (6) During one particularly harrowing mission, Major 
        Taylor's vehicle was struck by an IED. Although he survived the 
        attack, the wounds he received earned him the Purple Heart.
            (7) Major Taylor's amazing record of service was not 
        limited to the battlefield. In 2010, he served as a member of 
        the North Ogden City Council and, in 2013, Major Taylor was 
        elected mayor. His steadfast leadership led to the city being 
        recognized as ``Business Friendly'' by the Governor of Utah, 
        and as one of the safest, freest cities in the United States by 
        several organizations. His initiatives included improvements to 
        public works and infrastructure, attracting businesses to the 
        area, developing a local community center, and increasing 
        transparency. His action led his constituents to reelect Major 
        Taylor in 2017.
            (8) In 2018, Major Taylor placed himself on a leave of 
        absence from his mayoral duties in order to deploy to 
        Afghanistan, explaining to his constituents, ``Service is what 
        leadership is all about.''.
            (9) While serving in Afghanistan, a dear colleague, Afghani 
        Lieutenant Kefayatullah, was killed shortly before the Afghan 
        elections. Major Taylor wrote, ``The strong turnout at that 
        election, despite the attacks and challenges, was a success for 
        the long-suffering people of Afghanistan, and for the cause of 
        human freedom. I am proud of the brave Afghan and U.S. soldiers 
        I serve with. Many American, NATO and Afghan troops have died 
        to make moments like this election possible.''. He also 
        extolled the American public to embrace its civic duty, 
        stating, ``I hope everyone back home exercises their precious 
        right to vote. And that whether the Republicans or Democrats 
        win, that we all remember that we have far more as Americans 
        that unites us than divides us.''.
            (10) Tragically, on Saturday, November 3, 2018, Major 
        Taylor was killed in an attack in Afghanistan. He was survived 
        by his wife, Jennie, and his seven children, Megan, Lincoln, 
        Alex, Jacob, Ellie, Jonathan, and Caroline.
            (11) The impression that Major Taylor left was indelible. 
        An Afghan officer who had served with Major Taylor penned a 
        letter to his wife, stating, ``Your husband taught me to love 
        my wife Hamida as an equal and treat my children as treasured 
        gifts, to be a better father, to be a better husband, and to be 
        a better man.''. That officer further commented that, ``He died 
        on our soil but he died for the success of freedom and 
        democracy in both of our countries.''.
            (12) It is only well and fitting that, as a tribute to the 
        amazing life of Major Taylor, Congress name a facility in honor 
        of Major Taylor's shining example of service and sacrifice.

SEC. 2. DESIGNATION OF MAJOR BRENT TAYLOR VET CENTER OUTSTATION IN 
              NORTH OGDEN, UTAH.

    (a) Designation.--The outstation of the Department of Veterans 
Affairs located at 2357 North 400 East Washington Boulevard, North 
Ogden, Utah, shall after the date of the enactment of this Act be known 
and designated as the ``Major Brent Taylor Vet Center Outstation''.
    (b) Reference.--Any reference in any law, regulation, map, 
document, paper, or other record of the United States to the facility 
referred to in subsection (a) shall be considered to be a reference to 
the Major Brent Taylor Vet Center Outstation.
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