[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 164 (Monday, November 18, 2013)]
[House]
[Pages H7165-H7167]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
GENERAL WILLIAM H. GOURLEY FEDERAL OUTPATIENT CLINIC: A JOINT VA-DOD
HEALTH CARE FACILITY
Mr. WENSTRUP. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 272) to designate the Department of Veterans Affairs and
Department of Defense joint outpatient clinic to be constructed in
Marina, California, as the ``General William H. Gourley Federal
Outpatient Clinic: A Joint VA-DOD Health Care Facility'', as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 272
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. NAME OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS AND
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE JOINT OUTPATIENT CLINIC,
MARINA, CALIFORNIA.
(a) Designation.--The Department of Veterans Affairs and
Department of Defense joint outpatient clinic to be
constructed at
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the intersection of the proposed Ninth Street and the
proposed First Avenue in Marina, California, shall be known
and designated as the ``Major General William H. Gourley VA-
DOD Outpatient Clinic''.
(b) References.--Any reference in a law, regulation, map,
document, record, or other paper of the United States to the
Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense
joint outpatient clinic referred to in subsection (a) shall
be deemed to be a reference to the ``Major General William H.
Gourley VA-DOD Outpatient Clinic''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Ohio (Mr. Wenstrup) and the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Davis)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Ohio.
General Leave
Mr. WENSTRUP. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks
and insert extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Ohio?
There was no objection.
Mr. WENSTRUP. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 272, which designates
the Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense joint
outpatient clinic to be constructed in Marina, California, as the
General William H. Gourley VA-DOD Outpatient Clinic.
I want to commend Representative Sam Farr of California for
sponsoring this legislation.
{time} 1745
Mr. Speaker, the late Major General William H. Gourley gave this
Nation 36 years of committed and distinguished service in the United
States Army. That service took him to far off places such as Vietnam,
Korea, Turkey, and Germany, where he had an immediate and positive
impact on the soldiers and officers with whom he served.
When General Gourley's service to the Nation was done, he returned to
his beloved Monterey, California, to retire. He became actively
involved in the Monterey community, helping to oversee the
restructuring of Fort Ord for civilian reuse following the Base
Realignment and Closure decision to shut down that Army post.
Mr. Speaker, General Gourley was also instrumental in paving the way
for the joint VA-DOD outpatient clinic to be constructed in Marina,
California, which is why it is fitting that that clinic, which when
completed will serve our Active Duty and retired military, their
families and veterans, be named the General William H. Gourley VA-DOD
Outpatient Clinic.
General Gourley dedicated his life to serving the military. The VA-
DOD clinic will stand as a reminder of his service to all those who
will benefit from the health care provided by the clinic in the future.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support this bill, and I reserve
the balance of my time.
Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Major General William Gourley was truly a soldier's soldier. His long
and storied career can be summed up by the motto he took with him
across the Army to every unit he commanded: ``Soldiers first.'' He
insisted that support of the military must focus on the needs of
soldiers, and this mantra soon became the standard across the entire
Army personnel community.
After more than 30 years in uniform, General Gourley continued
fighting for the well-being of soldiers and their families. His bigger-
than-life persona and caring nature endeared him to Active Duty
soldiers and veterans alike, and he could often be seen at the former
Fort Ord--at the commissary or at the PX--inquiring as to how
servicemembers were and as to how he could help them. He was a fixture
at the local VA clinic, but dreamed of a larger facility that could
seamlessly integrate care over the life of a soldier.
It was this desire, coupled with his penchant for helping others,
which led him to play an instrumental role in the planning and
development of the soon-to-be joint VA-DOD hospital. It would only be
fitting to see this new and innovative facility named after a true
American hero.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. WENSTRUP. Mr. Speaker, at this time, I have no further requests
for time. I am prepared to close after my colleague has yielded back
her time.
I continue to reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may
consume to my colleague from California (Mr. Farr), the sponsor of this
legislation.
Mr. FARR. Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you, Congresswoman Davis,
for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of, obviously, the legislation I have
authored, but I really appreciate the statements that have been made
here about General Gourley. He was a very special human being--tall-
statured, an incredible soldier, and a retiree who kind of brought
together the retiree community of the military along the entire
Monterey Peninsula.
We still have nine military missions, including the Naval
Postgraduate School, the Defense Language Institute, at which all the
languages of the world are taught, the Manpower Development Center,
Fort Hunter Liggett, Camp Roberts, and so on. So we have a lot of
military there.
He recognized that not only did the Active Duty soldiers--men and
women in uniform who have a clinic at the Defense Language Institute--
have to live off of TRICARE but, really, so did their spouses and
children. A lot of the doctors in the community wouldn't accept TRICARE
because the reimbursement rates were so low. So here were underserved
populations. There was a widow population of military retirees, who,
after the base closed and the hospital closed and where there was space
available, they weren't really familiar with how to use TRICARE or how
to find TRICARE doctors. There was the Active Duty military, and then
there was this incredible veterans community. So, for the first time in
the history of this country, we got the Department of Veterans Affairs
and the Department of Defense together, and we decided that they ought
to plan a clinic.
General Gourley was so instrumental in getting that sort of one-stop,
proud-to-serve opportunity to be in the design of a building and in the
operation of a building, and it was no small task because all of these
agencies want to be joined. I always remind people that you can't be a
veteran without having walked through the Department of Defense first.
In the old days, when you left the Department of Defense, then you had
to find your way. You had to find your papers and get them all
transferred and do all of this heavy lifting, and there was always
bureaucracy and a loss of papers and a loss of stuff. So this one-stop
system, which we all think is much more cost-effective and a proud way
to say ``thank you'' to those who serve, is really going to be
implemented in this brand new clinic on which we just broke ground on
Veterans Day, a week ago.
From my seat on the Military Construction Appropriations
Subcommittee, I have learned that we really need to find this unity.
When we had found it, it had always been advocated by General Gourley.
Unfortunately, he passed away a couple of years ago, but just before he
passed away, I was able to do an oral interview with him to archive in
the Library of Congress because Congress has developed this oral
history archive. I would urge all of my colleagues in Congress to take
part in doing these interviews with veterans and to archive their
experiences.
General Gourley served in many, many places in this country. He was
always a leader and was outspoken. He was critical of things that
needed to be criticized. When he was head of the War College in
Carlisle, Pennsylvania, he insisted that soldiers couldn't go to class
unless they brought their wives, so that those spouses would come to
understand that the Army mindset, in the form of a greater bond within
the family, is a shared duty and a shared sacrifice. In that sense of
unity, he always used to say, ``Leave a better Army.'' Leave it better
than you found it.
I think he left this world a lot better than he found it. One way the
community would like to pay tribute to him for his using his retirement
to continue to bring this collaboration and this ``thinking outside the
box'' together is to name this new clinic after him. He
[[Page H7167]]
would be so proud. I was at his burial at Arlington National Cemetery
in 2008. In honor of his lifetime of service to our country, to our
troops, to our veterans, I am really proud to have introduced this
bill, which is to name the clinic after this American hero. I am proud
to have been his friend, and I ask your support in passing the bill.
Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, we have no further requests
for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. WENSTRUP. Mr. Speaker, health care is a morale staple of our
military, both in Active Duty and when we become veterans, whether it
is in theatre or at home, as those who have served or who are serving
know that, on the health care side, we have their backs. General
Gourley understood that.
I urge all to vote in favor of this bill in order to give him the
recognition that is due.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Wenstrup) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, H.R. 272, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. WENSTRUP. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.
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