[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 10]
[House]
[Pages 13528-13529]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     BRUCE W. CARTER DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS MEDICAL CENTER

  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 4918) to name the Department of Veterans Affairs medical 
center in Miami, Florida, as the ``Bruce W. Carter Department of 
Veterans Affairs Medical Center''.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 4918

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

     SECTION 1. NAME OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS MEDICAL 
                   CENTER, MIAMI, FLORIDA.

       The Department of Veterans Affairs medical center in Miami, 
     Florida, shall after the date of the enactment of this Act be 
     known and designated as the ``Bruce W. Carter Department of 
     Veterans Affairs Medical Center''. Any reference to such 
     medical center in any law, regulation, map, document, record, 
     or other paper of the United States shall be considered to be 
     a reference to the Bruce W. Carter Department of Veterans 
     Affairs Medical Center.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Filner) and the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Buyer) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.
  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to offer my support for the bill to 
name the VA Medical Center in Miami, Florida, after Bruce W. Carter.
  I have a biography, but I never knew Mr. Carter and I'm sure Ms. Ros-
Lehtinen knows him best or knows his record the best.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to offer my support of H.R. 4918, a bill to 
name the VA Medical Center in Miami, Florida, after Bruce W. Carter.
  For his actions during Operation Idaho Canyon in the Quang Tri 
Province of the Republic of Vietnam in 1969, PFC Bruce W. Carter was 
posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor in 1971. The citation reads, in 
part:

       Pfc. Carter and his fellow marines were pinned down by 
     vicious crossfire when, with complete disregard for his 
     safety, he stood in full view of the North Vietnamese Army 
     soldiers to deliver a devastating volume of fire at their 
     positions. The accuracy and aggressiveness of his attack 
     caused several enemy casualties and forced the remainder of 
     the soldiers to retreat from the immediate area. Shouting 
     directions to the marines around him, Pfc. Carter then 
     commenced leading them from the path of the rapidly 
     approaching brush fire when he observed a hostile grenade 
     land between him and his companions. Fully aware of the 
     probable consequences of his action but determined to protect 
     the men following him, he unhesitatingly threw himself over 
     the grenade, absorbing the full effects of its detonation 
     with his body. Pfc. Carter's indomitable courage, inspiring 
     initiative and selfless devotion to duty upheld the highest 
     traditions of the Marine Corps and the U.S. Naval Service. He 
     gallantly gave his life in the service of his country.

  H.R. 4918, which would designate the VA Medical Center in Miami, 
Florida, as the ``Bruce W. Carter Department of Veterans Affairs 
Medical Center'' honors the service and sacrifice of this Marine Corps 
hero.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to Dr. 
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida to speak on the bill.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. I thank the chairman and the ranking member.
  Mr. Speaker, I am so honored that we have this legislation before us. 
H.R. 4918 honors a brave soldier, a brave marine, who gave his life for 
our country. And this legislation to name the Department of Veterans 
Affairs Medical Center located in my hometown of Miami, Florida, as the 
``Bruce W. Carter Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center'' is a 
great honor not just to the family and to the legacy that Bruce left, 
but also it honors the selfless sacrifice of all of our members and all 
of our veterans.
  Bruce was born in New York, and he moved with his family to Texas, 
then Louisiana, and then they settled in South Florida. He attended 
Miami Springs Elementary School and then Miami Springs High School 
before enlisting in the U.S. Marine Corps in Jacksonville, Florida. He 
was promoted to Private First Class January 1, 1969, and deployed to 
Vietnam in April of that year, serving as a radio operator with Hotel 
Company, 2nd battalion, 3rd Marines, 3rd Marine Division.
  Sadly, his hopes, his dreams, his lifelong ambitions were brutally 
cut short

[[Page 13529]]

in Vietnam. On August 7, 1969, in combat north of the Vandegrift base 
in the Quang Tri province, Private First Class Carter threw himself on 
an enemy grenade, giving his life in service to our country so that his 
fellow Marines could survive.
  His sacrifice embodies the honor, the courage, and the commitment to 
freedom which is characteristic of both a hero and a United States 
Marine.
  On September 19, 1971, at a ceremony attended by his mother, 
Georgianna ``Georgie'' Carter-Krell and other family members, Private 
First Class Carter was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his 
unwavering patriotism and sacrifice. For his valor Private First Class 
Carter has also received the Purple Heart, the Combat Action Ribbon, 
the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal with one 
Bronze Star, and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal.
  However, the legacy of Private First Class Bruce Carter's commitment 
to our Nation endures. It endures in his mother, Georgie, who has 
carried on her son's legacy through her leadership in an organization 
known as the Gold Star Mothers organization. Today Georgie is serving 
her second term as national president of Gold Star Mothers, an 
organization committed to paying tribute to the men and women who have 
made the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of liberty.
  I am privileged to represent the 18th Congressional District of 
Florida, hometown to many servicemen and women who have bravely 
defended our interests every day. My husband, Dexter, served our 
country in Vietnam as a U.S. Army ranger and was severely wounded in 
combat. My stepson Doug and his wife are captains in the U.S. Marine 
Corps, having served our country in Iraq. And I am deeply and 
personally interested in all of the affairs related to veterans to make 
sure that we honor them with the benefits that they so richly have 
earned through their sacrifice. They have served our country proudly, 
and they deserve to be treated with great respect.
  Those who dedicated their lives to the service of others truly embody 
the heart and the spirit of all that is best in America. And that can 
truly be said of Private First Class Carter, of his dedication to 
freedom and of his fellow Marines, and it must never be lost in the 
dusty pages of our history book. Through the naming of this medical 
center, we will be remembering not just Bruce's sacrifice but the 
sacrifice and service of all of the brave men and women who proudly 
serve and wear our Nation's uniform.
  I thank the chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee for this 
opportunity, and I especially want to thank the ranking member, my good 
friend from Indiana, for this time.
  Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, I would ask all colleagues to support H.R. 
4918, a bill to name the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center 
in Miami, Florida, as the ``Bruce W. Carter Department of Veterans 
Affairs Medical Center.''
  I want to thank my colleague Dr. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Miami, 
Florida, for introducing the bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I also thank the gentlewoman from Florida 
for telling us so eloquently about Mr. Carter.


                             General Leave

  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
to include extraneous material on H.R. 4918.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. FILNER. I would urge my colleagues to support unanimously H.R. 
4918 and yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Filner) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 4918.
  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. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a 
quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not 
present.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.
  The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.

                          ____________________