[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 19]
[House]
[Pages 26415-26417]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     MAX J. BEILKE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS OUTPATIENT CLINIC

  Mr. WALZ. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 3157) to name the Department of Veterans Affairs outpatient 
clinic in Alexandria, Minnesota, as the ``Max J. Beilke Department of 
Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic''.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 3157

       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 OUTPATIENT 
                   CLINIC, ALEXANDRIA, MINNESOTA.

       The Department of Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic in 
     Alexandria, Minnesota, expected to open in September 2009, 
     shall after the date of the enactment of this Act be known 
     and designated as the ``Max J. Beilke Department of Veterans 
     Affairs Outpatient Clinic''. Any reference to such outpatient 
     clinic in any law, regulation, map, document, record, or 
     other paper of the United States shall be considered to be a 
     reference to the Max J. Beilke Department of Veterans Affairs 
     Outpatient Clinic.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Minnesota (Mr. Walz) and the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Boozman) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Minnesota.
  Mr. WALZ. I yield myself as much time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to offer my support of H.R. 3157, a bill to 
name a VA outpatient clinic in Alexandria, Minnesota, in memory of 
Master Sergeant Max J. Beilke.
  Master Sergeant Beilke served in the United States Army for 22 years, 
and he retired from service in 1974. On September 11, 2001, Max Beilke 
was at the Pentagon. Mr. Beilke was killed in the terrorist attack on 
the Pentagon on that day. After a lifetime of military service, 
Sergeant Beilke was laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery. He was 
awarded the Defense of Freedom Medal and the Meritorious Civilian 
Service Award.

[[Page 26416]]

  While in the Army, Mr. Beilke played a vital role in evacuating U.S. 
troops from Saigon and is officially listed as the last U.S. combat 
soldier to leave Vietnam on March 29, 1973, at the end of the Vietnam 
War.
  Max Beilke served overseas in Germany, Korea and Vietnam and was an 
ROTC instructor at St. Thomas Military Academy in St. Paul, Minnesota. 
While in the service, Sergeant Beilke earned a bachelor of arts degree 
in business administration by attending night school at the University 
of Maryland. He later earned a master's of arts degree in personnel 
management in 1977 from Central Michigan University.
  Sergeant Beilke retired from active duty in 1974, but remained 
dedicated to the service of our soldiers, to the veterans and to their 
families. The driving force of Mr. Beilke's life was caring for 
soldiers and their needs. He was instrumental in getting Congress to 
pass the TRICARE for Life program for military retirees. For this, he 
was named a TRICARE hero. From 1984 until September 11, 2001, Mr. 
Beilke served as deputy chief of the Army Retirement Services, and was 
an active member of the Army Chief of Staff Retiree Council.
  Master Sergeant Max Beilke left behind his wife, two daughters, and 
three grandsons. Master Sergeant Beilke was a true friend to thousands 
of Army retirees and was of one of Alexandria, Minnesota's and this 
country's most distinguished heroes.
  In recognition of his commendable service to our soldiers and 
veterans alike, H.R. 3157 is supported by State and local dignitaries 
from the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, the United 
Veterans Legislative Council of Minnesota, and the Department of the 
Army.
  H.R. 3157 would name the new Department of Veterans Affairs 
Outpatient Clinic in Alexandria, Minnesota, as the Max J. Beilke 
Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic. Naming a VA facility 
for Master Sergeant Beilke, a hero and a strong advocate of veterans, 
is the proper and honorable thing to do.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BOOZMAN. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3157, a bill to name the 
Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic in Alexandria, 
Minnesota, as the Max J. Beilke Department of Veterans Affairs 
Outpatient Clinic.
  I also want to thank the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Peterson) for 
bringing this very important legislation forward.

                              {time}  1600

  Master Sergeant Max J. Beilke, United States Army, served 22 years' 
active duty and was stationed overseas in Germany, Korea, and Vietnam. 
Master Sergeant Beilke was officially listed as the last U.S. combat 
soldier to leave Vietnam on March 29, 1973.
  Following his retirement from active duty in 1974, Master Sergeant 
Beilke continued his commitment to U.S. servicemembers and veterans by 
working with Congress to pass the TRICARE For Life program for military 
retirees. For his services, Master Sergeant Beilke was named a TRICARE 
Hero and continued his efforts by working on legislation to create a 
veterans survivors benefit program.
  It was while working on this bill at the Pentagon on September 11, 
2001, that Master Sergeant Beilke was killed in the terrorist attack 
that struck that day. For his dedicated services to the United States 
military and veteran populations, Master Sergeant Beilke was awarded 
the Defense of Freedom Medal from the Department of Defense and 
Meritorious Civilian Service Award from the Department of the Army, 
both posthumously.
  Mr. Speaker, I strongly support H.R. 3157 in recognition of the 
service and sacrifice made by Master Sergeant Max Beilke for his 
country.
  I encourage all of my colleagues to support this very important bill.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WALZ. Mr. Speaker, it's a pleasure for me to yield as much time 
as he may consume to the gentleman and my neighbor from Minnesota, Mr. 
Peterson, someone who understands the needs of rural Minnesota and our 
rural veterans as well as anybody in this House and in this country, 
and understands how important these outpatient clinics are and the 
incredible honor and why it's right to name this clinic for a true 
Minnesota hero.
  Mr. PETERSON. I thank the gentleman, thank him and the gentleman from 
Arkansas for letting me have a couple of minutes.
  I think you have already covered all or most of my speech, but we are 
very honored to be able to name the outpatient clinic in Alexandria 
after a true American hero, Mr. Max Beilke, who grew up on a small farm 
near Alexandria, Minnesota.
  He was a 1950 graduate of Alexandria High School. He was drafted into 
the Army and sent to Korea in 1952. Shortly after he returned home from 
his tour of service in Korea, he reenlisted and made the Army his full-
time career.
  Max served in Korea, Germany and, lastly, Vietnam, where he, during 
his 8-month tour, served as operations sergeant at Camp Alpha in 
Saigon, where all soldiers were processed going to and coming from the 
United States. As was noted, he was the last combat soldier to leave 
Vietnam while his family watched on television.
  After 21 years in the Army, Max retired in 1974 as a master sergeant. 
Eventually, he settled in Laurel, Maryland, where he lived with his 
wife, Lisa, and raised two daughters. After retiring from the Army, he 
earned a master's degree from Central Michigan University.
  As was noted, Max was very instrumental in establishing the TRICARE 
system for our veterans, and it was because of that he was at the 
Pentagon on September 11 and met his untimely death on that day. He was 
laid to rest on December 11 in Arlington National Cemetery.
  He had a distinguished career in the Army and as a civilian. He has 
the support of all Minnesotans and all our veterans organizations. He 
very much deserves to have this clinic named after him.
  I want to commend the VA for opening this clinic. I think this is the 
fifth clinic that they have opened in my district. It was proposed in 
2004, and we had the grand opening ceremony just last month. For too 
long rural veterans in my district have had to travel too far for 
health care, but this clinic will bring veterans' health care services 
closer to all the veterans who live in that area. The VA estimates that 
it will serve 3,500 local veterans with primary care and mental health 
care and will provide a variety of other services as well.
  I urge the House to pass this legislation.
  Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. Speaker, again I would like to thank Mr. Peterson, 
the gentleman from Minnesota, for bringing this forward. We very 
strongly support this bill. It's great that we honor a true American 
hero, not only for his service connection and how he served in the 
military, but how he led his life.
  Again, we urge all of our colleagues to support this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.


                             General Leave

  Mr. WALZ. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on H.R. 3157.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Minnesota?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. WALZ. Mr. Speaker, I, too, urge my colleagues to unanimously 
support H.R. 3157. I thank the gentleman from Minnesota for 
highlighting this, telling one of those stories of heroism, one of 
those stories of selfless service and then tying it to something that's 
incredibly important as we move forward--rural care for our veterans.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Walz) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 3157.

[[Page 26417]]

  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. WALZ. 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 and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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