[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 11]
[House]
[Pages 14698-14699]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     TIBOR RUBIN VA MEDICAL CENTER

  Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 6323) to name the Department of Veterans Affairs 
health care system in Long Beach, California, the ``Tibor Rubin VA 
Medical Center''.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 6323

       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 HEALTH 
                   CARE SYSTEM, LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA.

       The Department of Veterans Affairs health care system 
     located at 5901 East 7th Street, Long Beach, California, 
     shall after the date of the enactment of this Act be known 
     and designated as the ``Tibor Rubin VA Medical Center''. Any 
     reference to such health care system in any law, regulation, 
     map, document, record, or other paper of the United States 
     shall be considered to be a reference to the Tibor Rubin VA 
     Medical Center.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Miller) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Takano) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida.


                             General Leave

  Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend 
their remarks and add extraneous material on H.R. 6323.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Florida?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I do rise today in support of H.R. 6323, a bill to name the 
Department of Veterans Affairs healthcare system in Long Beach, 
California, the Tibor Rubin VA Medical Center.
  Mr. Speaker, as a young man, Corporal Tibor Rubin survived 14 months 
in a German concentration camp in Austria during World War II before it 
was liberated by the United States Army.
  Corporal Rubin was so inspired by the American soldiers who rescued 
him that he eventually moved to the United States, enlisted in the 
Army, and became a United States citizen. He was deployed as a member 
of the 1st Cavalry Division during the Korean war, and was eventually 
captured by the North Korean military.
  During his captivity, he provided crucial moral support and 
improvised medical support to his fellow prisoners of war. For his 
service, Corporal Rubin was awarded two Purple Hearts and the 
Congressional Medal of Honor.
  Sadly, he passed away just last year. After such an outstanding life 
of service and survival, it is only appropriate that we honor Corporal 
Rubin by naming the Long Beach VA Medical Center after him. H.R. 6323 
satisfies the Committee's naming criteria and is supported by the 
entire California congressional delegation, as well as many local 
veterans service organizations.

                              {time}  1730

  I am grateful to Congressman Lowenthal for sponsoring this 
legislation, and I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting 
it.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 6323, to name the 
Department of Veterans Affairs health care system in Long Beach, 
California, the Tibor Rubin VA Medical Center.

[[Page 14699]]

  What a remarkable story about Tibor Rubin. Tibor Rubin survived the 
Mauthausen concentration camp for 14 months before being liberated by 
American soldiers in May of 1945. After immigrating to the United 
States in 1948, he enlisted in the United States Army and volunteered 
to serve in Korea despite not being required to serve overseas as a 
non-U.S. citizen.
  While in Korea, Corporal Rubin was ordered to defend a road while his 
division was in retreat. He held that position for 24 hours until the 
8th Cavalry could safely withdraw.
  Corporal Rubin spent 30 months as a prisoner of war in North Korea, 
where testimony from his fellow prisoners detailed his willingness to 
sacrifice for the others. He helped his fellow POWs by sneaking out of 
the camp at night and foraging for food, stealing from enemy supplies, 
and bringing back what he could to help the soldiers imprisoned with 
him. He declined the offer of his Communist captors to return him to 
Soviet Hungary, his country of origin, to help protect those from his 
adopted country.
  ``He shared the food evenly among the GIs,'' a fellow prisoner wrote. 
``He also took care of us, nursed us, carried us to the latrine.'' This 
GI also added, ``Helping his fellow men was the most important thing to 
him.''
  For these actions and more, Mr. Rubin was awarded the Medal of Honor 
in 2005. For all that this brave immigrant did to protect the freedoms 
of our great country, we are honored to be able to name this VA Medical 
Center after him.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge support for this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 8 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Lowenthal).
  Mr. LOWENTHAL. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend from California, 
who has been such a great leader on veterans' issues.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Holocaust survivor and 
Medal of Honor recipient and a person that I knew personally before he 
passed away, Mr. Tibor ``Ted'' Rubin.
  With the support of all 53 members of the California delegation, both 
California Senators, and many of my State's leading veterans' groups, I 
recently introduced H.R. 6323, legislation to name the Department of 
Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Long Beach as the Tibor Rubin VA 
Medical Center.
  As was already noted, Tibor Rubin was born in Hungary on June 18, 
1929. During World War II, he survived 14 months in a Nazi 
concentration camp in Austria, where both his parents and both of his 
sisters would eventually die.
  Liberated by the United States Army, he was inspired by the American 
soldiers who rescued him, immigrating to the United States and 
enlisting in the United States Army. He was deployed to Korea as a 
member of the United States Army's 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry 
Division during the Korean war.
  Despite facing religious discrimination from his sergeant who sent 
him on the most dangerous patrols and missions and withheld his Medal 
of Honor commendation, Tibor fought valiantly in several notable 
engagements. In one such engagement, Tibor enabled the complete 
withdrawal of his compatriots to the Pusan Perimeter by solely 
defending a hill under an overwhelming assault by North Korean troops. 
During this engagement, he inflicted a staggering number of casualties 
on the attacking force during his personal 24-hour battle, single-
handedly slowing the enemy's advance and allowing the 8th Cavalry to 
withdraw successfully.
  Following the successful U.S. Army breakout from the Pusan Perimeter 
and advance into North Korea, Tibor was personally responsible for the 
capture of several hundred North Korean soldiers.
  In an additional engagement near Usan, Chinese forces attacked his 
unit during a massive nighttime assault. For nearly 24 hours, he 
remained at his post with a .30-caliber machine gun at the south end of 
the unit's line until his ammunition was exhausted. His determined 
stand slowed the pace of the enemy advance into his sector, permitting 
the remnants of his unit to retreat southward. However, as the battle 
raged, Tibor was severely wounded and captured by the Chinese. While in 
Chinese custody, he refused to be repatriated to Hungary, instead 
choosing to remain in the prison camp. He would refuse the offer on 
numerous occasions.
  Tibor disregarded his own personal safety and immediately began 
sneaking out of the camp at night in search of food for his fellow 
prisoners. Breaking into enemy food storehouses and gardens, he risked 
certain torture or death if caught.
  Tibor provided not only food for the starving soldiers, but also 
desperately needed medical care and moral support for the sick and 
wounded of the POW camp. As one of his fellow prisoners recounted about 
the camp: ``Tibor did many good deeds, which he told us were mitzvahs 
in the Jewish tradition. He was a very religious Jew, and helping his 
fellow men was the most important thing to him.''
  Tibor's brave, selfless efforts were directly attributed to saving 
the lives of as many as 40 of his fellow prisoners. As his Medal of 
Honor citation reads: ``Corporal Rubin's gallant actions in close 
contact with the enemy and unyielding courage and bravery while a 
prisoner of war are in the highest traditions of military service and 
reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Army.''
  It is worth noting that Tibor was nominated in the field on four 
occasions for the Medal of Honor. When he was finally presented his 
Medal of Honor in 2005, it was not presented by President George W. 
Bush for a single act of heroism. It was instead presented for nearly 
his entire 3 years of service in the Korean war.
  Tibor was fiercely proud of the country he adopted. When he was later 
asked about his decision to immigrate to the United States, he said: 
``I always wanted to become a citizen of the United States, and when I 
became a citizen, it was one of the happiest days in my life.
  ``I think about the United States, and I am a lucky person to live 
here.
  ``When I came to America, it was the first time I was free. It was 
one of the reasons I joined the U.S. Army, because I wanted to show my 
appreciation.
  ``It is the best country in the world, and I am part of it now. I do 
not have to worry about the Gestapo knocking on my doors.''
  I am proud to say that after his service, Tibor became a longtime 
resident of Garden Grove, California, in my district. It was still his 
home when he passed away on December 5, 2015, and it was the Long Beach 
VA Hospital where he received his medical services for over 50 years.
  It was my great honor to meet Tibor and to represent him in Congress. 
He was a survivor, a soldier, a nurse, a compatriot, and a wonderful 
citizen.
  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. What an amazing 
and inspiring story behind Corporal Rubin.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this 
legislation, H.R. 6323.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I, too, encourage all of our 
colleagues to support this legislation.
  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 Florida (Mr. Miller) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 6323.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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