The Veterans Affairs hospital in Atlanta is to be renamed in honor of late Sen. Max Cleland.
Newly re-elected GeorgiaSen. Raphael Warnock, sponsored a bill to rename the location the Joseph Maxwell Cleland Atlanta Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center. It passed the U.S. House of Representatives with a 356-62 vote before passing the Senate unanimously. The bill was signed into law Dec. 9.
Cleland, who died in November 2021, was a military veteran disabled in the Vietnam War, losing three limbs and earning the Silver Star and Bronze Star. He served one term as a Democratic senator for his native state having previously worked under President Jimmy Carter as administrator of veterans affairs.
“It was a great privilege to bring Republicans and Democrats together to honor a man of Senator Cleland’s magnitude," Mr. Warnock said. "His life and legacy will live forever in our hearts, and I’m proud his name will live on as it dons the Atlanta VA Medical Center."
In a separate bill, Georgia's other current senator, Jon Ossoff, sponsored legislation to name a main administrative VA center in Atlanta after former Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson. That bill also was signed into law Dec. 9.
"I think it’s fitting that this has been a bipartisan effort with Republican and Democratic support as a token of our state’s appreciation for all of the work Senator Isakson did on behalf of our veterans, our service members, and our military families," Mr. Ossoff said. Mr. Isakson died in December 2021.