Bill will rename Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center as the “Joseph Maxwell Cleland Atlanta Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center”

Former senator of Georgia, veteran, VA Administrator and renowned advocate for veterans during a 50-year career, Max Cleland passed away in November 2021 at 79

Senator Reverend Warnock: “It was a great privilege to bring Republicans and Democrats together to honor a man of Senator Cleland’s magnitude. His life and legacy live forever in our hearts, and it is only fitting for his name to don the Atlanta VA Medical Center”

ICYMI from the AJC: Sen. Warnock wants VA hospital named for Max Cleland

Washington, D.C. — Yesterday, U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock’s (D-GA) bill to rename the Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center as the “Joseph Maxwell Cleland Atlanta Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center” in honor of the late Senator Max Cleland of Georgia passed the Senate unanimously. In December, Senator Warnock led this bicameral, bipartisan effort alongside Senator Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and Representative Nikema Williams (D-GA-05).

“As a voice for Georgia, it is an honor to follow the long and noble legacy paved by Max Cleland in his fifty years of service to Georgians, veterans, and our country,” said Senator Reverend Warnock. “Georgia and our nation lost a true giant of public service, an empathetic leader and a passionate patriot with a warrior’s heart for our veterans and communities. It was a great privilege to bring Republicans and Democrats together to honor a man of Senator Cleland’s magnitude. His life and legacy live forever in our hearts, and it is only fitting for his name to don the Atlanta VA Medical Center.”

Max Cleland lost three limbs in Vietnam defending our nation’s freedoms, but that did not stop him from a decades-long career serving in public office and advocating for veterans. Senator Cleland noted he was called to service; after retiring from the military he served as a Georgia State Senator, led the U.S. Veterans Administration under President Jimmy Carter, served as Georgia Secretary of State, and later served in the U.S. Senate. He was a recipient of the Silver Star and the Bronze Star for courageous action in combat. In 2009, President Obama nominated Cleland to serve as the Secretary of the American Battle Monuments Commission. Cleland’s patriotism and love for mankind was often admired by his colleagues and the many who loved him.

Read the bill text HERE.

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