[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 49 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        S.49

                     One Hundred Sixteenth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE FIRST SESSION

          Begun and held at the City of Washington on Thursday,
           the third day of January, two thousand and nineteen


                                 An Act


 
  To designate the outstation of the Department of Veterans Affairs in 
   North Ogden, Utah, as the Major Brent Taylor Vet Center Outstation.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FINDINGS.
    Congress finds the following:
        (1) Major Brent Taylor began his military service following the 
    attacks of September 11, 2001. He joined the Army National Guard in 
    2003, three days after his engagement to his wife, Jennie. Five of 
    his brothers would eventually serve in the Armed Forces following 
    the deadly attacks.
        (2) During his time in the Army National Guard, Major Taylor 
    distinguished himself in service to the United States and the State 
    of Utah. He received a commission as a second lieutenant from the 
    Brigham Young University Reserve Officer Training Corps in 2006, 
    while graduating as a member of the National Society of Collegiate 
    Scholars.
        (3) During his impressive career with the Utah National Guard, 
    Major Taylor distinguished himself in multiple specialties, 
    including Intelligence and Military Police. One of his earliest 
    assignments included analyzing foreign language documents in 
    support of the Defense Intelligence Agency. He also led document 
    exploitation efforts in multiple European and South American 
    languages for a variety of intelligence community customers. Major 
    Taylor also managed a team that assessed security vulnerabilities 
    at high-profile facilities across the United States, all while 
    maintaining a successful private sector career in Utah.
        (4) Major Taylor was continuously ready to take up a call to 
    arms from the United States and deployed four times in support of 
    operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. His deployed duties varied from 
    Platoon Leader and Combat Advisor to Chief of Staff to the Special 
    Operations Advisory Group, responsible for leading a joint task 
    force advising and assisting an elite Afghan special operations 
    unit.
        (5) Throughout his deployments, Major Taylor distinguished 
    himself on several occasions, earning a multitude of awards 
    including the Bronze Star. The citation credits the ability of 
    Major Taylor to think calmly and decisively to keep his 
    subordinates safe while traversing 600,000 miles of roads in Iraq, 
    laden with improvised explosive devices (commonly referred to as 
    ``IED'') and ripe for ambush.
        (6) During one particularly harrowing mission, Major Taylor's 
    vehicle was struck by an IED. Although he survived the attack, the 
    wounds he received earned him the Purple Heart.
        (7) Major Taylor's amazing record of service was not limited to 
    the battlefield. In 2010, he served as a member of the North Ogden 
    City Council and, in 2013, Major Taylor was elected mayor. His 
    steadfast leadership led to the city being recognized as ``Business 
    Friendly'' by the Governor of Utah, and as one of the safest, 
    freest cities in the United States by several organizations. His 
    initiatives included improvements to public works and 
    infrastructure, attracting businesses to the area, developing a 
    local community center, and increasing transparency. His action led 
    his constituents to reelect Major Taylor in 2017.
        (8) In 2018, Major Taylor placed himself on a leave of absence 
    from his mayoral duties in order to deploy to Afghanistan, 
    explaining to his constituents, ``Service is what leadership is all 
    about.''.
        (9) While serving in Afghanistan, a dear colleague, Afghani 
    Lieutenant Kefayatullah, was killed shortly before the Afghan 
    elections. Major Taylor wrote, ``The strong turnout at that 
    election, despite the attacks and challenges, was a success for the 
    long-suffering people of Afghanistan, and for the cause of human 
    freedom. I am proud of the brave Afghan and U.S. soldiers I serve 
    with. Many American, NATO and Afghan troops have died to make 
    moments like this election possible.''. He also extolled the 
    American public to embrace its civic duty, stating, ``I hope 
    everyone back home exercises their precious right to vote. And that 
    whether the Republicans or Democrats win, that we all remember that 
    we have far more as Americans that unites us than divides us.''.
        (10) Tragically, on Saturday, November 3, 2018, Major Taylor 
    was killed in an attack in Afghanistan. He was survived by his 
    wife, Jennie, and his seven children, Megan, Lincoln, Alex, Jacob, 
    Ellie, Jonathan, and Caroline.
        (11) The impression that Major Taylor left was indelible. An 
    Afghan officer who had served with Major Taylor penned a letter to 
    his wife, stating, ``Your husband taught me to love my wife Hamida 
    as an equal and treat my children as treasured gifts, to be a 
    better father, to be a better husband, and to be a better man.''. 
    That officer further commented that, ``He died on our soil but he 
    died for the success of freedom and democracy in both of our 
    countries.''.
        (12) It is only well and fitting that, as a tribute to the 
    amazing life of Major Taylor, Congress name a facility in honor of 
    Major Taylor's shining example of service and sacrifice.
SEC. 2. DESIGNATION OF MAJOR BRENT TAYLOR VET CENTER OUTSTATION IN 
NORTH OGDEN, UTAH.
    (a) Designation.--The outstation of the Department of Veterans 
Affairs located at 2357 North 400 East Washington Boulevard, North 
Ogden, Utah, shall after the date of the enactment of this Act be known 
and designated as the ``Major Brent Taylor Vet Center Outstation''.
    (b) Reference.--Any reference in any law, regulation, map, 
document, paper, or other record of the United States to the facility 
referred to in subsection (a) shall be considered to be a reference to 
the Major Brent Taylor Vet Center Outstation.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.