[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5016 Engrossed in Senate (ES)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 5016
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To designate the medical center of the Department of Veterans Affairs
located in Anchorage, Alaska, as the ``Colonel Mary Louise Rasmuson
Campus of the Alaska VA Healthcare System'', and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Colonel Mary Louise Rasmuson Campus
of the Alaska VA Healthcare System Act of 2022''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Mary Louise (Milligan) Rasmuson was born April 11,
1911, in East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
(2) Mary Louise received a Bachelor of Science degree from
the Carnegie Institute of Technology and a Master of Education
degree from the University of Pittsburgh.
(3) Mary Louise was one of the first two women to receive
an Honorary Doctorate of Laws degree from the Carnegie
Institute of Technology.
(4) In 1942, Mary Louise joined the Women's Army Auxiliary
Corps as a Private and was in the first graduating class.
(5) Mary Louise worked up the ranks, and in 1957, President
Dwight Eisenhower appointed Mary Louise as the Fifth Director
of the Women's Army Corps and she was reappointed to this
position by President John F. Kennedy in 1961.
(6) In 1962, Colonel Rasmuson retired from the Army.
(7) Colonel Rasmuson was recognized for her outstanding
service in the Women's Army Corps with the Legion of Merit
award with two Oak Leaf Clusters for her work in expanding the
roles and duties of women in the Army, as well as her role in
integrating Black women in the Women's Army Corps.
(8) Colonel Rasmuson became Director of the Women's Army
Corps during tumultuous times and is credited with enhancing
the image and recruitment of women into the Women's Army Corps
during her years as the Director.
(9) Colonel Rasmuson expanded opportunities for women to
serve in assignments previously reserved only for men, starting
with the assignments of 12 enlisted women into the First
Missile Master Unit at Fort Meade, Maryland.
(10) Colonel Rasmuson was instrumental in enabling women to
be promoted above the grade of E-7 into the highest enlisted
ranks of the Army, E-8 and E-9.
(11) During her time in the Women's Army Corps, Colonel
Rasmuson was the guiding force behind the Army opening up the
college enlistment option to women under the self-enhancement
programs and witnessed the first female enlisted member attend
college under those programs.
(12) The career of Colonel Rasmuson also laid the
groundwork for women to be fully integrated into the United
States Army when the Women's Army Corps was disbanded in 1978.
(13) In 1961, Mary Louise married a prominent leader in
Alaska, Elmer E. Rasmuson, and she was the first Director of
the Women's Army Corps to be married while serving in that
position.
(14) After her retirement from military service in 1962,
Mary Louise moved to Alaska where she continued her leadership
as a veteran in her community in Alaska.
(15) Mary Louise served as First Lady of Anchorage after
the devastating magnitude 9.2 earthquake in 1964, after her
husband, Elmer, was elected as mayor, serving from 1964 to
1967.
(16) Mary Louise was an advocate of social justice,
education, and the arts during her 45 years of work on the
Board of the Rasmuson Foundation.
(17) Mary Louise served as the Honorary Chair and was a
major founder to renovate the Anchorage Veterans Memorial on
the Delaney Parkstrip in downtown Anchorage.
(18) Mary Louise also contributed to the Army Women's
Museum, the National Museum of the American Indian, and the
National Museum of the United States Army.
(19) Mary Louise was the Chair of the Anchorage Museum
Foundation and helped establish the museum in Anchorage,
serving as its Chair for 21 years.
(20) On July 30, 2012, Mary Louise died at her home in
Anchorage, at the age of 101, but her legacy of character and
leadership will endure as an example to all who serve in the
United States military.
SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF COLONEL MARY LOUISE RASMUSON CAMPUS OF THE
ALASKA VA HEALTHCARE SYSTEM.
(a) Designation.--The medical center of the Department of Veterans
Affairs in Anchorage, Alaska, shall, after the date of the enactment of
this Act, be known and designated as the ``Colonel Mary Louise Rasmuson
Campus of the Alaska VA Healthcare System''.
(b) Reference.--Any reference in any law, regulation, map,
document, paper, or other record of the United States to the medical
center referred to in subsection (a) shall be considered to be a
reference to the Colonel Mary Louise Rasmuson Campus of the Alaska VA
Healthcare System.
Passed the Senate December 6, 2022.
Attest:
Secretary.
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 5016
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To designate the medical center of the Department of Veterans Affairs
located in Anchorage, Alaska, as the ``Colonel Mary Louise Rasmuson
Campus of the Alaska VA Healthcare System'', and for other purposes.