To designate the Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Center in Prescott, Arizona, as the "Dr. Cameron McKinley Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Center".

Mr. Speaker, I would like to quickly thank Chairman Miller and Chairman Lamborn for their continued leadership at the House Veterans' Affairs Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I rise before you to honor a great man who served this Nation and its veterans with a lifetime of work. That man was Dr. Cameron Keith McKinley. The bill being considered here today, H.R. 1216, would designate the Veterans Affairs Vet Center in Prescott, Arizona, as the Dr. Cameron McKinley Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Center.

By way of background, Dr. McKinley served in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves in Shreveport, Louisiana, from 1947 to 1949. He served with honor at the Wiesbaden Air Force Hospital during and after the Vietnam war, providing therapy to military personnel and their families.

Later, he served with great distinction as the chief of psychology at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Prescott, Arizona, from 1981 to 1995.

Dr. McKinley spent decades confronting the pressing issues of posttraumatic stress disorder, also known as PTSD, by providing cutting-edge psychological and neuropsychological assessments to the returning veterans of three separate wars.

At the Prescott VA, Dr. McKinley organized a rap group for Vietnam veterans dealing with varying degrees of PTSD. Dr. McKinley and his team also made available off-station crisis intervention groups and other specialized groups to combat veterans experiencing PTSD. He produced targeted action plans for veterans suffering from PTSD, giving them tools to deal with their afflictions and transitioning them successfully back into civilian life.

Dr. McKinley and a group of veterans who have been working with him in that area then formed the Chapter 95 of the Vietnam Veterans of America. That VVA chapter, in concert with Dr. McKinley, local leaders, businesses, and nonprofit groups, successfully petitioned the Federal Government for a freestanding Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Prescott, Arizona. That vet center opened in June of 1985.

Dr. McKinley's cutting-edge work has earned him recognition from Veterans Affairs Medical Center, the Vietnam Veterans of America, the Veterans' Readjustment Counseling Center, and the Department of the Army for his outstanding work to improve the lives of veterans of multiple generations.

Among his numerous awards, I will name a few here: Special Recognition Award from the Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 95, in 1983; Special Recognition Award from The Military Order of the Purple Heart; appreciation awards from the Prescott Vet Center on November 8, 1995; Certificate of Appreciation from the Veteran's Readjustment Counseling Center on November 11, 1989; United States Department of the Army Certificate of Appreciation for Outstanding Work in Support of Combat Veterans of Desert Shield and Desert Storm and Their Families on May 20, 1991; Special Appreciation, Prescott Vet Center, in December of 1995; and a Special Appreciation and Recognition Award for volunteer work at the Prescott Veterans Center in 2004.

Today it is with a heavy heart that I report to this Chamber that Dr. McKinley left this world on October 11, 2013. Thankfully, he passed peacefully at his home, surrounded by his loving family.

I insert his obituary from the Prescott Daily Courier in the Congressional Record.

[From the Prescott Daily Courier]

Obituary: Cameron Keith McKinley

Many longtime Prescott residents will be saddened by news

of the death of Dr. Cameron Keith McKinley, former Chief of

Psychology at the Prescott VA Medical Center

(1981-1996). Dr. McKinley died at his home in Evergreen,

Colo., on the morning of Oct. 11, 2013, surrounded by his

family and the beautiful pine-forested mountains filled with

the many birds and animals he enjoyed watching.

He was born on Dec. 9, 1930, in Shreveport, La., to William

Samuel McKinley Sr. and Goldia Simmons McKinley. He attended

Louisiana Tech University and Centenary College and received

a B.A. degree. He earned an M.A. and Ph.D. in clinical

psychology from the University of Houston.

Dr. McKinley completed an internship and residency at the

University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, where he

stayed on for another six years in clinical practice. For the

next nine years, he and his family lived in Wiesbaden,

Germany, during which time he established a Child & Family

Treatment program at the U.S. Air Force Hospital. From there,

the next assignment and home was Prescott, Ariz.

He was honored by many veterans organizations, among them

the U.S. Army Reserve for his support of active military,

veterans and their families, and for establishing a 24-hour

information center, teams of support groups, a successful

fundraising event, and a veterans mental health and

rehabilitation center. He received the Military Order of the

Purple Heart for exceptionally meritorious and conspicuous

service to his community, fellow citizens and veterans. He

was recognized by Vietnam Veterans of America as a charter

member of Chapter 95 in Prescott, acknowledging his dedicated

efforts on their behalf.

Cam volunteered at the National Vietnam Wall in Washington

from 1997-1998, and also at the VA Hospital in Prescott for

the Veterans History project and at the Vet Center that he

established. In 2012, after letters and urging from the

community, U.S. Congressman Paul Gosar introduced House

Resolution 1743, a bill that would name the Veteran Affairs

Vet Center in Prescott the Dr. Cameron K. McKinley Vet

Center. Rep. Gosar introduced this bill to honor a

groundbreaking health provider and true hero. It passed in

the House of Representatives but stalled in the Senate

because federal buildings are only named after someone who

has died. Efforts to name the Vet Center in honor of Dr.

McKinley will be renewed in the near future by those who knew

him and respected his deep commitment to our military

veterans.

Dr. McKinley married Anne Hinton McKinley April 9, 1955. He

is survived by his wife; his daughter Carol; his son, John,

and their spouses, Mark Harris and Mary McKinley; his

grandchildren, Adam and Paige Roberts, Jeremy and Tim Lisby,

and Cameron and Elizabeth McKinley; great-granddaughter

Jillian Lisby; sister Nadine McKinley Runsick; nephews Alan

and Joel Jessup; and niece Kristina McKinley Estes McKinley.

His father, mother and brother, Bill, preceded him in death.

His love of family was most important and brought him great

peace toward the end of his life.

Cam, as he was known to those close to him, loved canoeing,

hiking, fishing--the great outdoors. He took pride and

interest in his Scottish heritage. He read voraciously, wrote

his memoirs and expressed his artistic talents through

painting, calligraphy, and his passion, photography. He

captured the beauty of nature through the lens of his camera.

For those who knew Cam McKinley, his qualities of

leadership, courage, humor and resilience stood out. He was

generous of spirit, giving himself in service to others. We

will remember his laugh and the twinkle in his eye. He will

be missed by many and we are all better for having known him.

The family suggests memorial donations be sent to the

Intrepid Fallen Heroes fund (fallenheroesfund.org), or the

Mount Evans Hospice Inc. for their outstanding and loving

care, 3081 Bergen Park Drive, Evergreen, CO 80439.

Mr. Speaker, so it is only well and fitting, as a tribute to this remarkable man's life, Congress names the facility after the very leader who was its inspiration and who was a lifesaver for so many.

I am also saddened that we could not take up this bill and pass it into law sooner so that Dr. McKinley could live to see how this hallowed body shows its appreciation for his work. I hope his family may share a few smiles as the bill moves forward in the legislative process. I would also like to think that Dr. McKinley is smiling down upon us right now.

I pose a challenge to my colleagues, Members of the executive branch, and anyone else listening. Dr. McKinley strove for exemplary service to his veteran colleagues. In naming this building after Dr. McKinley, we hold his life's work in the highest esteem. We hold it in this way to show all Americans what it means to lead a life of service to others, and so we shall all strive to follow in his footsteps.

The challenge before us is to provide timely, quality, patient- centered, and patient-friendly care to each and every veteran. Most importantly, it is long past time that the Federal Government follow his example and do the very thing that he did with all his veteran patients. The Federal Government must listen.

Today, I thank the Veterans' Affairs Committee for supporting this bill. I thank my Arizona colleagues for their support in being original cosponsors of this bill. I thank all of the veterans' service organizations for their support of this bill and all they do for our vets.

Finally, I want to thank a very special organization known as Friends of Camp McKinley for their continued advocacy on behalf of such a great man.

I ask my colleagues to pass this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

I rise today in support of H.R. 1216, which designates the Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Center in Prescott, Arizona, as the Dr. Cameron McKinley Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Center.

Dr. McKinley was a dedicated and greatly admired public servant in Prescott, Arizona. As chief of psychology at the Prescott VA Medical Center from 1981 to 1996, he earned the respect and honor of many veterans' service organizations. His tireless efforts to support the mental health needs of Arizona servicemembers and their families made a huge difference to many veterans.

Dr. McKinley was a groundbreaker. He established a 24-hour information center, teams of support groups, and was responsible for establishing a veterans' mental health and rehabilitation center.

For his ``exceptionally meritorious and conspicuous service to his community,'' he received the Military Order of the Purple Heart. He was also made a charter member of Chapter 95 of the Vietnam Veterans of America, who cited his dedicated efforts on their behalf.

A Shreveport, Louisiana, native, Dr. McKinley was an avid outdoorsman, capturing the beauty he experienced fishing, hiking, and canoeing with his camera and on canvas as an artist and calligrapher.

An avid reader of student history, Dr. McKinley also volunteered for the Veterans History Project of the Library of Congress. He helped to preserve firsthand accounts of veterans he met at the veterans center he helped establish. In 1997 to 1998, he volunteered at the national Vietnam Wall in Washington.

While Dr. McKinley is no longer with us, his longstanding commitment to our Nation's heroes lives on. He is the ideal candidate for the naming of the Veterans Affairs Vet Center in Prescott.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers at this time. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1216, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety on the occasion of its 25th anniversary. I want to congratulate Advocates and thank its wonderful president, Jackie Gillan, for her leadership and guidance.

Each year, auto accidents claim the lives of tens of thousands of Americans and injure millions of others. Founded in 1989, Advocates brings together consumer, medical, public health, and safety groups to fight for safer roads and automobiles. Advocates is dedicated to protecting lives, preventing injuries, and reducing costs. Some Americans may be unfamiliar with its name, but we all benefit greatly from its efforts.

Advocates works at the federal and state levels on issues such as impaired and distracted driving, teen driving, speed limits, vehicle crashworthiness, road safety, motor carrier safety, and many others. It combines technical expertise with policy knowhow and the passion needed to win safety improvements.

Advocates was instrumental in the passage of H.R. 1216, the Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act, which was signed into law in 2008. I was the sponsor of that legislation, and I had the privilege of working closely with Jackie Gillen and Advocates to get it passed and implemented. Earlier this year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration finalized a rule called for in the law to require visibility behind new model cars, trucks, and buses--a rule that will save 58 to 69 lives each year, according to NHTSA. Many of the lives saved will be children, who have been the victims of unintentional backovers. Advocates played a central role in helping us avoid these senseless tragedies by raising public awareness, helping enact the law, and urging NHTSA to finalize its rule.

I know that Advocates will continue its efforts to improve the lives and safety of all Americans, and I look forward to working together with them in the future.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1216) to designate the Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Center in Prescott, Arizona, as the ``Dr. Cameron McKinley Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Center''.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1216, sponsored by my good friend and colleague, Representative Paul Gosar of Arizona. This bill would name the Vet Center in Prescott, Arizona, as the Dr. Cameron McKinley Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Center.

Dr. Cameron McKinley joined the United States Marine Corps Reserve after World War II. Following his time in uniform, Dr. McKinley pursued a career in service to his fellow veterans, eventually becoming chief psychologist at the VA Medical Center in Prescott, Arizona. Given his lifelong service to the mental well-being of his fellow veterans, it is only appropriate that the Vet Center in Prescott, Arizona, bear his name.

I am grateful to Representative Gosar for sponsoring this legislation and urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 1216.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I thank my colleague from Massachusetts for his gracious words.

I would now yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Gosar), the sponsor of the legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Arizona for this excellent piece of legislation and his work on behalf of veterans in his district.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support H.R. 1216, and with that, I yield back the balance of my time.

I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Veterans' Affairs be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 1216.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read a third time and passed, and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.