To designate the outpatient clinic of the Department of Veterans Affairs in Ventura, California, as the "Captain Rosemary Bryant Mariner Outpatient Clinic".

Madam Speaker, I thank the chairman of the committee and the ranking member for being so supportive of this bill. I also thank Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Hoyer, and every member of the California delegation, for their support.

As the chair and ranking member mentioned, my bill, H.R. 7698, will name the new VA outpatient clinic in Ventura County after Captain Rosemary Bryant Mariner.

This new VA clinic has been a long time in the making. Since I was elected to Congress, I have been working to expand VA services in Ventura County to ensure that our veterans have access to the timely and quality care that they have earned and deserve.

When I first came to Congress, it was clear that Ventura County veterans were being deeply underserved by the undersized and understaffed local VA clinic, so I immediately set out to work to correct the situation.

While I was able to secure improvements to the facility that existed, it

was clear that the large veteran population in our region needed a much larger facility and one run by VA personnel, personnel that understood them and understood their experiences. That was critically important.

Although the road to passing legislation to authorize a new facility was long, in 2017, my legislation was signed into law. This new clinic will be better equipped to deliver high-quality healthcare to a growing community of veterans living in Ventura County and in the area.

Importantly, the new clinic will have VA personnel and will offer expanded services and more specialty care, like dental care, physical therapy, rehabilitation services, optometry, audiology, podiatry, cardiology, and other services.

Getting the new facility open has been my highest priority in Congress, and I am very, very excited that it will be opening next Tuesday, September 27.

I am very grateful for the work of all the dedicated VA personnel in our region, who have been laser focused on getting this new facility opened and hiring all the necessary staff it needs.

Already, the reviews from local veterans who have toured the new facility have been very positive. I am hopeful that as veterans begin to get care at the facility, it will be truly transformative in their lives.

As chair of the Women Veterans Task Force, I am also especially pleased that the new clinic will be one of the first VA clinics in the country, and the very first in the greater Los Angeles area, with a women-only entrance.

Since the Revolutionary War, millions of women have served in the Armed Forces of the United States. However, when they leave the military, they are often invisible, and far too many women leave military service with the scars of military sexual trauma. The women- only entrance will ensure that our women veterans can feel safe and welcomed and, hopefully, never feel discouraged from seeking the care they need.

While opening this clinic has been my highest priority, I also believe that naming the clinic will provide us with yet another opportunity to recognize the service and sacrifice of our women veterans.

Women comprise the fastest growing and most diverse demographic in both the military and veteran populations.

Through my work in Congress, I am constantly reminded that women are the most visible while serving and the most invisible when they return to civilian life. This is symbolized, sadly, by the lack of VA facilities named after women veterans. In fact, of the 1,255 VA healthcare facilities, only two facilities have been named in honor of women veterans--only two.

To address this, I convened a local citizens advisory panel comprised of veterans and community leaders to select a woman veteran for whom we could name the new clinic, and they selected Captain Rosemary Bryant Mariner.

Captain Mariner, a former resident of Ventura County, joined the Navy in 1973, where she became a member of the Navy's first flight training class for women. In 1974, she was one of six women to earn her wings and, the following year, became the first female naval aviator to fly a jet attack aircraft.

Captain Mariner was named commander of the Naval Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 34 at Naval Air Station Point Mugu in Ventura County, California. The unit was 30 percent female and made Captain Mariner the first woman to command an operational air squadron.

Throughout her career, Captain Mariner was a passionate advocate for women in the military, leading the Women Military Aviators and working with Congress and the Department of Defense to lift restrictions barring women from flying in combat.

I could not be more pleased that the House is taking up my bill to honor Captain Rosemary Bryant Mariner.

This bill and this clinic send a critically important message to our women veterans, and that is: We see you.

Madam Speaker, for these reasons, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on the bill.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 7698) to designate the outpatient clinic of the Department of Veterans Affairs in Ventura, California, as the ``Captain Rosemary Bryant Mariner Outpatient Clinic''.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to insert extraneous material on H.R. 7698.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise to honor the memory of Captain Rosemary Bryant Mariner, a member of the Navy's first flight-training class for women, the first woman to command a naval aviation squadron, and a lifelong advocate for women's military service.

The bill before us, H.R. 7698, would appropriately name the VA outpatient clinic in Ventura, California, the ``Captain Rosemary Bryant Mariner Outpatient Clinic.''

I thank Representative Julia Brownley, chairwoman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee's Women Veterans Task Force, for championing this effort.

The VA has more than 1,200 healthcare facilities nationwide, yet as of the beginning of this Congress, just two of these facilities bore the names of women veterans. Representative Brownley's bill will begin to correct this regretful disparity.

More than 2 million women veterans live in the United States today. They serve across all military branches and divisions, and they are the fastest growing group of veterans that utilize VA healthcare services. So it is fitting that we honor a trailblazing woman like Captain Mariner at one of these VA healthcare facilities.

Captain Mariner had service to this country in her veins. The daughter of a World War II Navy nurse and Army pilot killed in a plane crash when she was just 3 years old, Captain Mariner grew up watching planes take off and land at the Miramar Naval Air Station in San Diego, California.

Captain Mariner went on to become the first woman to enroll in the aeronautics program at Purdue University in 1971, one of six initial women to earn her wings as a U.S. naval aviator in 1974, and the first woman aviator to fly a jet attack aircraft in 1975.

In 1990, Captain Mariner became commander of the Navy's tactical warfare squadron at Naval Air Station Point Mugu in Ventura County.

She continued in public service following her 24-year military career, teaching military history at the University of Tennessee for an additional 15 years.

At Captain Mariner's funeral service in 2019, following a long battle against ovarian cancer, the Navy conducted its first flyover featuring all female pilots. This was, like the naming of the Ventura VA outpatient clinic will be, a fitting tribute to a life of service to this Nation.

H.R. 7698 has letters of support from the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and Disabled American Veterans.

Madam Speaker, I include in the Record these three letters.

The American Legion,

Department of California,

Sanger, CA, April 6, 2022.

Rep. Julia Brownley,

Washington, DC.

Rep. Brownley: The American Legion Department of California

is proud to support the naming of the Ventura County

Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic after

captain Rosemary Bryant Mariner.

Since its founding in 1919, the American Legion has served

veterans, service members, and communities throughout our

nation. Our commitment to serving all veterans has been one

of the main pillars outlining our purpose. As the United

State Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) continues to make

strides in the way it supports and cares for women veterans,

I believe by renaming VA facilities after brave female

veterans it is a great step towards recognizing the

contribution of this Nation's woman warriors.

On behalf of the 80,000+ American Legion members in

California we urge congress to take action to name this

facility to honor this woman veteran who embodies the true

essence of duty and service to our community, state, and

Nation.

Respectfully,

Autrey B. James Jr.,

Department Commander,

The American Legion,

Department of California.

Madam Speaker, I wholeheartedly support this bill, I encourage all of my colleagues to do the same, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I want to say I appreciate the ranking member's mentioning of his daughter and the connection with today's action. I also extend my pride, and I feel his pride. We also are thankful for his daughter's service.

Madam Speaker, I yield 7 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Brownley), my good friend and the chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Health. She is the author of H.R. 7698, a vital piece of legislation.

Madam Speaker, I ask all of my colleagues to join me in passing H.R. 7698, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 7698, a bill to rename the VA outpatient clinic in Ventura, California, the Captain Rosemary Bryant Mariner Outpatient Clinic.

Captain Mariner was a trailblazer for women in military aviation. She was born in Texas and grew up in San Diego, California. Her mother was a Navy nurse, and her father was a military pilot. She grew up watching planes take off from Naval Air Station Miramar, which inspired her to save up for flying lessons.

In 1972, when she was just 19 years old, she became the first woman to graduate from Purdue University's aeronautical program. She then joined the Navy and was selected as one of the first eight women to enter pilot training. In 1974, she became one of the first six women to earn their naval aviator pilot's wings.

She went on to become one of the first female aviators to fly the A-4 Skyhawk fighter aircraft, the first woman to fly the A-7 Corsair strike aircraft, the first female aviator to be assigned to an aircraft carrier, and the first woman to command an aviation squadron in the Navy.

She commanded a tactical electronic warfare squadron during the first Gulf war. After that, she was one of the first women in the Navy to be promoted to captain. She retired in 1997 after 24 years of military service with over 3,500 flight hours. Her funeral in 2019 was accompanied by the first all-female pilot flyover.

Captain Mariner's contributions to the U.S. military and the Nation were truly remarkable. She set a lasting example for women in the Navy, whose ranks will include, as of Wednesday, my own granddaughter, which I am very proud of, even though I am still having trouble with the Navy over the Marines thing.

Madam Speaker, I am so proud to support this bill, I am grateful to Congresswoman Brownley for sponsoring it, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of H.R. 7698, which was received from the House and is at the desk.

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