that was johnny isakson. and so i'm thrilled that today with great appreciation and admiration for senator johnny isakson, our bipartisan legislation honors his life and his legacy by renaming the department of veterans affairs atlanta regional office in his honor. and i'm thrilled that it has passed the senate in a bipartisan way with unanimous support. and isn't that fitting. johnny isakson is doing now in death what he did in life -- bringing us together. and in this moment in which we are in a debate about what to do for our veterans, isn't it appropriate that his spirit summons us to common ground and to higher ground so that we can do all we can for those who have our back in dangerous places all over the globe. senator isakson cared deeply for georgia's veterans and for veterans all across our country. he understood that there are some things bigger than politics. and so we recognize his amazing service, his incredible legacy of life and self-sacrifice by renaming the atlanta regional office of the dep

i was proud to co-sponsor this legislation when i was in the house along with senator johnny isakson in the senate this meant a great deal to me bob hasanese who was a considerate of mine from lindenhurst. he was a veteran of melrose marauders. he detail for me all of their confidence accomplishments or their bravery and the fort hard to the very end to get this legislation through and i can't thank him enough. sadly. he passed away weeks ago at the age of 99, but his spirit is with us today and this legacy will continue through this congressional gold medal. i want to thank ryan woodward of my staff who did yeoman work and again making sure this bill made it to the finish line. and again, thanks and nancy pelosi for having a pass and now trying to get in into law melrose marauders legendary what they did in the burma china theater was so essential to the pacific campaign. they fought their way through miles of terrain. they took the mission why airstrip which was so essential to the japanese and then became a central to ours winning in that region of the war. they suffered many casu