Tester-Backed Bill to Name Butte VA Clinic after Montana WWII Hero Charlie Dowd Heads to President’s Desk

House passes Montana delegation’s bipartisan bill to honor Montana veteran Charlie Dowd; Tester secured funds for state-of-the-art clinic that opened its doors in April 2022

The U.S. House of Representatives today passed bipartisan legislation spearheaded by Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Jon Tester and the Montana Congressional delegation to name the Butte VA Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) in honor of Montana World War II hero Charlie Dowd, Montana’s last surviving Pearl Harbor survivor who passed in March 2023. The bill now heads to the President’s desk to be signed into law.

“Charlie Dowd’s extraordinary courage at Pearl Harbor and exemplary service is what makes America the greatest country on earth,” said Tester. “Charlie was one of Montana’s very best, and naming the new Butte VA Clinic in his honor ensures his legacy and that of the entire Greatest Generation is never forgotten. It’s a fitting honor for a clinic that serves thousands of Butte-Silver Bow veterans, and I urge the President to sign our bill into law without delay.”

The Montana delegation sent a letter to Senate and House leadership in April 2023, urging support of their legislation to rename the Butte VA clinic in Dowd’s name.

A champion for improving Butte-area veterans’ access to quality care and services, Tester secured fundsfor the new state-of-the-art Butte VA CBOC that opened its doors in April 2022. He was the only member of the Montana delegation to vote for both of the federal spending bills that made this new clinic possible.

Tester also led the decades-long push alongside local community leaders and veterans to secure the funds necessary to get the Southwest Montana Veterans Home project off the ground and open.