HR7511-119

In Committee

Iowa National Guard Heroes Commemoration Act

119th Congress Introduced Feb 11, 2026

Summary

What This Bill Does

This bill commemorates two Iowa National Guard soldiers by renaming VA clinics. The VA clinic at 1211 East Army Post Road in Des Moines would become the Staff Sergeant Edgar Torres-Tovar VA Clinic, also called the Edgar Torres-Tovar VA Clinic. The VA outpatient clinic at 201 East Merle Hibbs Boulevard in Marshalltown would become the Staff Sergeant William Nathaniel Howard VA Clinic, also called the Nate Howard VA Clinic. The bill includes findings about each soldier's Iowa ties, Iowa National Guard service, deployments to Kosovo and Syria, deaths in Palmyra, Syria, on December 13, 2025, and combat awards.

Who Benefits and How

The families of Staff Sergeant Edgar Torres-Tovar and Staff Sergeant William Nathaniel Howard, Iowa National Guard members, veterans using the Des Moines and Marshalltown clinics, and Iowa communities benefit from federal recognition of the soldiers' service and sacrifice.

Who Bears the Burden and How

The Department of Veterans Affairs must update facility names, maps, records, regulations, documents, and references for the Des Moines and Marshalltown clinics. VA administrators and clinic staff must use the new names after enactment.

Key Provisions

  • Provides findings about Staff Sergeant Edgar Torres-Tovar's Army and Iowa National Guard service, deployments, death in Syria, and combat awards.
  • Provides findings about Staff Sergeant William Nathaniel Howard's Iowa National Guard service, deployments, death in Syria, and combat awards.
  • Designates the Des Moines VA clinic as the Staff Sergeant Edgar Torres-Tovar VA Clinic.
  • Designates the Marshalltown VA outpatient clinic as the Staff Sergeant William Nathaniel Howard VA Clinic.
  • Requires federal records and references to use the new clinic names.

Evidence Chain:

This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.

At a Glance

What This Bill Does

Renames two Department of Veterans Affairs clinics in Iowa for Staff Sergeant Edgar Torres-Tovar and Staff Sergeant William Nathaniel Howard, Iowa National Guard soldiers killed in Syria.

Key Policy Areas

Veterans, Defense, Government

Primary Purpose

Renames two Department of Veterans Affairs clinics in Iowa for Staff Sergeant Edgar Torres-Tovar and Staff Sergeant William Nathaniel Howard, Iowa National Guard soldiers killed in Syria.

Policy Domains

Veterans Defense Government

Substantive provisions

Identified Gains
  • Torres-Tovar family members
  • Howard family members
  • Iowa National Guard members
  • Veterans using Iowa VA clinics
Model: codex-gpt-5 | Version: bill_summary_v2 | Source: ih
Howard family members: ,
Iowa National Guard members: ,
Torres-Tovar family members: ,
Veterans using Iowa VA clinics: ,
Identified Costs
  • Department of Veterans Affairs
  • VA clinic administrators
  • Federal records administrators
Model: codex-gpt-5 | Version: bill_summary_v2 | Source: ih
VA clinic administrators: ,
Department of Veterans Affairs: ,
Federal records administrators: ,

Legislative Progress

In Committee
Introduced Committee Passed
Mar 2, 2026

Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.

Feb 11, 2026

Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

Feb 11, 2026

Introduced in House

Feb 11, 2026

Mr. Nunn of Iowa (for himself, Mr. Feenstra, Mrs. Hinson, …

Bill Structure & Actor Mappings

Who is "The Secretary" in each section?

Domains
Veterans Defense Government
Actor Mappings
"des_moines_clinic"
→ Department of Veterans Affairs clinic at 1211 East Army Post Road, Des Moines, Iowa
"marshalltown_clinic"
→ Department of Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic at 201 East Merle Hibbs Boulevard, Marshalltown, Iowa

We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.

Learn more about our methodology