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Iowa National Guard Heroes Commemoration Act
To designate the clinic of the Department of Veterans Affairs in Des Moines, Iowa, as the ``Staff Sergeant Edgar Torres-Tovar VA Clinic'' and to designate the community-based outpatient clinic of the Department in Marshalltown, Iowa, as the ``Staff Sergeant William Nathaniel Howard VA Clinic''.
Summary
This bill designates two Department of Veterans Affairs clinics in Iowa after Iowa National Guard members killed in action. The VA clinic in Des Moines is renamed the "Staff Sergeant Edgar Torres-Tovar VA Clinic" in honor of Staff Sergeant Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, who was killed in action on December 13, 2025, in Palmyra, Syria, while serving as a Cavalry Scout with the 113th Cavalry Regiment. The VA community-based outpatient clinic in Marshalltown is renamed the "Staff Sergeant William Nathaniel Howard VA Clinic" in honor of Staff Sergeant William Nathaniel Howard, who was killed in the same action on the same date while serving in the same unit. Both soldiers had deployed to Syria in July 2025 in support of Operation Inherent Resolve and received Bronze Star Medals with Valor, Purple Hearts, and other military decorations for their service.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
- Sen. Ernst, Joni [R-IA] (R-IA)
1 cosponsor
- Sen. Grassley, Chuck [R-IA] (R-IA)
Money behind the sponsor
Top reported contributors to Joni Ernst’s campaign committee (2024 cycle) — who funds the bill’s sponsor, not a claim about this bill. Data from FEC.
- NULL $57,653
- CAPITAL GROUP $40,000
- SOROBAN CAPITAL $13,200
- CAPITAL GROUP COMPANIES $7,500
- GOOGLE $6,800
Organizations whose employees gave the most — itemized individual contributions grouped by the donor’s reported employer (FEC Schedule A). Full finance for Joni Ernst → · Outside spending →
Actions (2)
- Feb 11, 2026 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. · senate
- Feb 11, 2026 Introduced in Senate
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Full text
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 11, 2026
Ms. Ernst introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
A BILL
To designate the clinic of the Department of Veterans Affairs in Des Moines, Iowa, as the “Staff Sergeant Edgar Torres-Tovar VA Clinic” and to designate the community-based outpatient clinic of the Department in Marshalltown, Iowa, as the “Staff Sergeant William Nathaniel Howard VA Clinic”.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Iowa National Guard Heroes Commemoration Act”.
SEC. 2. DESIGNATION OF STAFF SERGEANT EDGAR TORRES-TOVAR VA CLINIC.
(a) Findings.—Congress finds the following:
(1) Staff Sergeant Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar was born in DeKalb, Illinois, on October 17, 2000, and raised in Des Moines, Iowa.
(2) Staff Sergeant Torres-Tovar graduated from Dowling Catholic High School in West Des Moines, Iowa, in 2019.
(3) On February 21, 2019, Staff Sergeant Torres-Tovar enlisted in the United States Army.
(4) Staff Sergeant Torres-Tovar was the first in his family to serve in the Armed Forces.
(5) Staff Sergeant Torres-Tovar deployed to Kosovo in November 2020, supporting United States and allied operations, and deployed to Syria in July 2025 in support of Operation Inherent Resolve.
(6) Staff Sergeant Torres-Tovar served as a Cavalry Scout with Troop B, 1st Squadron, 113th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division of the Iowa National Guard.
(7) On December 13, 2025, Staff Sergeant Torres-Tovar was killed in action in Palmyra, Syria, while supporting United States counterterrorism operations.
(8) Staff Sergeant Torres-Tovar was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Valor, the Purple Heart, the Combat Action Badge, and the Army Commendation Medal with Combat Device for heroic service during combat operations in support of Operation Inherent Resolve.
(b) Designation.—The clinic of the Department of Veterans Affairs located at 1211 East Army Post Road, Des Moines, Iowa, shall after the date of the enactment of this Act be known and designated as the “Staff Sergeant Edgar Torres-Tovar VA Clinic” or the “Edgar Torres- Tovar VA Clinic”.
(c) References.—Any reference in any law, regulation, map, document, paper, or other record of the United States to the clinic referred to in subsection (b) shall be considered to be a reference to the Staff Sergeant Edgar Torres-Tovar VA Clinic.
SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF STAFF SERGEANT WILLIAM NATHANIEL HOWARD VA CLINIC.
(a) Findings.—Congress finds the following:
(1) Staff Sergeant William Nathaniel “Nate” Howard was born on August 14, 1996, in Marshalltown, Iowa.
(2) Staff Sergeant Howard graduated from Marshalltown High School in 2014.
(3) At the age of 17, while a high school senior, Staff Sergeant Howard enlisted in the Iowa National Guard on November 27, 2013, completing basic combat training and advanced individual training at Fort Benning, Georgia.
(4) Staff Sergeant Howard deployed to Kosovo from November 2020 to July 2021 in support of United States and allied operations, served on the Texas border from April 2024 to May 2024, and deployed to Syria in July 2025 in support of Operation Inherent Resolve.
(5) Staff Sergeant Howard served as a Cavalry Scout with Troop B, 1st Squadron, 113th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division of the Iowa National Guard.
(6) On December 13, 2025, Staff Sergeant Howard was killed in action in Palmyra, Syria, while supporting United States counterterrorism operations.
(7) Staff Sergeant Howard was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Valor, the Purple Heart, the Combat Action Badge, and the Army Commendation Medal with Combat Device for heroic service in combat.
(b) Designation.—The outpatient clinic of the Department of Veterans Affairs located at 201 East Merle Hibbs Boulevard, Marshalltown, Iowa, shall after the date of the enactment of this Act be known and designated as the “Staff Sergeant William Nathaniel Howard VA Clinic” or the “Nate Howard VA Clinic”.
(c) References.—Any reference in any law, regulation, map, document, paper, or other record of the United States to the clinic referred to in subsection (b) shall be considered to be a reference to the Staff Sergeant William Nathaniel Howard VA Clinic. <all>
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