The Schuyler Otis Bland Memorial Library, located at the United States Merchant Marine Academy, which opened for service on March 17, 1969, was named after Representative Bland, a member of Congress from Virginia from 1918 until his death in 1950. From 1922 until 1950 Representative Bland was a member of the House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee, and its predecessor, serving as chairman for 16 years. Congressman Bland is principally remembered as "father of the Merchant Marine Act of 1936," the nation’s basic maritime statute.