[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 256 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 256

 Expressing support for the designation of the week of June 16 through 
     June 23, 2019, as ``National GI Bill Commemoration Week'' and 
 celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Servicemen's Readjustment Act 
                                of 1944.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 20, 2019

  Mr. Carper (for himself, Mr. Isakson, and Mr. Tester) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing support for the designation of the week of June 16 through 
     June 23, 2019, as ``National GI Bill Commemoration Week'' and 
 celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Servicemen's Readjustment Act 
                                of 1944.

Whereas, on July 28, 1943, in seeking a solution to integrate returning members 
        of the Armed Forces into civilian life, President Franklin D. Roosevelt 
        called for a comprehensive set of veterans benefits during a fireside 
        chat saying, ``While concentrating on military victory, we are not 
        neglecting the planning of the things to come . . . . Among many other 
        things we are, today, laying plans for the return to civilian life of 
        our gallant men and women in the Armed Services.'';
Whereas, on June 22, 1944, in demonstration of the full support of the United 
        States for the transition of members of the Armed Forces to civilian 
        life, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into law the Servicemen's 
        Readjustment Act of 1944 (58 Stat. 284, chapter 268), more commonly 
        known as the ``G.I. Bill of Rights'';
Whereas the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 was the culmination of the 
        tireless work and advocacy of veteran service organizations and Members 
        of Congress;
Whereas the Act made immediate financial support, transformative educational 
        benefits, and home loan guarantees available to the 16,000,000 veterans 
        who served in the Armed Forces during World War II;
Whereas the Act helped approximately 7,800,000 veterans enroll in post-secondary 
        education or training, helped to democratize higher education in the 
        United States, and caused total post-secondary education enrollment to 
        grow exponentially from 1,676,856 in 1945, with veterans accounting for 
        5.2 percent of total post-secondary education enrollment, to 2,338,226 
        in 1947, with veterans accounting for 49.2 percent of the total;
Whereas the Act contributed approximately 450,000 engineers, 240,000 
        accountants, 238,000 teachers, 91,000 scientists, 67,000 doctors, 
        122,000 dentists, 17,000 writers and editors, and thousands of other 
        professionals to the workforce of the United States and expanded the 
        middle class more than at any other point in the history of the United 
        States;
Whereas the Act expressed the duty, responsibility, and desire of a grateful 
        United States to see to it that those who served on active duty in the 
        Armed Forces are afforded every opportunity to become disciplined forces 
        for prosperity and progress in the United States through economic 
        opportunity and investment;
Whereas Congress passed subsequent Acts to provide educational assistance to new 
        generations of veterans, including the Veterans' Readjustment Benefits 
        Act of 1966 (Public Law 89-358), the Post-Vietnam Era Veterans' 
        Educational Assistance Act of 1977 (title IV of Public Law 94-502), the 
        Veterans' Educational Assistance Act of 1984 (title VII of Public Law 
        98-525), the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 
        (title V of Public Law 110-252), and the Harry W. Colmery Veterans 
        Educational Assistance Act of 2017 (Public Law 115-48);
Whereas, since the signing of the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, the 
        Department of Veterans Affairs has paid approximately $400,000,000,000 
        in educational assistance to approximately 25,000,000 veterans and their 
        loved ones who continue to excel academically in post-secondary 
        education;
Whereas the Act created the Department of Veterans Affairs Home Loan Guarantee 
        program, which, since 1944, has provided a pathway for approximately 
        24,000,000 veterans to purchase a home guaranteed by the Department, the 
        majority of which are purchased with no down payment;
Whereas the Act improved health care opportunities for veterans by transferring 
        medical facilities from the Army and the Navy and providing funding for 
        hospitals of the Department of Veterans Affairs;
Whereas this combination of opportunities changed the social and economic fabric 
        of the United States for the better, with a 1988 report from the 
        Subcommittee on Education and Health of the Joint Economic Committee of 
        Congress concluding that for every $1 the United States invested 
        pursuant to the Act, $6.90 was returned in growth to the economy of the 
        United States;
Whereas 1,262 Members of Congress served in the Armed Forces on or after June 
        22, 1944, and, therefore, many Members of Congress directly benefitted 
        from the enactment of the Act;
Whereas June 22, 2019, is the 75th anniversary of the date on which President 
        Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Act into law; and
Whereas the week of June 16 through June 23, 2019, is an appropriate week to 
        designate as ``National GI Bill Commemoration Week'': Now, therefore, be 
        it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) expresses support for the designation of the week of 
        June 16 through June 23, 2019, as ``National GI Bill 
        Commemoration Week'';
            (2) honors the achievements of the Servicemen's 
        Readjustment Act of 1944 (58 Stat. 284, chapter 268), more 
        commonly known as the ``G.I. Bill of Rights'', in democratizing 
        higher education, increasing home ownership, establishing 
        greater citizenship through economic empowerment, and 
        empowering a generation that would serve for decades to guide 
        the transformation of the United States into a global force for 
        good;
            (3) considers the veterans benefitting from the 
        Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 on the 75th anniversary 
        of its enactment--
                    (A) to be equal to the challenge of creating a 
                lasting prosperity for the United States as their 
                forebears; and
                    (B) to have the opportunity to become the heirs to 
                the Greatest Generation;
            (4) affirms the responsibility of Congress to be faithful 
        stewards of educational assistance provided under laws 
        administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to ensure 
        that such assistance endures as an honorable investment of 
        public dollars; and
            (5) encourages all people of the United States to celebrate 
        June 22, 2019, as the 75th anniversary of the signing of the 
        Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 by President Franklin D. 
        Roosevelt.
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