[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 818 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 818

  Expressing support for and celebrating the 80th anniversary of the 
                 Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 16, 2024

   Mr. Carper (for himself, Mr. Moran, Mr. Tester, and Mr. Boozman) 
 submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Expressing support for and celebrating the 80th 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), commonly known as 
        the ``GI Bill of Rights'';
Whereas the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 was the culmination of the 
        tireless work and advocacy of veterans service organizations and Members 
        of Congress;
Whereas the Act made immediate financial support, transformative educational 
        benefits, and home loan guarantees available to the approximately 
        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 helped expand 
        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, as of 2022, the Department of Veterans Affairs has paid more than 
        $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 more than 
        28,000,000 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 Veterans Administration following the conclusion of 
        hostilities of World War II;
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, a minimum of $5 and as much as $12.50 was returned 
        in growth to the United States;
Whereas the Act led to the education of 14 Nobel laureates, 24 Pulitzer Prize-
        winners, and three Supreme Court justices;
Whereas nearly 1,300 Members of Congress served in the Armed Forces on or after 
        June 22, 1944, and directly benefitted from the enactment of the Act;
Whereas the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017 (Public 
        Law 115-48), commonly known as the ``Forever GI Bill'', was named after 
        Harry W. Colmery of Topeka, Kansas, who was a former National Commander 
        of The American Legion and is credited with drafting the Servicemen's 
        Readjustment Act of 1944; and
Whereas June 22, 2024, is the 80th anniversary of the date on which President 
        Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 
        into law: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) honors the achievements of the Servicemen's 
        Readjustment Act of 1944 (58 Stat. 284, chapter 268), commonly 
        known as the ``GI 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;
            (2) considers the veterans benefitting from the 
        Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 on the 80th 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;
            (3) affirms the responsibility of Congress to be a faithful 
        steward 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
            (4) encourages all people of the United States to celebrate 
        June 22, 2024, as the 80th anniversary of the signing of the 
        Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 by President Franklin D. 
        Roosevelt.
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