[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 79 (Tuesday, June 21, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: June 21, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                  THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE GI BILL

                                 ______


                         HON. ROBERT H. MICHEL

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 21, 1994

  Mr. MICHEL. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise today 
to salute the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Servicemen's 
Readjustment Act of 1944, better known as the ``GI Bill.''
  These days, the American people look with great suspicion at the role 
of Government in their lives. They wonder if they are getting their 
money's worth with big Government programs with large bureaucracies. 
And many times, the taxpayers are not getting their money's worth.
  But the GI bill gave America more than its money's worth. In fact, 
with the possible exceptions of the Marshall plan and the Louisiana 
Purchase, the GI bill has been the greatest investment in the history 
of the American taxpayer.
  What did the GI bill do? It simply helped to make the United States 
the greatest, most stable, and most progressive democracy on Earth.
  It educated 20 million veterans. It built more than 14 million homes. 
It is credited with creating the modern American middle class. It is 
the financial linchpin of our higher education system and our real 
estate industry. It transformed our universities from elitist preserves 
for the wealthy to institutions attainable and affordable to the common 
man. And it gave the average American family a chance to own their own 
home.
  Mr. Speaker, it is no secret why this investment in America's future 
works and why other Great Society programs do not. The GI program gives 
veterans a chance to help themselves. The Great Society programs 
discourage private initiative. The GI bill emphasizes individual 
achievement, while the Great Society programs emphasize bureaucratic 
achievement. And the GI bill has proved to be a catapult to success 
while the Great Society programs have proved to be a road to defeat.
  As I salute the GI bill's 50th anniversary, I should mention my own 
personal thanks to the American Legion and those who worked so hard to 
make this bill the law of the land. After all, as a young veteran, I 
myself put the GI bill to good use in finishing at Bradley University 
after the Second World War. And I am just one of the millions of 
success stories spawned by the framers of this historic legislation.

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