[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 109 (Tuesday, July 31, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8482-S8484]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 143--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING THE 
 DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS ON VETERANS' CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE 
COUNTRY AND THE DESIGNATION OF THE WEEK OF NOVEMBER 11 THROUGH NOVEMBER 
           17, 2001, AS ``NATIONAL VETERANS AWARENESS WEEK''

  Mr. BIDEN (for himself, Mr. Conrad, Mr. Graham, Mr. Levin, Mr. 
Santorum, Mr. Akaka, Mr. Breaux, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Cochran, Mr. Dodd, 
Mr. Nelson of Florida, Mr. Baucus, Mr. Bayh, Mr. Bunning, Mr. Dorgan, 
Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Daschle, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Inouye, Ms. Landrieu, Mr. 
Leahy, Mr. Miller, Mr. Murkowski, Mr. Reid, Mr. Sarbanes, Mr. Bingaman, 
Mr. Byrd, Mr. Dayton, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Kohl, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. McCain, 
Mr. Rockefeller, Mr. Brownback, Mrs. Lincoln, Mr. Warner, Ms. Stabenow, 
Mr. Domenici, Mr. Voinovich, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Chafee, Mr. DeWine, Mr. 
Grassley, Mr. Hagel, Mr. Inhofe, Ms. Snowe, Mr. Thurmond, Ms. Collins, 
Mr. Carper, Mr. Stevens, Mr. Ensign, Mr. Roberts, Mr. Smith of New 
Hampshire, and Mr. Bond) submitted the following resolution; which was 
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary:

                              S. Res. 143

       Whereas tens of millions of Americans have served in the 
     Armed Forces of the United States during the past century;
       Whereas hundreds of thousands of Americans have given their 
     lives while serving in the Armed Forces during the past 
     century;

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       Whereas the contributions and sacrifices of the men and 
     women who served in the Armed Forces have been vital in 
     maintaining our freedoms and way of life;
       Whereas the advent of the all-volunteer Armed Forces has 
     resulted in a sharp decline in the number of individuals and 
     families who have had any personal connection with the Armed 
     Forces;
       Whereas this reduction in familiarity with the Armed Forces 
     has resulted in a marked decrease in the awareness by young 
     people of the nature and importance of the accomplishments of 
     those who have served in our Armed Forces, despite the 
     current educational efforts of the Department of Veterans 
     Affairs and the veterans service organizations;
       Whereas our system of civilian control of the Armed Forces 
     makes it essential that the Nation's future leaders 
     understand the history of military action and the 
     contributions and sacrifices of those who conduct such 
     actions; and
       Whereas on June 14, 2001, the Senate adopted an amendment 
     to the Better Education for Students and Teachers Act 
     expressing the sense of the Senate that the Secretary of 
     Education should work with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, 
     the Veterans Day National Committee, and the veterans service 
     organizations to encourage, prepare, and disseminate 
     educational materials and activities for elementary and 
     secondary school students aimed at increasing awareness of 
     the contributions of veterans to the prosperity and freedoms 
     enjoyed by United States citizens: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
       (1) the week of November 11 through November 17, 2001, be 
     designated as ``National Veterans Awareness Week'' for the 
     purpose of emphasizing educational efforts directed at 
     elementary and secondary school students concerning the 
     contributions and sacrifices of veterans; and
       (2) the President should issue a proclamation calling on 
     the people of the United States to observe such week with 
     appropriate educational activities.

  Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, today I have the honor of joining with 51 
of my colleagues in submitting a resolution expressing the sense of the 
Senate that the week that includes Veterans' Day this year be 
designated as ``National Veterans Awareness Week.'' The purpose of 
National Veterans Awareness Week is to serve as a focus for educational 
programs designed to make students in elementary and secondary schools 
aware of the contributions of veterans and their importance in 
preserving American peace and prosperity.
  Why do we need such an educational effort? In a sense, this action 
has become necessary because we are victims of our own success with 
regard to the superior performance of our armed forces. The plain fact 
is that there are just fewer people around now who have had any 
connection with military service. For example, as a result of 
tremendous advances in military technology and the resultant 
productivity increases, our current armed forces now operate 
effectively with a personnel roster that is one-third less in size than 
just 10 years ago. In addition, the success of the all-volunteer 
career-oriented force has led to much lower turnover of personnel in 
today's military than in previous eras when conscription was in place. 
Finally, the number of veterans who served during previous conflicts, 
such as World War II, when our military was many times larger than 
today, is inevitably declining.
  The net result of these changes is that the percentage of the entire 
population that has served in the Armed Forces is dropping rapidly, a 
change that can be seen in all segments of society. Whereas during 
World War II it was extremely uncommon to find a family in America that 
did not have one of its members on active duty, now there are numerous 
families that include no military veterans at all. As a consequence of 
this lack of opportunity for contacts with veterans, many of our young 
people have little or no connection with or knowledge about the 
important historical and ongoing role of men and women who have served 
in the military. This omission seems to have persisted despite ongoing 
educational efforts by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the 
veterans service organizations.
  This lack of understanding about military veterans' important role in 
our society can have potentially serious repercussions. In our country, 
civilian control of the armed forces is the key tenet of military 
governance. A citizenry that is oblivious to the capabilities and 
limitations of the armed forces, and to its critical role throughout 
our history, can make decisions that have unexpected and unwanted 
consequences. Even more important, general recognition of the 
importance of those individual character traits that are essential for 
military success, such as patriotism, selflessness, sacrifice, and 
heroism, is vital to maintaining these key aspects of citizenship in 
the armed forces and even throughout the population at large.
  Among today's young people, a generation that has grown up largely 
during times of peace and extraordinary prosperity and has embraced a 
``me first'' attitude, it is perhaps even more important to make sure 
that there is solid understanding of what it has taken to attain this 
level of comfort and freedom. The failure of our children to understand 
why a military is important, why our society continues to depend on it 
for ultimate survival, and why a successful military requires integrity 
and sacrifice, will have predictable consequences as these youngsters 
become of voting age. Even though military service is a responsibility 
that is no longer shared by a large segment of the population, as it 
has been in the past, knowledge of the contributions of those who have 
served in the Armed Forces is as important as it has ever been. To the 
extent that many of us will not have the opportunity to serve our 
country in uniform, we must still remain cognizant of our 
responsibility as citizens to fulfill the obligations we owe, both 
tangible and intangible, to those who do serve and who do sacrifice on 
our behalf.
  The importance of this issue was brought home to me last year by 
Samuel I. Cashdollar, who was then a 13-year-old seventh grader at 
Lewes Middle School in Lewes, Delaware. Samuel won the Delaware VFW's 
Youth Essay Contest that year with a powerful presentation titled ``How 
Should We Honor America's Veterans''? Samuel's essay pointed out that 
we have Nurses' Week, Secretaries' Week, and Teachers' Week, to rightly 
emphasize the importance of these occupations, but the contributions of 
those in uniform tend to be overlooked. We don't want our children 
growing up to think that Veterans Day has simply become a synonym for 
department store sale, and we don't want to become a Nation where more 
high school seniors recognize the name Britney Spears than the name 
Dwight Eisenhower.
  Now, it is appropriate to ask, ``We already have Veterans Day, why do 
we need National Veterans Awareness Week?''. Historically, Veterans Day 
was established to honor those who served in uniform during wartime. 
Although we now customarily honor all veterans on Veterans Day, I see 
it as a holiday that is focused on honoring individuals, the courageous 
and selfless men and women without whose actions our country would not 
exist as it does. National Veterans Awareness Week would complement 
Veterans Day by focusing on education as well as commemoration, on the 
contributions of the many in addition to the heroism and service of the 
individual. National Veterans Awareness Week would also present an 
opportunity to remind ourselves of the contributions and sacrifices of 
those who have served in peacetime as well as in conflict; both groups 
work unending hours and spend long periods away from their families 
under conditions of great discomfort so that we all can live in a land 
of freedom and plenty.
  Earlier this year, the Senate adopted my amendment to the education 
bill calling on the Department of Education to assist in the 
development of educational programs to enlighten our country's students 
about the contributions of veterans. Last year, my Resolution 
designating National Veterans Awareness Week had 60 cosponsors and was 
approved in the Senate by unanimous consent. I ask my colleagues to 
continue this trend of support for our veterans by endorsing this 
resolution again this year. Our children and our childrens' children 
will need to be well informed about what veterans have accomplished in 
order to make appropriate decisions as they confront the numerous 
worldwide challenges that they are sure to face in the future.

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