[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 8 (Tuesday, February 1, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H241]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   RAISING THE MILITARY DEATH BENEFIT

  (Mrs. BLACKBURN asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, it is impossible to declare these 
elections in Iraq anything but a success, and we Americans join the 
Iraqis in their celebration, and rightly so.
  I have been in e-mail contact with some of the Iraqis that I have met 
during my visit there, and I heard from some of our men and women in 
uniform, and they are proud of what they have achieved, and they are 
ready to keep working hard.
  But, Mr. Speaker, no discussion of the election success is complete 
without recognizing the active duty, Reserve, and National Guard men 
and women who have given their lives in this war on terror in the 
Middle East. It is their sacrifice that is putting terrorism on the 
run. We cannot forget them, and we must not forget their families.
  That is why the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Wilson) and I have 
introduced the Blackburn-Wilson Honoring Our Families and Fallen 
Soldiers Act today. We are joining Senator Allen in this effort. I ask 
my colleagues to cosponsor the legislation to increase to $100,000 the 
death gratuity benefit the family of a soldier killed in combat 
receives. Our bill would also make this benefit retroactive to October 
1, 2001.
  Mr. Speaker, it is the right thing to do.

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