[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 28 (Thursday, March 10, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E408]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  HONORING THE 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE OREGON DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS' 
                                AFFAIRS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DARLENE HOOLEY

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 10, 2005

  Ms. HOOLEY. Mr. Speaker, as soldiers returned home after defeating 
the tyrannical and oppressive Axis Powers in World War II, the Oregon 
State Legislature responded to a citizen mandate in creating a new 
agency to oversee services to veterans, their dependents and survivors. 
This agency was charged with the sacred duty of caring for Oregon's 
sons and daughters, husbands and wives, who made the ultimate sacrifice 
in risking--and sometimes forfeiting--their lives for the cause of 
freedom.
  This month marks the 60th anniversary of the Oregon Department of 
Veterans' Affairs creation. During that time, the ODVA has assisted 
Oregon's veterans and their loved ones in obtaining education, securing 
both service-connected and non-service related disability and survivor 
benefits, providing home loans with favorable interest rates, enabling 
appropriate medical care, and generally improving the quality of life 
for Oregon's veterans.
  I rise today to thank the ODVA and its employees for the important 
service they provide to our state. I am heartened by the ODVA's sixty 
year record of accomplishment and I look forward to many more years of 
service to Oregon and its community of veterans.

                          ____________________