[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 161 (Tuesday, October 23, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H11883-H11885]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SUPPORTING AND ENCOURAGING GREATER SUPPORT FOR VETERANS DAY EACH YEAR
Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the
resolution (H. Res. 237) supporting and encouraging greater support for
Veterans Day each year.
The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
The text of the resolution is as follows:
H. Res. 237
Whereas veterans of service in the United States Armed
Forces have served the Nation with honor and at great
personal sacrifice;
Whereas the American people owe the security of the Nation
to those who have defended it;
Whereas on Memorial Day each year, the Nation honors those
who lost their lives in service to the Nation;
Whereas on Veterans Day each year, the Nation honors those
who have defended democracy by serving in the Armed Forces;
Whereas the observance of Memorial Day and Veterans Day is
an expression of faith in democracy, faith in American
values, and faith that those who fight for freedom will
defeat those whose cause is unjust;
Whereas section 116(a) of title 36, United States Code,
provides that ``The last Monday in May is Memorial Day'' and
section 116(b) of that title requests the President to issue
a proclamation each year calling on the people of the United
States to observe Memorial Day by praying, according to their
individual religious faith, for permanent peace, designating
a period of time on Memorial Day during which the people may
unite in prayer for a permanent peace, calling on the people
of the United States to unite in prayer at that time, and
calling on the media to join in observing Memorial Day and
the period of prayer;
Whereas section 4 of the National Moment of Remembrance Act
(Public Law 106-579) provides, ``The minute beginning at 3:00
p.m. (local time) on Memorial Day each year is designated as
the `National Moment of Remembrance' ''; and
Whereas Section 6103(a) of title 5, United States Code,
provides that ``Memorial Day, the last Monday in May'' and
``Veteran's Day, November 11'' are legal public holidays:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) encourages Americans to demonstrate their support for
veterans on Veterans Day each year by treating that day as a
special day of reflection;
(2) encourages schools and teachers to educate students on
the great contributions veterans have made to the country and
its history, both while serving as members of the United
States Armed Forces and after completing their service; and
(3) requests that the President issue a proclamation each
year in connection with the observance of Veterans Day
calling on the people of the United States to observe that
day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
California (Mr. Filner) and the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Boozman)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.
Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I would yield for as much time as he may
consume to the author of this legislation, an Army veteran of the
Vietnam era, the gentleman from California (Mr. Baca).
Mr. BACA. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 237.
I want to thank Representative Filner for his commitment to this
resolution in support of our veterans. And I say ``the support of our
veterans.'' As a veteran myself who served in both the 101st and 82nd
Airborne Division, I am proud to stand with our brave men and women.
Today, there are over 23 million veterans living in the United
States; 165,000 in Iraq and Afghanistan. In my district, we have over
32,000 veterans. There are also many veterans who serve in Congress,
and I want to thank those Members who have served this country. And I
salute each and every one of the Members who have served our country.
To my fellow veterans, I commend you for your service. When our
troops commit to serve our country, they make a promise to serve and to
protect this country.
We also have a moral responsibility to protect the returning veterans
and their families. Veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan must
receive the best treatment. Sadly, for the last few years, I don't
believe that our government has held its end of the bargain. The
conditions at Walter Reed show us that in many cases our veterans are
not receiving the care they deserve. This resolution reminds us that
Veterans Day is not just a day off from school or work. This is a
special day of reflection to honor those who have defended our country.
I visited Israel a few years ago. There I learned how truly they
respect and honor veterans in that country. Israel calls for 1 minute
of silence across the whole country. The country's emergency siren goes
off at 10 a.m., and all TV and radio stations are also interrupted and
programs sounding the alert. Everyone then stops whatever they are
doing, working, driving, anything else, and stands in silence for those
heroes who have served their country. That's paying respect.
My resolution also encourages schools to educate our young people
about the contributions of our veterans to this country because they
ultimately have made the sacrifice for the freedoms that they have to
be in school and to be all that they want to be.
This year, as Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, I have
worked closely with Hispanic veterans and the Medal of Honor veteran
winners from World War II until today. The stories of courage and
sacrifices I've heard from them were nothing short of amazing. They
deserve to be recognized and thanked, as well as every veteran who has
served our country.
I also believe a special thanks is necessary to the veterans and
military families that are left behind. Too often we forget about the
families and veterans who are left behind. They have sacrificed so much
for their loved ones and for America, for America that we stand up
with, America that we have always been with. You are the support system
and the backbone for all of these veterans.
On November 11, on Veterans Day, do not forget those who are the true
heroes of this country. Reflect on the true meaning of Veterans Day,
and remember the sacrifices made by so many proud American sons and
daughters that we will honor on that day.
I urge my colleagues to support this resolution. Veterans Day is
about our heroes.
Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I take great pleasure in urging my colleagues to support
House Resolution 237, urging all of America to make a special effort to
honor America's veterans on November 11, introduced by a veteran of the
Vietnam War, the Honorable Joe Baca.
This resolution reminds each of us of the debt we owe to those whose
sacrifices have made America the beacon of freedom throughout the
world. America's holidays remind us of important events and persons in
our Nation's history. It is significant that veterans are honored with
two holidays that recognize the important role of those who wear the
uniform.
{time} 1400
Veterans have assaulted heavily defended beaches, jumped from
aircraft under heavy fire, shivered in frozen foxholes, slogged through
malaria-ridden jungles, and endured horrible abuses as prisoners of
war. Veterans have survived incredible hardships, they have suffered
wounds, and far too many have paid the ultimate price of freedom. They
have often experienced long separations from families, and they serve
in the outposts of freedom while their fellow citizens enjoy the fruits
of everyday life in America. Each of them, from the Army or Marine
infantrymen on patrol, to the sailor deep in the bowels of an aircraft
carrier, to the airmen miles above the ground sets an example for the
rest of us.
Mr. Speaker, I think it is important to recall how Veterans Day came
to be. In 1921, an unknown World War I American soldier was buried in
Arlington
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National Cemetery. This site on a hillside overlooking the Potomac
River and the City of Washington became the focal point of reverence
for America's veterans. Similar ceremonies occurred earlier in England
and France where an unknown soldier was buried in each of the nation's
highest place of honor, in England West Minster Abby, in France the Arc
de Triomphe.
These memorial gestures all took place on November 11, giving
universal recognition to the celebrated ending of World War I fighting
at 11 a.m., November 11, 1918, the 11th hour of the 11th day of the
11th month. The day became known as Armistice Day. The first
celebration using the term ``Veterans Day'' occurred in Birmingham,
Alabama, in 1947.
Raymond Weeks, a World War II veteran, organized National Veterans
Day, which included a parade and other festivities to honor all
veterans. The event was held on November 11, then designated Armistice
Day. Later, U.S. Representative Edward Rees of Kansas proposed a bill
that would change Armistice Day to Veterans Day. In 1954, Congress
passed the bill that President Eisenhower signed proclaiming November
11 as Veterans Day. Raymond Weeks received the Presidential Citizens
Medal from President Reagan in November 1982. Weeks' local parade and
ceremonies are now an annual event celebrated nationwide.
Mr. Speaker, I again suggest this most fitting of resolutions is
worthy of unanimous support for my colleagues. As Mr. Filner said in
the previous bill, we need to go further.
Mr. Speaker, there is no better way to honor our veterans on Veterans
Day than to ensure funding for their medical care and other benefits.
That is why I call on my friends on the other side of the aisle to
appoint conferees for the Military Construction and VA appropriations
bill.
We are almost a month into the new fiscal year and there is no
practical reason that this bill cannot pass and become law. It won't be
long before this apparent political ploy will begin to affect the care
our Nation's warriors receive. Let's appoint conferees and ensure that
the VA can continue to give our veterans the excellent care that they
deserve.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I would yield such time as he may consume to
our Vietnam aviator, Mr. Boswell of Iowa.
Mr. BOSWELL. Thank you, Chairman Filner, and all of you who have
worked on veterans events this day and these last several months. We
appreciate it very much.
Mr. Speaker, as veterans we know the sacrifice that our
servicemembers pay each day. Whether currently deployed in Iraq,
Afghanistan, Korea, or wherever they might be around the world, serving
on active duty or serving in the Army Reserves or on the National
Guard, our men and women in uniform sacrifice for our freedom.
Oftentimes when we speak of our key military assets we are referring
to the carriers and the stealth bombers and the tanks or the fighter
planes. Well, while those are all impressive, none are more impressive
than our brave men and women in uniform. I think, in fact, I know, they
are our greatest military asset. The men and women who serve our Nation
are the best educated, trained and equipped fighting force in the
world. Because of this, I am proud to stand with my colleague (Mr.
Baca) and all the rest of you to encourage communities and schools
around the country to recognize the contributions veterans have made to
our country and to our history.
It is often said, but we will say it again, a grateful Nation will
always remember those who sacrifice so much in preserving our freedom.
If we are to continue to have the very best of our Nation serve, we
must continue to give them assurances that their service will not be
forgotten. By granting all veterans who served before them the
recognition, care and respect promised, tomorrow's veterans will have
the reassurance in knowing their future needs will be addressed.
I am very proud to stand here to cosponsor this bill today and
encourage the House to pass H. Res. 237. Honor Veterans Day. It's
something we have a privilege to do.
Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from
Florida (Ms. Ginny Brown-Waite).
Ms. GINNY BROWN-WAITE of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong
support of the resolution offered by Representative Baca of California.
I applaud him for bringing this resolution to the floor today and I am
very proud to support his efforts.
With a district with so many veterans, I can honestly stand here
today and tell you that Veterans Day in my district is on par with the
love of God, mom and apple pie. Almost every town and municipality in
the eight counties that make up my congressional district goes out of
their way to hold a public event celebrating the accomplishments of our
Nation's veterans.
Traveling around my district, I have met literally thousands of men
and some women who recount their stories of military service with pride
and with joy. They tell of the bravery of their comrades, of the
sacrifices to protect the innocent and the weak and the memories of
those killed in action.
The resolution before us, House Resolution 237, is a good sense of
the House that encourages the celebration of Veterans Day. Veterans Day
is not just another day to go to the mall or look for Veterans Day
sales but, rather, to honor those who have served our country.
These brave soldiers fought for our freedoms and the liberties of our
Nation around the world, including France, England, Poland, Vietnam,
Korea, Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan. The actions of the American
military throughout the history of our Nation have helped advance the
cause of freedom around the globe and protect citizens from attack from
foreign powers, and today from attacks from terrorists.
Mr. Speaker, I encourage every American to adopt the spirit of this
resolution in celebrating Veterans Day and show our veterans how much
we appreciate their sacrifice and the time served. May God bless our
soldiers and our veterans.
Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. Speaker, in closing, again, I encourage everyone,
certainly we are all anxiously awaiting to get to vote ``yes'' on this
very, very important resolution. I want to thank Mr. Baca for bringing
this to our attention and doing the work that it took to get it on the
floor. A special thanks to Chairman Filner, Mr. Buyer, again, for
working together and getting all of the bills that we have done today
on the floor. I think it represents a tremendous amount of work. As
always, I want to thank the staffs on both sides who worked so hard in
preparing these things and actually getting it to fruition.
So with that, again, I yield back the balance of my time.
General Leave
Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous material on H. Res. 237.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Blumenauer). Is there objection to the
request of the gentleman from California?
There was no objection.
Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, this is an important resolution, and we have
heard the many reasons why, and I thank Mr. Baca for bringing this
resolution to the floor. But after we give our speeches on Veterans
Day, after we have given all the tributes, let's come back and do some
real work that we have to do to really honor our veterans.
I agree with the gentleman from Arkansas. Let's pass that
appropriations bill. If you add the money that is in the appropriations
bill for 2008 with the continuing resolution we did earlier this year
and the supplemental resolution we did earlier, we have added more than
$13 billion for the health care of our veterans for this year over last
year. That is a 30 percent increase. That is unprecedented in the
history of the VA and will put in place all the programs that many of
us want and know that they are needed, deserved and earned.
But let's go further than that. Let's pass together a GI Bill for the
21st century, a bill that not only increases the benefits to a
realistic fashion for education and home loans, but brings in
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the Guard and Reserve units to be eligible for the GI Bill's benefits.
They are doing half the fighting in Iraq and yet do not have full
benefits when they return home. So let us include the Guard and
Reserve.
Let us include an absolute right to mental health treatment. We
cannot neglect mental health, PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder),
and other mental conditions. While we can deal with the visible wounds
a lot easier, we cannot forget the invisible ones.
Let us work together to end that atrocious claims backlog. Over
600,000 claims for disability compensation are pending at the VA.
People have died while waiting for their claim to be adjudicated.
Others have lost their home because they didn't have the income. We can
cut through that bureaucracy, not just add, as the budget has, 1,000
more people, but really look at a whole new way, a nonadversarial way
of dealing with the claims for disability. We can do that.
For too many people, VA means ``veterans adversary.'' VA should mean
``veterans advocate''. We can do that. Let us make sure that every
young man and woman that comes back from Iraq and Afghanistan is
diagnosed for both traumatic brain injury and PTSD, post traumatic
stress disorder. We are going to let tens of thousands of young men and
women out of the service without adequately understanding these wounds,
some of whose symptoms are invisible for some time. They are ticking
time bombs that, coming back to society, will create enormous problems
for our social structure. So let's diagnose it. Let's treat it early.
Let's bring the family in. Let's make sure that we have treated the
mental illness that is so prominent in a war like this that we are
unfortunately pursuing.
Let us end homelessness for our veterans in America. We can do this.
This is not rocket science. We know what it takes. We have all, as I
said earlier, been to Stand-Downs. We know how to bring the community
together to give homeless veterans the support they need to
reintegrate. And I tell you, we are already seeing the problems that we
saw in Vietnam. We have suicide rates of our current vets that are the
highest rates since Vietnam. We have homeless Iraqi vets on the street.
So let us not make the same mistake again that we did in Vietnam, but
let us remember we have both new veterans and older veterans. We have
to serve both. This Nation can do it, we should do it, and working
together, we will do it.
Each year on Veterans Day, Americans come together to honor our
Nation's heroes: the 25 million veterans that have served our country.
House Resolution 237 encourages Americans to demonstrate their
support for veterans. It is important to let these heroes know that
this grateful Nation honors their service to our country.
On this 88th Veterans Day, I urge all Americans to take the time to
show appreciation to those who have answered the call to duty.
Although, we can never adequately thank them for their service and
sacrifice to our Nation, today, on Veterans Day and everyday, we can
humbly salute our brave veterans and soldiers.
Our nation has a proud legacy of supporting the men and women who
have worn the uniform in defense of this country.
As a nation, we have a sacred pact with all those who served in
uniform and we owe them a debt of gratitude.
Our country is founded on the principles of democracy, American
values and faith that those who fight for freedom will defeat those
whose cause is unjust.
I know I speak for the Nation when I say that we stand united behind
our courageous men and women in uniform.
We must be united in seeing that every soldier, sailor, airman and
marine is welcomed back with all the care and compassion this grateful
Nation can bestow.
No other group of Americans has stood stronger and braver for our
democracy than our troops and veterans.
Veterans Day should not be observed just once a year--our Nation's
heroes must be celebrated, honored and remembered for their service to
our Nation--the whole year through.
Veterans have kept their promise to serve our Nation--and we, as a
free and democratic country, must keep our promises to our veterans.
As Chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, it is my honor to
serve the veterans of this Nation and I encourage my fellow Americans
to do the same.
I encourage all Americans to reach out to veterans. Thank them and
their families for their amazing sacrifice. Learn more about their
great contributions to our country and gain the wisdom of their
personal stories of our nation's history.
Americans have learned, again, the truth behind the inscription on
the Korean War Memorial--``Freedom is not free.'' And no one has paid a
higher price and sacrifice for our freedom than our veterans.
Pause to remember the noble service and high sacrifices of those who
have worn this Nation's uniform.
On Veterans Day and the whole year through, join me and take the time
to show your gratitude to those who have answered the call to duty.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Announcement By the Speaker Pro Tempore
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair would remind all persons in the
gallery that they are here as guests of the House, and that any
manifestation of approval or disapproval of the proceedings or any
audible conversation is in violation of the rules of the House.
The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from
California (Mr. Filner) that the House suspend the rules and agree to
the resolution, H. Res. 237.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the resolution was agreed to.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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