[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 24 (Wednesday, February 13, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H914-H916]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
{time} 1730
COMMENDING THE PEOPLE OF WASHINGTON FOR SHOWING THEIR SUPPORT FOR
VETERANS
Mr. RODRIGUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to
the resolution (H. Res. 790) commending the people of the State of
Washington for showing their support for the needs of the State of
Washington's veterans and encouraging residents of other States to
pursue creative ways to show their own support for veterans.
The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
The text of the resolution is as follows:
H. Res. 790
Whereas every day, American men and women risk their lives
serving the country in the Armed Forces;
Whereas it is important to many Americans to be able to
donate money directly to causes about which they care;
Whereas it is important for residents to have a tangible
way to demonstrate their support for veterans;
Whereas despite Government funding for the Nation's
veterans, many important needs of veterans remain unmet;
Whereas citizens in the State of Washington have banded
together in a grassroots effort to create a Veterans Family
Fund Certificate of Deposit;
Whereas any financial institution in the State of
Washington can choose to offer a Veterans Family Fund
Certificate of Deposit;
Whereas the Bank of Clark County has become the first
institution to offer these Certificates of Deposit;
Whereas the Governor of the State of Washington and the
Washington State Veterans Affairs Department have expressed
the State's support for this program;
Whereas when a person buys a Veterans Family Fund
Certificate of Deposit from a participating financial
institution, half of the interest is automatically donated to
the State of Washington's Veterans Innovation Program to
address the unmet needs of the State of Washington's veterans
and their families;
Whereas the Veterans Innovation Program provides emergency
assistance to help current or former Washington National
Guard or Reserve service members cope with financial
hardships, unemployment, educational needs, and many basic
family necessities; and
Whereas the Veterans Family Fund Certificate of Deposit
will be officially launched on November 8, 2007: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) commends the people of the State of Washington for
showing their support for the needs of the State of
Washington's veterans; and
(2) encourages residents of other States to pursue creative
ways to show their own support for veterans.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Texas (Mr. Rodriguez) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Stearns) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas.
Mr. RODRIGUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my distinguished colleague,
Congressman Brian Baird of Washington, for drafting this resolution
which calls on the States to create innovative ways to supplement State
and Federal programs created to assist our Nation's veterans. I would
also like to commend the Washington delegation for the strong
bipartisan support they demonstrated in introducing this resolution.
This resolution establishes a certificate of deposit in participating
financial institutions that would automatically donate 50 percent of
the accrued interest to the State of Washington's Veterans Innovation
Program. Providing this avenue to invest in our veterans will help
ensure that the needs of our Nation's heroes are available when they
need them.
I strongly support the resolution and encourage all States to follow
the enthusiasm and support for our veterans. Mr. Speaker, I urge my
colleagues to join me in support of House Resolution 790.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 790, a bill
commemorating the people of the State of Washington for showing their
support for the needs of the State of Washington's veterans and
encouraging residents of other States to pursue creative ways to show
their own support for veterans. This resolution was introduced by my
distinguished colleague from Washington (Mr. Baird).
It was particularly inspired by the Veterans Family Fund Certificate
of Deposit, an insured account created through the grassroots efforts
of citizens in Washington State to benefit military veterans and their
families. The Veterans Family Fund Certificate of Deposit was
officially launched on November 8, 2007.
When an individual purchases a Veterans Family Fund Certificate of
Deposit from a participating financial institution, half of the
interest is automatically donated to the State of Washington's Veterans
Innovation Program. The Veterans Innovation Program was created to
provide emergency assistance to help current or former Washington
National Guard or Reserve servicemembers simply cope with financial
hardships, unemployment, educational needs, and many other basic family
necessities.
The initiative of the citizens of the State of Washington in creating
this program is to be commended. Throughout the years, young men and
women across this great Nation have answered the call to duty and taken
up arms in defense of our freedom and that of others in this world. We
should recognize the service of these veterans and encourage others to
honor them by simply passing this bill today.
I would like to thank Chairman Filner and Ranking Member Buyer for
bringing this resolution so quickly to the floor for consideration
today.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. RODRIGUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to
the gentleman from Washington, Brian Baird.
Mr. BAIRD. I thank my friend and colleague from Texas and the
gentleman from Florida as well. I want to commend Chairman Filner for
his support as well.
I am very, very pleased today to recognize the efforts of my
constituents, who joined together with many others from across
Washington State to unite in a common endeavor, to help our veterans
and their families. The desire of Washington residents to help our
veterans has led to the creation of the Veterans Family Fund
Certificate of Deposit in November of last year.
As my friends have described earlier, anyone wishing to show their
personal support for our veterans can do so in a simple way: They can
simply invest in a 6-month Veterans Family Fund Certificate of Deposit.
After the 6 months, as mentioned earlier, half of the interest earned
on the certificate goes back to the individual who invested, but the
other half of the interest is donated as a charitable contribution to
the Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs' Veterans
Innovation Program.
The Department of Veterans Affairs will use the new funding to
provide assistance to veterans and their families in areas where none
is otherwise available through the State or Federal Government. This
will include direct grants for emergency financial assistance and
efforts to promote the long-term financial stability of Washington
State's veterans. Speaking personally, as someone who worked in the VA
system as a clinical psychologist, I can tell you how valuable this
sort of flexible individualized assistance can be to helping our
veterans and families.
Last year, Congress stepped up to the plate and provided significant
increases in funding for our Nation's veterans, but this is a creative
way for the average citizen to show his or her support for the brave
men and women who
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have served in the Armed Forces. This program was entirely citizen-
driven, and it demonstrates the power of interested individuals who
come together to make a difference.
I would like to particularly acknowledge Jane Jacobsen, who was the
first to come up with the idea for the program, and Mike Worthy of the
Bank of Clark County who made his institution the first to participate
in the program and has already sold more than $300,000 in CDs,
including one which I was happy to invest in myself. I also want to
acknowledge John Lee, the director of the Washington State Department
of Veterans Affairs, who has supported the project from the very start.
And, in particular, I want to give special recognition to the
outstanding Governor of the State of Washington, Governor Christine
Gregoire, who has been a key supporter and advocate for this program
from its infancy.
I am joined in this effort by the entire Washington delegation on
this resolution to commend the people of our State for showing their
support for the needs of our veterans, and we encourage residents of
other States to pursue similar creative ways to show their support for
veterans. Again, I thank the Chair, I thank the gentleman from Texas
and the gentleman from Florida for their time, and urge passage of this
resolution.
Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. RODRIGUEZ. Mr. Speaker, let me take this opportunity to recognize
the Congressman from Rhode Island, Mr. Patrick Kennedy, for such time
as he may consume.
Mr. KENNEDY. I too want to join in support of this resolution and
commend my colleagues from Washington State, particularly my colleague
Brian Baird.
I have always thought, and I have talked to the Bank of America about
this and have an appointment with former Treasury Secretary Bob Rubin
to discuss a Veterans Visa. We all have credit cards and we all have
the affinity cards. They sell us cards where they have the affinity,
where you get your bonus miles with American Airlines, you get your
bonus miles if you use your card with a particular institution and so
forth.
I figure Americans, when they use their credit card, could send their
bonus miles or the equivalent of those to veterans, and they would be
happy to lay down their credit cards, whether it be American Express or
Visa or whatever, with a big red, white and blue credit card. And
someone say, what kind of credit card is that, that it's that color?
And they say, That's the Veterans Visa. That means all those bonus
miles that would have gone to me being able to get a little extra bonus
vacation or whatever is going to go to help our Nation's veterans. And
I will tell you, I think there would be a lot of Americans out there
who would be more than happy to be able to show their patriotic sense
of duty when they are going around, especially those who are very
comfortable and sitting in the business board rooms of this country
doing business transactions all across this country and are sitting
comfortably home while our young men and women are overseas fighting
for this country, to be able to lay down that Veterans Visa card and
have those affinity dollars go to those veterans groups. I think we
could send that directly to the very great organization in New York,
the Fisher Foundation which has a grade A transparent ruling for all
the dollars that it sends to the Intrepid Organization and to the poly-
trauma centers and all the vet centers across the country.
I think this is a terrific notion of the certificate of deposits,
having a percentage of those interest payments going to veterans, and I
think this is one that I am hoping to get started as well. And it
follows on the same concept that you are working on here in Washington
State. I hope to take your concept that you are doing in Washington
State and bring it to my State of Rhode Island. I commend you on it,
and I just want to salute you for the work that you are doing out in
Washington State.
Mr. BAIRD. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
Mr. KENNEDY. I yield to the gentleman from Washington.
Mr. BAIRD. I would just like to thank you for supporting this
initiative and would in turn support your proposal.
What this comes out of is citizens saying, Look, we've got young men
and women, and as many people know in this conflict, it's not just
young men and women, it's people of all ages overseas in Iraq and
Afghanistan and throughout the country. And when they come back home,
we want to show them our support. It's a fine thing and a proper thing
that we would wave a flag and say thank you for your service. But
sometimes people need more than just a thanks. Sometimes they need the
ability to visit a loved one; sometimes they need a home repaired;
sometimes they need a little bit of help financially to go to school.
And the kind of program that we are putting forward today allows over
and above what we are already providing through our VA services to
average citizens to provide support for doing just that. It sounds like
that is what you are seeking to do, Mr. Kennedy. I commend you for your
efforts and look forward to working with you.
Mr. KENNEDY: I likewise thank the gentleman.
Mr. RODRIGUEZ. Mr. Speaker, let me also take this opportunity to
congratulate the author, Mr. Brian Baird of Washington.
General Leave
Mr. RODRIGUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their
remarks and include extraneous materials on House Resolution 790.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Texas?
There was no objection.
Mr. SMITH of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.
Res. 790 and to acknowledge the dedication and support provided to
Washington State veterans by the Veterans Family Fund and the
Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs.
As someone who is privileged to represent thousands of veterans and
their families, I believe that we owe the men and women who have served
our country an enormous amount of gratitude and respect.
People who have never served in uniform frequently ask me how they as
individuals can support veterans beyond simply displaying a flag on
Veterans' Day. Today, I am proud to say that the Veterans Family Fund,
in coordination with the Washington State Department of Veterans
Affairs, has provided a way for all citizens to directly show their
support for our veterans year-round, and provide financial assistance
to those veterans and their families who need a bit of extra support.
The program is simple, and requires only a modest financial
commitment. When taking out a ``Veterans Family Fund'' Certificate of
Deposit for at least 6 months, individuals pledge that half of the
interest earned by the certificate will be donated to benefit veterans
and their families, while the investor receives the other half of the
interest, and a tax deduction for their contribution. The contributions
are managed and disbursed to veterans and their families who are in
need by the Veterans Innovations Program, operated by the Washington
State Department of Veterans Affairs.
The Veterans Family Fund is an independent organization founded by
local citizens to help all Washington State veterans. I would like to
take a moment to specifically acknowledge the members of the Veterans
Family Fund Steering Committee, who made this program possible: Jane
Jacobsen, Executive Director, Confluence Project; Michael C. Worthy,
CEO, Bank of Clark County; Robert Friedenwald, Colonel (retired), U.S.
Army; Betsy Henning, Principal, Alling Henning Associates; and John
Lee, Director, Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs.
I encourage other States to look at the Washington State Department
of Veterans Affairs, and the Veterans Family Fund, as a model of
creativity and innovation in providing support for our veterans at the
local level. I commend their work and ask my colleagues to support the
resolution.
Mr. RODRIGUEZ. I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Rodriguez) that the House suspend the rules
and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 790.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the
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Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be
postponed.
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