[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 82 (Monday, May 19, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4292-S4294]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS

  Mr. SALAZAR. Madam President, this week is a very important week for 
the United States of America and for the Senate because we will begin 
our dialog about where we are in Iraq today and where we are going in 
Iraq in the future; where we are in Afghanistan today and where we are 
going in Afghanistan in the future.
  As part of this dialog we will engage in here in the Senate over the 
next few days, we will also engage in a major discussion about how it 
is that our Nation should treat those veterans from both Iraq and 
Afghanistan, those veterans who have served our country since our 
country was attacked on 9/11.
  It is important at the outset, as we begin this discussion, to first 
of all pause to remember that there has been a great deal of sacrifice 
on the part of Americans in terms of life and blood in both Iraq and 
Afghanistan. We must remember these warriors, these fighters who have 
been fighting for the cause of their country. We must do that every day 
so their contribution is never forgotten.
  As of today, in Iraq there have been 4,078 Americans who have given 
their lives carrying out the orders of their Commander in Chief. In 
Iraq, as of today, since the beginning of that war, there have been 
30,004 members of our armed services who have been wounded in Iraq. Let 
me repeat that number one more time: 30,004 members of our armed 
services who have been wounded in Iraq. In Afghanistan, where we have 
now been for 7 years, fighting a just war, going after the Taliban--an 
effort that spearheaded and should have succeeded in going after Osama 
bin Laden--in Afghanistan there have been 4,097 Americans who have been 
killed and 1,044 who have been wounded. For these brave men and women 
who have served our country and who have given their lives or who have 
been wounded in the cause that has been assigned to them, we should 
dedicate the debate we will have on the floor of the Senate in the days 
ahead.
  Today, as we begin that debate, I want to speak about two things. 
First, with respect to Iraq, it has been my view for the last several 
years that we need to have a new direction in Iraq. In December of 
2006, when the Iraq Study Group, headed up by Congressman Lee Hamilton 
and former Secretary of State James Baker, came forward with

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the bipartisan Iraq Study Group recommendations, they came forward with 
a coherent set of recommendations about how we ought to move forward in 
the transition of the mission in Iraq. That was more than a year and a 
half ago when those recommendations were coming together.
  Since then, some of those recommendations have been implemented, but 
by and large the bulk of those recommendations--in what the heart of 
the recommendations was really all about in the Iraq Study Group 
report--have not been implemented. The heart of those recommendations 
was, if the United States did some things right, we would be able to 
transition in the spring of 2008--which is right now, the spring of 
2008--from a mission of combat over to a mission of support, of 
training the Iraqi forces, of providing protection to the American 
interests in Iraq, making sure we had special forces on the ground to 
chase al-Qaida and other terrorist elements.
  That is the transition of mission which was called for by the Iraq 
Study Group, now some time ago, where they said this transition should 
be completed by the spring of 2008.
  We are not there yet. One of the things on which we will engage in a 
debate on the floor this week is where we ought to go. In my view, that 
transition of mission is something we should require by law. We should 
require it because it is the only way in which ultimately we are going 
to be successful in Iraq. It is the only way in which the baton and 
mantle of responsibility which the United States of America has assumed 
for security in Iraq can be handed over and given to the Iraqi 
Government. It is time for the Iraqi Government and the Iraqi people to 
stand up for their own nation. The time for the United States of 
America to be doing it on behalf of the Iraqi people has come to an 
end. It will be coming to an end.
  I hope this debate leads us to find that new direction in Iraq in the 
days and weeks and months ahead. But there is another element to this 
debate that we will have this week, and that is how we, as a grateful 
nation, honor the 1.6 million veterans who have served this country 
since September 11, 2001, when this country was attacked. This week we 
will have an opportunity to stand for our veterans in a way that walks 
the walk, not just talks the talk about how great our veterans are--
because they are--but allows us an opportunity to send them an 
unmistakable signal that we, as a grateful nation, are willing and 
wanting to pay them for that sacrifice they have made for our country.
  Abraham Lincoln, in his second Inaugural Address on March 4, 1865, 
said the following:

       With malice toward none, with charity for all, with 
     firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let 
     us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the 
     nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the 
     battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may 
     achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves 
     and with all nations.

  Today we will begin the discussion about how we move forward with 
what will be known in time as the 21st century GI bill of rights.
  It is, in our parlance, S. 22, which is a formulation of this 21st 
century GI bill of rights which has been put together by none other 
than Senator Jim Webb from Virginia, who himself has been a great 
contributor to so many causes for American veterans and who, through 
his own pen and through his own writing and his own work, has taken the 
lead in making sure we are providing this honor to our veterans who 
have served since September 11, 2001. For his work, and the work of 
colleagues who will join him in this effort, we need to pay him tribute 
for making sure he is making America walk the walk in honoring our 
veterans.
  I also wish to applaud the great leadership of Senator Hagel, who 
does so much to bring that voice of independence and authenticity to 
the floor of the Senate; to Senator John Warner, who is oftentimes the 
Moses, with his voice leading us out of the wilderness on tough issues 
here in the Senate; to Senator Lautenberg, who himself was a 
beneficiary of the GI bill of rights as a World War II veteran and who 
today speaks so eloquently on behalf of the veterans and the military 
policy of our country. And also to all of the other Senators, the 58 
Senators who have joined us in this legislation, along with Senator 
Akaka, who is the chairman of our Veterans Affairs' Committee, who so 
often is standing to make sure we do not forget what the veterans have 
done here for us in America, along with Senator Inouye, Senator 
Stevens, and others who have been so much a part of this effort.
  I am pleased that the bill that was reported out of the 
Appropriations committee with the 2008 Supplemental Appropriations Act, 
includes provisions to help a new generation of veterans receive the 
educational benefits they have earned through their service in wartime. 
The 1.6 million soldiers and sailors, airmen and marines who have 
served in Iraq or Afghanistan over the last 7 years, often with 
multiple deployments which last up to not only a year but 15 months, 
have given more than their country could have expected of them. It is 
right and it is proper that their country honor them with the benefits 
commensurate with their service and with their sacrifice.
  The GI bill the Congress passed after World War II proved to be one 
of the greatest ideas this country has ever had. That GI bill was based 
on a simple but powerful premise: If you served your country in 
wartime, your country would pay for your education. If you served your 
country during wartime, your country would pay for your education--a 
simple but powerful premise.
  For the 7.8 million World War II veterans who took advantage of the 
GI bill, this great idea opened the doors of opportunity in civilian 
life. It eased the difficult transition from wartime service to 
peacetime employment and equipped the greatest generation--the greatest 
generation--with the education and skills to lead our country into an 
era of prosperity and into an era of growth.
  Over the last half century, the educational benefits we offer our 
veterans have evolved from the wartime service benefits of the World 
War II GI bill to a more limited set of educational benefits known as 
the Montgomery GI bill. Designed primarily for peacetime, the 
Montgomery GI bill helps defray the cost of tuition, but it does not 
cover the full cost of education. Today, almost 7 years into the war in 
Afghanistan and more than 5 years into the war in Iraq, the educational 
benefits we offer our veterans should reflect the magnitude of the 
sacrifices they are making on our behalf.
  The 21st century GI bill does this by restoring the principle of the 
first wartime GI bill. Under S. 22, servicemembers who have answered 
the call of duty since September 11 will receive an educational benefit 
that will cover the full cost of a 4-year public education. The benefit 
will be available to not only the Active-Duty component but also to 
members of the National Guard and Reserve, proportional to their amount 
of Active-Duty service since September 11, 2001. It is fitting and it 
is proper that they be included in this benefit.
  Now, in an unfathomable and incomprehensible way, to me, I know there 
are critics of this bill, including the President of the United States, 
who said that this bill is too expensive--that this bill is too 
expensive. To them, I say that providing our servicemembers a 
comprehensive educational benefit is simply a cost of war.
  Since 2003, we have spent over $525 billion in Iraq alone--that is 
$525 billion in Iraq alone. This year, we will spend nearly $150 
billion in Iraq, over $12 billion a month every month. Compare that to 
this 21st century GI bill of rights. It will cost between $2.5 billion 
and $4 billion a year--$2.5 billion to $4 billion a year. Think of 
that. The cost of this new GI bill is about the same as a cost of 
conducting the war in Iraq for 10 days--for 10 days.
  As we have a duty to provide our men and women in uniform the 
equipment they need to do their jobs, so, too, we as a nation and the 
Senate have a duty to provide them the educational benefits that will 
assist their transition back to civilian life. This should not even be 
a close question. This should not even be a debate.
  In addition to all the opportunities this bill will create for 
America's newest veterans, this bill is a smart investment for both our 
military and our economy. The educational benefits under this 
legislation would help us rebuild our military.

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  Over the last several years, the Army has consistently been missing 
its recruiting goals. As a result, the Army has relaxed its enlistment 
policies, lowered the standards for signing up new soldiers, and 
implemented a stop-loss policy to keep soldiers in beyond their 
contract obligation. This formula is symptomatic of a military in 
America which today is under severe strain. It is a formula that will, 
over time--and it already has--erode the quality of our armed services. 
The benefits under this 21st century GI bill will reverse this trend by 
attracting a new generation of high-quality recruits who come to the 
service of their country for the promise of an education in return.
  S. 22 is a powerful recruitment tool. It is also a very smart 
economic investment. Each month it seems we read a new report 
describing how America is falling behind in education and losing its 
global competitiveness. With tuition costs rising, more and more young 
Americans are finding college out of reach. Ask those young Americans 
in college today or ask their parents today about how far out of reach 
college has become for them.
  Veterans who in another era would have been able to use their 
Montgomery GI bill to pay for college now find their benefits have not 
kept pace with tuition growth. After years of service to their country 
and multiple deployments, college remains out of reach.
  By making college accessible again to those who have answered the 
call since September 11, we will be making one of the smartest 
investments we can possibly make. By giving veterans a clear path from 
the military to the classroom, we will be equipping them with the 
skills and knowledge they need to lead our world. We will be helping 
them fulfill their destiny as the greatest generation of their time, 
leaders in their community, leaders in business, and leaders for 
America and the world in the 21st century.
  I am proud of all of my colleagues who are behind this bill. I am 
proud of the leadership of Senator Danny Akaka, the chairman of the 
Veterans' Affairs Committee. I am proud of Senator Webb, who has led 
this. I am proud of Senator Hagel, whose principled voice serves our 
soldiers so well; Senator Warner, whose wisdom and leadership on the 
Armed Services Committee has been so valuable for so many years; and 
Senator Lautenberg and Senator Akaka, who both attended college under 
the GI bill in World War II. I thank each of them for their leadership.
  I am proud the 21st century GI bill is included in this fiscal year 
2008 supplemental. I am proud we have resisted efforts to weaken the 
bill. I am proud we have the opportunity to honor the service of our 
veterans with this GI bill to better reflect their sacrifice.
  I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Hawaii is 
recognized.

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