[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 84 (Wednesday, May 21, 2008)]
[House]
[Page H4327]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              THE GI BILL

  (Mrs. BOYDA of Kansas asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Mrs. BOYDA of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, without the 1944 GI Bill, I would 
not be standing here today.
  The GI Bill educated my dad after he came home from World War II. And 
today is his 86th birthday; so happy birthday, Dad.
  The GI Bill paid for his tuition, his room, his books, some living 
expenses. It paid for his college degree. It helped him lift our family 
from the Depression into the middle class, and it offered my two 
brothers and me a brighter future.
  Millions of Americans have stories that are just like mine. In all of 
the many ways that America shows gratitude to our veterans, the GI Bill 
has to be one of the greatest.
  I was honored last week to vote to extend and to renew the GI Bill to 
the new generation of veterans that are coming home. The GI Bill was 
always meant to be a permanent promise, a contract with our soldiers, a 
bill of rights for our veterans. And I certainly urge the Senate and 
the President to pass this bill into law as soon as possible.
  Happy birthday, Dad.

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