[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 166 (Wednesday, November 2, 2011)]
[House]
[Pages H7212-H7213]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     COMMENDING AMERICA'S VETERANS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Indiana (Mr. Donnelly) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. DONNELLY of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend the 
veterans from my State of Indiana and across the United States for 
Veterans Day. We owe them a debt of gratitude for their service to our 
country and for their selfless devotion. They put their lives on the 
line to defend our freedom, and there is no way that we can ever thank 
them enough.
  Over 52,000 veterans live in the congressional district that I am 
honored to represent, Indiana's Second District. Meeting them is an 
inspiration because of their humility and professionalism. When you 
thank them for their service, they usually modestly say, Sir, I was 
just doing my job.
  Veterans embody the definition of patriot--selfless sacrifice in 
order to defend the freedoms that we enjoy in the United States. 
Veterans such as Mr. Marion Minks from Logansport, Indiana, who served 
as a PFC with the U.S. Army during World War II. My office was honored 
to represent Mr. Minks and also to present him with the Bronze Star, 
the Purple Heart, and other military service medals that he earned.
  Veterans such as Mr. Gary Whitehead from Elkhart, Indiana, who served 
in the Navy for more than 20 years and then served his fellow veterans 
as the Elkhart County Veterans Service Officer. For over two decades, 
my office was honored to work with Gary to open a VA clinic to serve 
veterans in north central Indiana in his own county, something he had 
fought for for years and years.
  Veterans such as Rich Mrozinski from La Porte, Indiana, who served in 
the Air Force during the Vietnam War and later became commander of his 
local VFW post. I had the honor to interview Rich for the Library of 
Congress' Veterans History Project.
  It is an honor and a privilege to serve the veterans of Indiana's 
Second Congressional District. It is incumbent upon us to see that our 
veterans receive the best quality care and the benefits that they have 
earned through their sacrifice to our country. We must see that those 
services are provided to our veterans with the promptness and the 
respect that they deserve. That's why, while in Congress, I've worked 
on legislation relating to veterans health care, educational benefits, 
life insurance, and the disability claims process.
  We still have much more work to do on behalf of our veterans. I urge 
my

[[Page H7213]]

colleagues in the House to pass the RAPID Claims Act, H.R. 2377, which 
I introduced to take commonsense steps to improve the benefits system 
and to provide our wounded warriors with a faster response on their 
disability claims. It's the least we can do.
  I also urge the House to pass the E-SERV Act, H.R. 2470, which I 
introduced to improve the efficiency of the current electronic health 
record system for military personnel and veterans. We must seek to make 
the VA system work better for our military personnel, for our veterans, 
and for their families.
  This Veterans Day, I want to say thank you again to all of our vets 
and to all of our servicemembers for their sacrifices for our freedom 
and our security. They always deserve the very best.
  God bless our veterans. God bless our servicemembers. God bless 
Indiana. And God bless the United States of America.

                          ____________________