[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 165 (Thursday, November 5, 2015)]
[House]
[Page H8138]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   VETERANS RECORD RECONSTRUCTION ACT

  (Mrs. CAPPS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address an issue that 
touches veterans in hundreds of congressional districts across this 
Nation.
  In 1973, a fire at a U.S. Government archives facility destroyed as 
many as 18 million official military records. This loss has made it 
incredibly difficult for many veterans to prove the details of their 
service, and it has even prevented some from getting the benefits that 
they deserve. In the year since the fire, some affected files have been 
painstakingly reconstructed by using unofficial pieces of information, 
including postmarked letters and photographs, but this process can be 
confusing, time consuming, and costly to the veteran.
  Somehow, in 42 years, no system has been established to assist these 
veterans--whose files were lost by no fault of their own--in 
reassembling their records. We simply must do better. That is why I 
have introduced the Veterans Record Reconstruction Act: to establish a 
clear set of guidelines for reconstructing a veteran's service record 
when it has been damaged or destroyed.
  As we commemorate Veterans Day this next week, I urge my colleagues 
to support this commonsense, straightforward bill so that every veteran 
has the opportunity to receive the benefits he or she has earned.

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