[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 168 (Monday, November 16, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H8175-H8176]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               HONOR AMERICA'S GUARD-RESERVE RETIREES ACT

  Mr. COSTELLO of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the 
rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1384) to amend title 38, United States 
Code, to recognize the service in the reserve components of certain 
persons by honoring them with status as veterans under law.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1384

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Honor America's Guard-
     Reserve Retirees Act''.

     SEC. 2. PROVISION OF STATUS UNDER LAW BY HONORING CERTAIN 
                   MEMBERS OF THE RESERVE COMPONENTS AS VETERANS.

       (a) Veteran Status.--
       (1) In general.--Chapter 1 of title 38, United States Code, 
     is amended by inserting after section 107 the following new 
     section:

     ``Sec. 107A. Honoring as veterans certain persons who 
       performed service in the reserve components

       ``Any person who is entitled under chapter 1223 of title 10 
     to retired pay for nonregular service or, but for age, would 
     be entitled under such chapter to retired pay for nonregular 
     service shall be honored as a veteran but shall not be 
     entitled to any benefit by reason of this section.''.
       (2) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections at the 
     beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting after the 
     item relating to section 107 the following new item:

``107A. Honoring as veterans certain persons who performed service in 
              the reserve components.''.
       (b) Clarification Regarding Benefits.--No person may 
     receive any benefit under the laws administered by the 
     Secretary of Veterans Affairs solely by reason of section 
     107A

[[Page H8176]]

     of title 38, United States Code, as added by subsection (a).

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Costello) and the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. 
Brown) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania.


                             General Leave

  Mr. COSTELLO of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent 
that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend 
their remarks and to add extraneous material on H.R. 1384.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. COSTELLO of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time 
as I may consume.
  I urge all Members to support H.R. 1384, the Honor America's Guard-
Reserve Retirees Act, which was introduced by the gentleman from 
Minnesota (Mr. Walz).
  The National Guard and Reserve are vital to our Nation's defense. 
These brave men and women enlist while knowing they can be deployed 
with little notice, just like America's Active Duty servicemembers.
  Despite the invaluable contributions of National Guard and Reserve 
personnel to our national security, Members may be surprised to learn 
that many of the men and women who served in the National Guard or 
Reserve for 20 years may not legally be considered ``veterans'' if they 
were never called up for Active Duty. This is not fair to these brave 
men and women who have demonstrated their patriotism through their 
willingness to wear the uniform and defend our Nation whenever and 
wherever they are needed.
  H.R. 1384 would not provide any monetary benefit. It would simply 
honor the service and sacrifice of retired National Guard and Reserve 
personnel by giving them the prestigious title of ``veteran''--in my 
opinion, the most prestigious title that Congress can bestow.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I stand before this body to support legislation introduced by my 
friend and colleague from Minnesota, Tim Walz. As a retired guardsman 
himself and as the highest ranking enlisted soldier to serve in 
Congress, I know this bill is near and dear to his heart.
  The Honor America's Guard-Reserve Retirees Act closes a long-existing 
gap. Federal law has neglected to acknowledge our guardsmen and -women 
and reservists who have served fewer than 180 days of Active Duty 
service as ``veterans.'' This law would remedy this longstanding 
oversight by legally recognizing Guard and Reserve retirees as American 
veterans.
  Our military is more dependent on Reserve components than they have 
been since the dawn of modern warfare. These are men and women who have 
stood ready and trained to serve our Nation at war. They have served a 
dedicated 20 years of service. At the very least, we should acknowledge 
the dedication of these servicemembers by legally recognizing them as 
American veterans.
  I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. COSTELLO of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of 
my time.
  Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may 
consume to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Walz).
  Mr. WALZ. I thank the subcommittee chairman and the ranking member 
for the time. More importantly, I thank both of them and their 
respective staffs for the bipartisan and continuously exceptional 
effort to serve our veterans. I thank them for the opportunity to move 
this forward.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill has passed the House multiple times over the 
last 8 years. It is very simple. It is less than 150 words, and it is 
very rare in that it costs nothing, but I would argue that it is very 
important. The men and women of the Reserve component, as you so 
eloquently heard by my colleagues who spoke prior, take the exact same 
oath of office and are held to the exact same standards as the Active 
component. They sacrifice their time and energy. They stand at the 
ready if called upon, whether it is assisting flood victims in 
Minnesota, fighting wildfires across the Western United States, or 
fighting overseas in the protection of our freedoms.
  For those who have completed 20 years or more in the Guard or Reserve 
but who have not served a qualifying period of Title X Active Duty, we 
honor their service with health care benefits and monetary benefits, 
with one notable exception--they must call themselves ``military 
retirees'' and not ``veterans.'' As the gentleman from Pennsylvania 
noted, I think most Americans, when I talk to them, are unaware of 
this. Once they find out, they are appalled that we don't do it. This 
bill closes the loophole.
  There are about 280,000 Americans who fall into this category. They 
have devoted their lives to our Nation--they have served honorably for 
20 or 20-plus years--and this bill will recognize their service. It 
might be as simple as buying a hat that reads ``Army veteran'' or 
getting a license place for your car. It bestows no monetary benefits 
to these brave men and women, merely the title. Again, my colleague 
from Pennsylvania, I think, said it right in that it is a pretty 
important title--a veteran of the United States military.
  It also does something else very important. In doing so, we recognize 
the integral role our National Guard and Reserve play in our Nation's 
defense. There is nothing quite so unifying or quintessentially 
American as the citizen soldier. Dating back to the founding of our 
Nation or serving overseas at a time of fighting terrorism, it is the 
mother who leaves her family and her law firm to serve her Nation, and 
it is the father who leaves his teaching job and his family to serve 
his Nation.

                              {time}  1715

  It is about recognizing that our All Volunteer Force would be 
unsustainable if it were not for the men and women who dedicated 20 
years of their lives. And one of the most important things they did, 
most of those are cold war warriors who were responsible for the 
training of the current force that protects us.
  So I thank the gentleman and the ranking member again for their 
commitment to our veterans.
  I ask my colleagues--we are on the heels of Veterans Day here--to add 
these 280,000. Let's do what is right. Let's call them veterans and 
honor their service.
  Mr. COSTELLO of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of 
my time.
  Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I urge 
my colleagues to support passage of H.R. 1384.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. COSTELLO of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I also urge Members to 
support H.R. 1384.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Costello) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1384.
  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. COSTELLO of Pennsylvania. 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, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

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