[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 183 (Thursday, November 9, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H8683-H8684]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     HONORING OUR NATION'S VETERANS

  (Mr. PANETTA asked and was given permission to address the House for 
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[[Page H8684]]

minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PANETTA. Mr. Speaker: ``Let us strive to bind up our Nation's 
wounds, to care for him who have borne the battle, his widow, and his 
orphan.''
  Those words were declared by President Abraham Lincoln at his second 
inaugural address where he set out our Nation's obligation to our 
veterans.
  On the eve of Veterans Day, I rise to honor our heroes, the men and 
women who served our Nation, and remind us of our responsibility to 
those, our veterans.
  Now, in my district, on the central coast of California, nearly 
30,000 veterans live in that area, an area imbued with military 
history, from the former Fort Ord to the many military installations 
that are on Active Duty now, to the men and women who have served in 
our community and kept the security of our country safe.
  It has been those servicemembers and their families who have not only 
served, but stayed in our community, who have fulfilled that obligation 
by serving those who served us. Now we have a healthcare clinic, the 
VA-DOD General Gurley health clinic; we have the Central Coast Veterans 
Cemetery; we have the Veterans Transition Center; and we have a 
Veterans Treatment Court.
  On this Veterans Day, we not only want to thank our veterans for 
their service, but we recommit ourselves to serving those who served 
us.

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