[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 205 (Friday, December 4, 2020)]
[House]
[Page H6818]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               RETIREMENT BENEFITS FOR AIR AMERICA PILOTS

  (Mr. GROTHMAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. GROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, I think, without question, one of the 
parts of our history that has been underreported is that of the great 
wars against communism, one of which was the Vietnam war.
  One part of the Vietnam war that hasn't been discussed enough is that 
of Air America. It was a CIA-run operation in which they would take 
airlines, scrub off the markings related to the U.S. Air Force, and 
then fly over Laos maybe to drop off supplies, maybe to do rescue 
missions, both with regard to American troops and our Hmong allies.
  I have the honor to introduce, together along with Congresswoman 
Maloney, the bipartisan Air America Act, which will give those people 
who risked their lives, and many of them have died, the same retirement 
benefits as other people who fought for the military in the Vietnam 
war.
  But today I would just like to salute those veterans of Air America, 
many of whom are still alive, some in my district, and hope that we act 
quickly to give them the retirement benefits that they should have had 
many years ago.

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