[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 183 (Tuesday, October 19, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7078-S7079]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    WOMEN VETERANS APPRECIATION DAY

  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
Committee on the Judiciary be discharged from further consideration and 
the Senate now proceed to S. Res. 267.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 267) designating June 12, 2021, as 
     ``Women Veterans Appreciation Day''.

  There being no objection, the committee was discharged and the Senate 
proceeded to consider the resolution.
  Mr. SCHUMER. I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed 
to; the Booker amendment at the desk to the preamble be considered and 
agreed to; the preamble, as amended, be agreed to; and that the motions 
to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 267) was agreed to.
  The amendment (No. 3862) was agreed to as follows:

                    (Purpose: To amend the preamble)

       Beginning in the second whereas clause of the preamble, 
     strike ``Whereas women'' and all that follows through the 
     semicolon at the end of the seventh whereas clause and insert 
     the following:
       Whereas women have formally been a part of the United 
     States Armed Forces since the establishment of the Army Nurse 
     Corps in 1901 but have informally served since the inception 
     of the United States military;
       Whereas over 3,000,000 women have served the United States 
     honorably and with valor on land, on sea, in the air, and in 
     space, including--
       (1) as ``Molly Pitchers'' during the American Revolution, 
     providing support to the Continental Army and taking their 
     place on the artillery gun lines as soldiers fell;
       (2) by passing as men to serve as soldiers during the 
     Revolutionary War, the Early Republic, and the Civil War;
       (3) as doctors, nurses, ambulance drivers, and Signal Corps 
     telephone operator ``Hello Girls'' during World War I;
       (4) as, during World War II--
          (A) members of the Women's Army Corps (commonly known as 
     ``WACs'');
          (B) Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service 
     (commonly known as ``WAVES'');
          (C) members of the Coast Guard Women's Reserve (commonly 
     known as ``SPARS'');
          (D) Women Airforce Service Pilots (commonly known as 
     ``WASPs''); and
          (E) nurses;
       (5) as permanent members of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, 
     and Air Force, serving as nurses, physicians, physical 
     therapists, air traffic controllers, intelligence 
     specialists, communications specialists, logisticians, and 
     clerks in the Korean War and Vietnam War; and
       (6) as fixed and rotary wing combat pilots, surface warfare 
     sailors, submariners, artillerists, air defenders, engineers, 
     military police, intelligence specialists, civil affairs 
     specialists, logisticians, and, most recently, in all combat 
     roles in the Persian Gulf, Iraq, and Afghanistan;
       Whereas, as of April 2020, women constitute approximately 
     17 percent of United States Armed Forces personnel on active 
     duty, including--
       (1) 21 percent of active duty personnel in the Air Force 
     and Space Force;
       (2) 20 percent of active duty personnel in the Navy;
       (3) 15 percent of active duty personnel in the Army;
       (4) 9 percent of active duty personnel in the Marine Corps; 
     and
       (5) 15 percent of active duty personnel in the Coast Guard;
       Whereas, as of September 2019, women constitute nearly 21 
     percent of personnel in the National Guard and Reserves;
       Whereas women have been critical to COVID-19 relief, 
     including as part of the personnel in the National Guard and 
     Reserves activated to support COVID-19 response efforts;
       Whereas, in 2020--
       (1) the population of women veterans reached nearly 
     2,000,000, which represents a significant increase from 
     713,000 women veterans in 1980; and
       (2) women veterans constitute approximately 10 percent of 
     the total veteran population;
       In the eighth whereas clause of the preamble, strike ``4'' 
     and insert ``3''.
       In the tenth whereas clause of the preamble, insert ``a 
     part of the American Folklife Center at the Library of 
     Congress,'' after ``Project,''.
       In paragraph (2) of the eleventh whereas clause of the 
     preamble, strike ``dutiful'' and insert ``patriotic''.
  The preamble, as amended, was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, as amended, was agreed to as 
follows:

                              S. Res. 267

       Whereas, throughout every period of the history of the 
     United States, women have proudly served the United States to 
     secure and preserve freedom and liberty for--
       (1) the people of the United States; and
       (2) the allies of the United States;
       Whereas women have formally been a part of the United 
     States Armed Forces since the establishment of the Army Nurse 
     Corps in 1901 but have informally served since the inception 
     of the United States military;
       Whereas over 3,000,000 women have served the United States 
     honorably and with valor on land, on sea, in the air, and in 
     space, including--
       (1) as ``Molly Pitchers'' during the American Revolution, 
     providing support to the Continental Army and taking their 
     place on the artillery gun lines as soldiers fell;
       (2) by passing as men to serve as soldiers during the 
     Revolutionary War, the Early Republic, and the Civil War;
       (3) as doctors, nurses, ambulance drivers, and Signal Corps 
     telephone operator ``Hello Girls'' during World War I;
       (4) as, during World War II--
          (A) members of the Women's Army Corps (commonly known as 
     ``WACs'');
          (B) Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service 
     (commonly known as ``WAVES'');
          (C) members of the Coast Guard Women's Reserve (commonly 
     known as ``SPARS'');
          (D) Women Airforce Service Pilots (commonly known as 
     ``WASPs''); and
          (E) nurses;
       (5) as permanent members of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, 
     and Air Force, serving as nurses, physicians, physical 
     therapists, air traffic controllers, intelligence 
     specialists, communications specialists, logisticians, and 
     clerks in the Korean War and Vietnam War; and
       (6) as fixed and rotary wing combat pilots, surface warfare 
     sailors, submariners, artillerists, air defenders, engineers, 
     military police, intelligence specialists, civil affairs 
     specialists, logisticians, and, most recently, in all combat 
     roles in the Persian Gulf, Iraq, and Afghanistan;
       Whereas, as of April 2020, women constitute approximately 
     17 percent of United States Armed Forces personnel on active 
     duty, including--
       (1) 21 percent of active duty personnel in the Air Force 
     and Space Force;
       (2) 20 percent of active duty personnel in the Navy;
       (3) 15 percent of active duty personnel in the Army;
       (4) 9 percent of active duty personnel in the Marine Corps; 
     and
       (5) 15 percent of active duty personnel in the Coast Guard;
       Whereas, as of September 2019, women constitute nearly 21 
     percent of personnel in the National Guard and Reserves;
       Whereas women have been critical to COVID-19 relief, 
     including as part of the personnel in the National Guard and 
     Reserves activated to support COVID-19 response efforts;
       Whereas, in 2020--

[[Page S7079]]

       (1) the population of women veterans reached nearly 
     2,000,000, which represents a significant increase from 
     713,000 women veterans in 1980; and
       (2) women veterans constitute approximately 10 percent of 
     the total veteran population;
       Whereas an estimated 1 in 3 women veterans enrolled in the 
     healthcare system of the Department of Veterans Affairs 
     report having experienced military sexual trauma (MST) during 
     their military service;
       Whereas the United States is proud of, and appreciates, the 
     service of all women veterans who have demonstrated great 
     skill, sacrifice, and commitment to defending the principles 
     upon which the United States was founded and which the United 
     States continues to uphold;
       Whereas women veterans have unique stories and should be 
     encouraged to share their recollections through the Veterans 
     History Project, a part of the American Folklife Center at 
     the Library of Congress, which has worked since 2000 to 
     collect and share the personal accounts of wartime veterans 
     in the United States; and
       Whereas, by designating June 12, 2021, as ``Women Veterans 
     Appreciation Day'', the Senate can--
       (1) highlight the growing presence of women in the Armed 
     Forces and the National Guard; and
       (2) pay respect to women veterans for their patriotic 
     military service: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate designates June 12, 2021, as 
     ``Women Veterans Appreciation Day'' to recognize the service 
     and sacrifices of women veterans who have served valiantly on 
     behalf of the United States.

                          ____________________