[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.
____________________