[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 119 (Wednesday, July 12, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S2367]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE RESOLUTION 293--DESIGNATING JUNE 12, 2023, AS ``WOMEN VETERANS 
                           APPRECIATION DAY''

  Mr. BOOKER (for himself, Mrs. Blackburn, Ms. Rosen, Mr. Braun, and 
Mr. Boozman) submitted the following resolution; which was considered 
and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 293

       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 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 2023 marks the 75th anniversary of the signing of 
     the Women's Armed Services Integration Act of 1948 (62 Stat. 
     356, chapter 449), legally allowing women to serve in all 4 
     branches of the military;
       Whereas more than 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) during World War II--
       (A) as members of the Women's Army Corps (commonly known as 
     ``WACs'');
       (B) as Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service 
     (commonly known as ``WAVES'');
       (C) as members of the Coast Guard Women's Reserve (commonly 
     known as ``SPARS'');
       (D) as Women Airforce Service Pilots (commonly known as 
     ``WASPs''); and
       (E) as 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 during 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 2021, women constituted approximately 17 
     percent of Armed Forces personnel on active duty, including--
       (1) 21 percent of active duty personnel in the Air Force;
       (2) 21 percent of active duty personnel in the Navy;
       (3) 16 percent of active duty personnel in the Army;
       (4) 9 percent of active duty personnel in the Marine Corps;
       (5) 15 percent of active duty personnel in the Coast Guard; 
     and
       (6) 20 percent of active duty personnel in the Space Force;
       Whereas, as of 2021, women constituted more than 21 percent 
     of personnel in the National Guard and Reserves;
       Whereas women were 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 women have been critical to responding to the 
     unjustified invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation, 
     including as members of the National Guard and as active duty 
     personnel in the Armed Forces who have been deployed to 
     contribute to foreign assistance efforts;
       Whereas 13 members of the Armed Forces, including 2 women, 
     were killed during Operation Allies Refuge, in which more 
     than 120,000 people were evacuated in the largest civilian 
     airlift in the history of the United States;
       Whereas, in 2023--
       (1) the population of women veterans is more than 
     2,066,000, which represents a significant increase from 
     713,000 women veterans in 1980; and
       (2) women veterans constitute approximately 11 percent of 
     the total veteran population;
       Whereas women are the fastest growing group in the veteran 
     population;
       Whereas an estimated 1 in 3 women veterans who are 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, 2023, 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, 2023, as 
     ``Women Veterans Appreciation Day'' to recognize the service 
     and sacrifices of women veterans who have served valiantly on 
     behalf of the United States.

                          ____________________