[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 88 (Tuesday, May 21, 2024)]
[House]
[Page H3361]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  NATIONAL MILITARY APPRECIATION MONTH

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Connecticut (Mr. Courtney) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, 25 years ago, the month of May was 
designated National Military Appreciation Month by an act of Congress 
introduced by the late Senator John McCain, a war hero from the State 
of Arizona.
  Since then, throughout every May, our Nation observes a series of 
military events: On May 8, Victory in Europe Day, the date Nazi Germany 
surrendered in World War II; May 10, Military Spouse Appreciation Day, 
to recognize the exacting service of military spouses; and, May 18, 
Armed Forces Day, to honor the roughly 1.4 million people who serve as 
Active-Duty troops in all six branches and the 760,000 National Guard 
and Reserves, every one of them volunteers.
  Lastly, on May 27, our Nation will observe its most solemn national 
holiday, Memorial Day, when across the country events will be held at 
military gravesites and veteran gathering places to remember and pray 
for those who gave their lives in defense of our Nation's freedoms and 
security.
  Mr. Speaker, the definition of appreciation is to express gratitude. 
Gratitude can come in many forms, verbal, which certainly counts, but 
the most meaningful is tangible support for the disruption and 
sacrifice that the hard work of military service entails.
  Mr. Speaker, I have the honor to represent eastern Connecticut, home 
to the largest military installation in New England, with 9,000 
sailors, officers, and DOD support personal, the Naval Submarine Base 
New London in Groton, Connecticut, and the highest concentration of 
veterans in the State of Connecticut.
  Last week, I had the opportunity to attend a Veterans' Coffeehouse 
nearby the submarine base, a monthly event hosted at Filomena's, a 
restaurant owned and operated by Michael Buscetto, whose amazing staff 
and volunteers donate a piping hot breakfast to 50 or so local vets to 
share war stories, have a few laughs, and catch up on new developments 
for the veteran community. I was asked to provide a legislative update 
on a variety of those issues.
  The most prominent was a progress report on the milestone PACT Act 
signed into law by President Biden in 2022 that finally knocked down 
barriers to healthcare and benefits to millions of veterans exposed to 
toxins during the Vietnam war, the Gulf war, radiation cleanup, and 
Camp Lejeune, the most significant expansion of benefits and services 
to toxic-exposed veterans ever.
  Since the bill was signed, implementation has moved fast, as this 
chart shows. As of a few days ago, the VA reported that over 1 million 
PACT Act-related claims have now been granted, delivering more than 
$5.7 billion of benefits to veterans and their survivors. Over 145,000 
new veterans have enrolled in VA healthcare, and over 5.4 million free 
toxic exposure screenings were given to all veterans whether they are 
enrolled in the VA or not. The law was further expanded a few months 
ago, to include veterans who not only served overseas, but also those 
who only served in the continental U.S. and are suffering from the 
cancers and heart disease caused by toxic exposure.
  I also briefed the coffeehouse on a new measure, which the House 
Armed Services Committee, on which I sit, will take up tomorrow, the 
Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement Act as part of the annual 
National Defense Authorization Act. This bill, thanks to the bipartisan 
efforts of the Quality of Life Panel, will provide additional resources 
and new authorities for servicemembers and their families. This effort 
could not come too soon.
  Last year, for the first time in over 20 years, the Air Force missed 
its Active Duty enlisted recruiting goal. The Army fell short of 10,000 
enlisted recruits, and the Navy fell short over 7,000 enlisted sailors 
and 2,000 officers.
  Included in this bill for tomorrow are authorities to alleviate pay 
discrepancies for junior enlisted servicemembers, combat food 
insecurity, support childcare, and spousal employment opportunities. 
Importantly, the bill authorizes a 19.5 percent increase in military 
pay for junior enlisted servicemembers.
  The bill will also cover 100 percent of basic allowance for housing 
to ensure that servicemembers can cover the cost of housing no matter 
where they are stationed. It will also make the basic needs allowance 
available to all servicemembers with dependents whose income is less 
than 200 percent of the poverty guidelines, making more servicemembers 
eligible for the program.
  Incredibly, the panel documented that 25 percent of junior enlisted 
servicemembers today are forced to enroll in food stamps in order to 
put food on the table for their families.
  Lastly, the DOD will be given the authority to transfer professional 
licenses between States for military spouses, and fully fund childcare 
fee assistance programs to eliminate wait lists for eligible families.
  This is the sort of meaningful gratitude that truly adheres to the 
goals of Military Appreciation Month. As John McCain often quoted 
George Washington: ``The willingness with which our young people are 
likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly 
proportional to how they perceive how the veterans of earlier wars were 
treated and appreciated by their nation.''
  These powerful and wise words are true today more than ever with an 
all-volunteer force, and we should finish the job for successful 
implementation of the PACT Act and pass this year's quality of life 
bill as soon as possible.

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