[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 143 (Monday, September 16, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6054-S6055]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 818--EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR AND CELEBRATING THE 80TH 
        ANNIVERSARY OF THE SERVICEMEN'S READJUSTMENT ACT OF 1944

  Mr. CARPER (for himself, Mr. Moran, Mr. Tester, and Mr. Boozman) 
submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 818

       Whereas, on July 28, 1943, in seeking a solution to 
     integrate returning members of the Armed Forces into civilian 
     life, President Franklin D. Roosevelt called for a 
     comprehensive set of veterans benefits during a fireside chat 
     saying, ``While concentrating on military victory, we are not 
     neglecting the planning of the things to come . . . . Among 
     many other things we are, today, laying plans for the return 
     to civilian life of our gallant men and women in the Armed 
     Services.'';
       Whereas, on June 22, 1944, in demonstration of the full 
     support of the United States for the transition of members of 
     the Armed Forces to civilian life, President Franklin D. 
     Roosevelt signed into law the Servicemen's Readjustment Act 
     of 1944 (58 Stat. 284, chapter 268), commonly known as the 
     ``GI Bill of Rights'';
       Whereas the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 was the 
     culmination of the tireless work and advocacy of veterans 
     service organizations and Members of Congress;
       Whereas the Act made immediate financial support, 
     transformative educational benefits, and home loan guarantees 
     available to

[[Page S6055]]

     the approximately 16,000,000 veterans who served in the Armed 
     Forces during World War II;
       Whereas the Act helped approximately 7,800,000 veterans 
     enroll in post-secondary education or training, helped to 
     democratize higher education in the United States, and caused 
     total post-secondary education enrollment to grow 
     exponentially from 1,676,856 in 1945, with veterans 
     accounting for 5.2 percent of total post-secondary education 
     enrollment, to 2,338,226 in 1947, with veterans accounting 
     for 49.2 percent of the total;
       Whereas the Act contributed approximately 450,000 
     engineers, 240,000 accountants, 238,000 teachers, 91,000 
     scientists, 67,000 doctors, 122,000 dentists, 17,000 writers 
     and editors, and thousands of other professionals to the 
     workforce of the United States and helped expand the middle 
     class more than at any other point in the history of the 
     United States;
       Whereas the Act expressed the duty, responsibility, and 
     desire of a grateful United States to see to it that those 
     who served on active duty in the Armed Forces are afforded 
     every opportunity to become disciplined forces for prosperity 
     and progress in the United States through economic 
     opportunity and investment;
       Whereas Congress passed subsequent Acts to provide 
     educational assistance to new generations of veterans, 
     including the Veterans' Readjustment Benefits Act of 1966 
     (Public Law 89-358), the Post-Vietnam Era Veterans' 
     Educational Assistance Act of 1977 (title IV of Public Law 
     94-502), the Veterans' Educational Assistance Act of 1984 
     (title VII of Public Law 98-525), the Post-9/11 Veterans 
     Educational Assistance Act of 2008 (title V of Public Law 
     110-252), and the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational 
     Assistance Act of 2017 (Public Law 115-48);
       Whereas, as of 2022, the Department of Veterans Affairs has 
     paid more than $400,000,000,000 in educational assistance to 
     approximately 25,000,000 veterans and their loved ones who 
     continue to excel academically in post-secondary education;
       Whereas the Act created the Department of Veterans Affairs 
     Home Loan Guarantee program, which, since 1944, has provided 
     a pathway for more than 28,000,000 veterans to purchase a 
     home guaranteed by the Department, the majority of which are 
     purchased with no down payment;
       Whereas the Act improved health care opportunities for 
     veterans by transferring medical facilities from the Army and 
     the Navy and providing funding for hospitals of the Veterans 
     Administration following the conclusion of hostilities of 
     World War II;
       Whereas this combination of opportunities changed the 
     social and economic fabric of the United States for the 
     better, with a 1988 report from the Subcommittee on Education 
     and Health of the Joint Economic Committee of Congress 
     concluding that for every $1 the United States invested 
     pursuant to the Act, a minimum of $5 and as much as $12.50 
     was returned in growth to the United States;
       Whereas the Act led to the education of 14 Nobel laureates, 
     24 Pulitzer Prize-winners, and three Supreme Court justices;
       Whereas nearly 1,300 Members of Congress served in the 
     Armed Forces on or after June 22, 1944, and directly 
     benefitted from the enactment of the Act;
       Whereas the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational 
     Assistance Act of 2017 (Public Law 115-48), commonly known as 
     the ``Forever GI Bill'', was named after Harry W. Colmery of 
     Topeka, Kansas, who was a former National Commander of The 
     American Legion and is credited with drafting the 
     Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944; and
       Whereas June 22, 2024, is the 80th anniversary of the date 
     on which President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the 
     Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 into law: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) honors the achievements of the Servicemen's 
     Readjustment Act of 1944 (58 Stat. 284, chapter 268), 
     commonly known as the ``GI Bill of Rights'', in democratizing 
     higher education, increasing home ownership, establishing 
     greater citizenship through economic empowerment, and 
     empowering a generation that would serve for decades to guide 
     the transformation of the United States into a global force 
     for good;
       (2) considers the veterans benefitting from the 
     Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 on the 80th anniversary 
     of its enactment--
       (A) to be equal to the challenge of creating a lasting 
     prosperity for the United States as their forebears; and
       (B) to have the opportunity to become the heirs to the 
     Greatest Generation;
       (3) affirms the responsibility of Congress to be a faithful 
     steward of educational assistance provided under laws 
     administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to ensure 
     that such assistance endures as an honorable investment of 
     public dollars; and
       (4) encourages all people of the United States to celebrate 
     June 22, 2024, as the 80th anniversary of the signing of the 
     Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 by President Franklin 
     D. Roosevelt.

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