[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 14093]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[[Page 14093]]

      SUPPORT H.R. 2280, VETERANS BENEFITS IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 1999

  (Mr. GIBBONS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Committee on Veterans' 
Affairs marked up H.R. 2280, the Veterans Benefits Improvement Act of 
1999. I would like to take this opportunity to inform my colleagues of 
a very important provision of this much-needed bipartisan legislation 
for our Nation's veterans. That provision is the expansion of the fund-
raising authority of the American Battle Monuments Commission to 
expedite the establishment of the World War II memorial in our Nation's 
Capital. This memorial, to one of this Nation's greatest generations, 
is long overdue.
  Mr. Speaker, of the 16 million Americans that answered their Nation's 
call to duty and sacrificed to protect humanity against tyranny and 
aggression, fewer than 7 million are alive today. We are losing them at 
the rate of 1,000 of these courageous veterans each and every day. We 
cannot wait if we are to honor these great men and women while they are 
still with us.
  I encourage all Americans to donate what they can to the World War II 
memorial and my colleagues to support this important legislation. It is 
truly time to say thank you and to provide a permanent tribute and 
inspiration so future generations of Americans will be reminded of the 
sacrifices that were necessary to preserve the freedoms and 
opportunities that we enjoy today.

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