[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 20]
[Senate]
[Pages 28447-28468]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              VETERANS DAY

  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, it has been over 50 years since my good 
friends, Senator Inouye, Senator Hollings, Senator Warner, Senator 
Lautenberg, Senator Akaka, and I returned home from World War II. When 
I joined the Senate in 1968, approximately half of the Members of the 
Senate were World War II veterans. While there are several Senators 
here who have served in Korea, Vietnam, and in later engagements, there 
are a few of us still around who lived through World War II. We are 
proud of a tradition of over 48 million Americans who have served in 
our Armed Forces since 1776.
  Whenever our Nation has needed warriors to defend our Nation, young 
men and women in uniform have stepped forward, willing to bear that 
burden. This day, Veterans Day, is a reminder to us of their courage, 
bravery, and sacrifice.
  These days, our thoughts are never far from a battlefield. New 
generations have answered the call to service, and as we meet today, 
they are defending us in some of the most dangerous places in the 
world, where they face determined enemies and terrorists. I join all 
here today in thanking each of them for their service and thank their 
families for their sacrifice.
  I had the honor to serve in the Army Air Corps with a squadron in 
China in World War II. Our squadron motto was: We do the impossible 
immediately, miracles take slightly longer.
  The history of our Nation's Armed Forces is one of impossible 
challenges and formidable enemies. But our men and women in uniform 
have met and overcome them on battlefields, and in the air, and on the 
sea and, as our Chaplain reminded us, under the sea, across the globe.
  Secretary of State Colin Powell recently spoke of the tradition of 
service and said:

       We have gone forth from our shores repeatedly over the last 
     hundred years . . . and put wonderful young men and women at 
     risk, many of whom have lost their lives, and we have asked 
     for nothing except enough ground to bury them in.

  It is right and proper for the Senate to remember the young men and 
women who have served our great Nation in uniform and those who did not 
return because they made the ultimate sacrifice.
  Veterans share a common bond. We are truly comrades in the deepest 
sense of the word, and I salute each one of them.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wisconsin is recognized.
  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, as the country marks the Veterans Day 
holiday, I wish to take a moment to express my thanks to the people of 
Wisconsin and to our Nation's veterans and their families.
  I urge my colleagues and all Americans to take a moment today to 
reflect upon the meaning of this day and to remember those who have 
served and sacrificed to protect our country and the freedoms we enjoy 
as Americans.
  Webster's Dictionary defines a veteran as ``one with a long record of 
service in a particular activity or capacity'' or ``one who has been in 
the armed forces.'' But we can also define a veteran as a grandfather 
or a grandmother, a father or a mother, a brother or a sister, a son or 
a daughter, or a friend. Veterans live in all of our communities, and 
their contributions have touched all of our lives.
  November 11 is a date with special significance in our history. On 
that day in 1918, at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, 
World War I ended. In 1926, a joint resolution of Congress called on 
the President to issue a proclamation to encourage all Americans to 
mark this day by displaying the U.S. flag and by observing the day with 
appropriate ceremonies.
  In 1938, Armistice Day was designated as a legal holiday ``to be 
dedicated to the cause of world peace'' by an act of Congress. This 
annual recognition of the contributions and sacrifices of our Nation's 
veterans of World War I was renamed Veterans Day in 1954 so that we 
might also recognize the service and sacrifice of those who had fought 
in World War II and the veterans of all of America's other wars.
  Our Nation's veterans and their families have given selflessly to the 
cause of protecting our freedom. Too many have given the ultimate 
sacrifice for their country on the battlefields of the Revolutionary 
War that gave birth to the United States, to the Civil War

[[Page 28448]]

which sought to secure for all Americans the freedoms envisioned by the 
Founding Fathers, to the global fight against nazism and fascism in 
World War II.
  In the last century, Americans fought and died in two World Wars and 
in conflicts in Korea, Vietnam, and the Persian Gulf. They also 
participated in peacekeeping missions around the globe, some of which 
are still ongoing. Today our men and women in uniform are waging a 
fight against terrorism and, at the same time, are participating in 
ongoing military operations in Iraq.
  As we commemorate Veterans Day, 2003, we should reflect on the 
sacrifices--past, present, and future--that are made by our men and 
women in uniform and their families. We should also resolve to do more 
for our veterans to ensure they have a decent standard of living and 
adequate health care.
  This is especially important as we welcome home a new generation of 
veterans who are serving in Iraq and in the fight against terrorism. 
Today's soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines are tomorrow's veterans. 
These men and women selflessly put their lives on the line as the 
countless military personnel before them whom we honor today. We must 
ensure that their service and sacrifice, which is much lauded during 
times of conflict, is not forgotten once the battles have ended and our 
troops come home.
  For that reason, I am committed to ensuring that the Department of 
Veterans Affairs makes every effort to educate our veterans about 
benefits for which they may be eligible through the VA.
  Our veterans and their families have made great personal sacrifices 
to protect our freedoms. Making sure our veterans know about the 
benefits they have earned is an important first step in starting to 
repay this debt. That is why I am fighting to overturn a VA policy that 
prevents the agency from reaching out to veterans who may be eligible 
for health care benefits, and that is why I have introduced legislation 
to improve the VA's outreach to veterans.
  In addition, I continue to hear from many Wisconsin veterans about 
the need to improve claims processing at the VA. These veterans are 
justifiably angry and frustrated about the amount of time it takes for 
the Veterans' Administration to process their claims. In some 
instances, veterans are waiting well over a year. Telling the men and 
women who served our country in the Armed Forces that they ``just have 
to wait'' is wrong and unacceptable.
  Last month, the VA issued a press release declaring ``partial 
victory'' in its efforts to reduce the number of pending claims. The 
release noted that the VA has reduced its claims backlog from 432,000 
to 253,000 over the last 2 years. I am pleased the VA has made claims 
processing a priority, but there is much more work to be done. I urge 
the Secretary to continue this effort to reduce the claims backlog. The 
more than a quarter of a million veterans who are still waiting to have 
their claims processed, coupled with the thousands of new veterans 
returning from the battlefield of Iraq and Afghanistan, deserve the 
concerted effort of the VA and the Pentagon to process claims quickly 
and to educate new veterans about their benefits in an effective and 
clear manner that may help to prevent the filing of additional claims 
in the future.
  I am looking forward to continuing to meet with veterans and their 
families around Wisconsin to hear directly from them what services they 
need and what gaps remain in the VA system.
  So on Veterans Day, and throughout the year, let us continue to honor 
America's brave veterans and their families.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. I yield up to 7 minutes to the Senator from Virginia, 
Mr. Warner.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Virginia is recognized.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I rise to join my colleagues on this 
magnificent day which we set aside for the veterans of all of our wars.
  As I was presiding at the time we took a moment of silence, I 
reflected back to 1918 when the guns fell silent at 11 o'clock across 
the trenches in Europe. There was a young doctor there who had been 
wounded, who had been decorated, but he was still at his post in the 
trenches when that hour arrived. That was my father.
  I read a poem in his honor and in honor of all veterans which 
reflects my understanding and my deep belief and gratitude to veterans. 
It is called ``In Flanders Fields'':

       In Flanders fields the poppies blow
       Between the crosses, row on row.
       That mark our place; and in the sky
       The larks, still bravely singing, fly
       Scarce heard amid the guns below.

       We are the Dead. Short days ago
       We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
       Loved and were loved, and now we lie
       In Flanders fields.

       Take up our quarrel with the foe:
       To you from failing hands we throw
       The torch; be yours to hold it high.
       If ye break faith with us who die
       We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
       In Flanders fields.

  I wear one of those poppies on this Veterans Day. It is issued by the 
veterans organizations all across America in reverence to those who 
have gone before us to make it possible today to exercise free speech.
  My distinguished colleague, Senator Stevens, my friend of these 25 
years in the Senate, just mentioned that there are five of us who are 
here who served in World War II. My record pales against his record, 
Senator Hollings, Senator Inouye, and others. But I was privileged as a 
very young 17-year-old to volunteer and take up my responsibilities, as 
did all in my generation in those days. Yet the heavy lifting, the 
heavy work, the heavy losses had been done that went before us, and in 
1945, when I was simply in a training command, the war ended.
  I say that only because had it not been for what the U.S. military 
has done for me in these 58 years that I have been privileged to be 
associated, I would not be here in the Senate. That is why I labor with 
others, primarily those on the Armed Services Committee, to do what we 
can for today's veterans and, most importantly, for those who are still 
in uniform and those who will follow in uniform in the generations to 
come, together with their families.
  I speak in gratitude from my heart to all the veterans and, indeed, 
for what the military did for this humble soul to make it possible 
through the GI bill twice. I received it once for World War II and once 
for brief service again in Korea. Again, my heart is filled with 
gratitude, and it is such a magnificent day to rise and reflect.
  Back in World War II, I remember on our block, when our neighbors 
were lost in battle, a gold star went on their door to remind all of 
the sacrifices of that family. And on the other doors were a little 
decal which said: We proudly have our son in the Army, the Navy, the 
Air Corps, the Marines, the Coast Guard.
  Those were days when there was absolute sacrifice all across the 
Nation. Today, this Nation again is united. We stand strong behind our 
men and women of the Armed Forces, as it should be. So by the grace of 
God, by the sacrifices of all who have gone before us, we stand humbly 
today and express our gratitude to them and their families.
  I ask unanimous consent that a list of United States service 
personnel casualties be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                    U.S. SERVICE PERSONNEL CASUALTIES
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                         Total     Killed in  Wounded in
             Contingency              casualties    action      action
                                       (KIA/WIA)     (KIA)       (WIA)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
World War I.........................     321,000     115,000     206,000
World War II........................   1,077,245     405,399     671,846
Korea...............................     139,852      36,568     103,284
Vietnam.............................     211,506      58,203     153,303
Afghanistan.........................         252          31         221
Iraq................................       2,336         398       1,938
------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Mr. WARNER. I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I yield up to 4 minutes to the Senator 
from Wyoming, Mr. Thomas.

[[Page 28449]]

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.
  Mr. THOMAS. Mr. President, we all rise to recognize this day. As we 
think about it, I suspect there is no other day of recognition that has 
as much bearing on the freedoms we enjoy as this day of recognizing 
veterans. It is so important that we take time to recognize and honor 
those men and women who have worn this country's uniform.
  Certainly, as we think about it today, our thoughts are primarily 
focused on those men and women now serving overseas in Iraq, 
Afghanistan, and other places. Of course, historically we have many 
things to think about: Those who have given so much so we can continue 
to live in freedom.
  I suppose if we have a weakness in terms of our recognition, it is 
identifying what others have done for us to be able to have the 
freedoms we enjoy and have done for so many years. I think it is 
appropriate we set this day aside not only to recognize those who have 
done so much but, frankly, to ensure young people understand the 
sacrifices that have been made. We want people who were not around at 
all in World War II, Korea, or even Vietnam to understand what has 
happened.
  Dwight Eisenhower once said that:

       War demands real toughness of fiber, not only in the 
     soldiers who must endure, but in the homes that must 
     sacrifice their best.

  That is true. All families sacrifice as well. This morning, we 
visited a VA hospital in DC. We visited with a number of veterans who 
were being treated in that hospital, some from World War II who had 
done so much.
  Today we honor those who made these sacrifices, in many cases the 
ultimate sacrifice in defense of liberty, justice, and democracy. We 
are engaged today in the struggle which will test our national resolve, 
and I hope today helps us to understand the importance of that resolve. 
A new generation of Americans has answered the call and is defending 
our country.
  Today, as we commemorate and honor those who have gone before, we 
must remember the brave souls currently serving in harm's way. We must 
renew our commitment to the ideals for which so many have fought and 
died. We must never forget freedom has a very high price indeed. That 
price has been paid by our Nation's veterans and their families.
  I was impressed when I think it was the commandant of the Marine 
Corps who said there is a direct connection between the land of the 
free and the home of the brave. That is true.
  Today we say thank you on behalf of a very grateful Nation. We are 
extremely proud of all the veterans have done.
  I ask unanimous consent the poem ``A Cowboy Defends Us'' be printed 
in the Record.
  There being no objections, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                          A Cowboy Defends Us

                     (By Tina Willis, Apr. 9, 2003)

     I wonder what it means to you
     When you see the flutter of red, white, and blue
     I think of American history and days that are gone
     I think of our troops in Iraq and Iran

     I think of the folks that settled this west
     Who've raised sons and daughters and offered their best
     These children traded a tractor for a humvee's rough ride
     And their parents now wait with no sleep but much pride

     I think of the cowboy called to duty today
     Throwing his pony a last flake of hay
     Before boarding a bus in this dawn's early light
     As he joins the forces to fight the good fight

     I think of the bunkhouse with one empty bed
     There's a tent in the sand where he'll now lay his head
     As I savor my freedom and pray for our troops
     I think of the cowboys that now wear infantry boots

     Their instincts and courage were learned on the range
     They're taking care of the homestead--with a scenery change
     Our nation is safer and stronger today
     Because some cowboy defends us--time zones away

     And I wonder what it means to you
     When you see the flutter of red, white, and blue. . . .

  Mr. THOMAS. I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. I yield up to 4 minutes to the senior Senator from 
Missouri, Mr. Bond.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Missouri.
  Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I thank my colleague from Texas and the 
others who have spoken.
  It is a great honor and privilege to be on the Senate floor on this 
Veterans Day to acknowledge the sacrifices of America's veterans and 
the priceless service our veterans have rendered to a grateful Nation.
  Earlier this morning Senator Thomas, Senator Inhofe, and I visited 
the Washington VA hospital to say thank you. Previously, I had been to 
Walter Reed and Bethesda National Naval Medical Center, as I know many 
Members have, to say thanks also to those returning from the current 
war. In all of these visits and in everything we do, we should express 
our thankful appreciation to America's veterans, particularly while we 
find ourselves embroiled in a war against those seeking to destroy all 
America stands for, what we hold most dear, our freedom.
  It is the soldier, sailor, airman, and the marine to whom we have 
turned for protection from terrorists and the failed nation states that 
support them. Our troops are performing in an exemplary manner, taking 
the fight to those who would harm us on enemy territory and on our 
terms. The events of September 11 and the military operations that have 
ensued since then have brought a renewed understanding and respect for 
our Nation's military and our veterans.
  In response to the horrendous acts carried out on 9/11, our men and 
women in uniform have taken action, as our veterans have done countless 
times throughout history.
  We are fighting the war on terrorism on many fronts, using all the 
tools at our disposal. We will win this conflict through the patient 
accumulation of successes, by meeting a series of challenges with 
determination, with will and with purpose. This campaign is a marathon, 
not a sprint. We must be mindful to think not only in the near term but 
to look ahead 5, 10, 15 years and to take this opportunity to shape our 
future world. We must find a way to help contribute to the peace and 
stability of what is clearly still a dangerous and unpredictable world.
  After 9/11, President Bush said:

       In the months ahead, our patience will be one of our 
     strengths . . . patience and understanding that it will take 
     time to achieve our goals; patience in all the sacrifices 
     that may come.

  Today, sacrifices are being made by our troops who defend us far from 
home, and by their proud yet worried families. The sacrifices they make 
are the same sacrifices made by those who served before them. We ask an 
awful lot of those who wear the uniform. We ask them to leave their 
loved ones, to travel great distances, to risk injury, even risk death. 
They are dedicated, they are honorable, and they represent the very 
best of our country. We are indeed grateful for these countless 
sacrifices. We can never repay our debt to those who serve our Nation, 
but we can ensure they know they will never be forgotten. Today, we 
have some very real reminders of the cost of freedom. It is an absolute 
that we would not enjoy the freedoms we have today were it not for the 
willingness of our men and women to serve each of us and our country by 
committing to fight on our behalf in the armed services.
  We are fighting every day on the many fronts around the world and 
those of us in this body work to provide not only the resources we need 
to ensure that our men and women in the field are the best trained, 
best equipped, best prepared, and the best protected, but we also work 
to ensure we meet the commitments made to our veterans who have served 
in the past.
  As former Secretary of Defense William Cohen once said, we are 
``unwilling to live in a world in which evil triumphs. And as a result, 
the flag of freedom flies not only over America, but over those 
countries whose people had to yield to the terror of tyranny and under 
the heel of boots of dictators.'' Our veterans have kept the flame of 
freedom alive, and they are a true reflection of the American spirit.

[[Page 28450]]

  There are many accolades for veterans, but the one I like best is 
from Father Dennis Edward O'Brien's ``What Is A Vet?''

       He is an ordinary yet extraordinary human being, a person 
     who offered some of his life's most vital years in the 
     service of his country and who sacrificed his ambitions so 
     others would not have to sacrifice theirs . . .
       He is a soldier and savior and a sword against the 
     darkness, and his is nothing more than the finest, greatest 
     testimony on behalf of the finest, greatest nation ever 
     known.
       So remember, each time you see someone who served our 
     country, just lean over and say thank you. That is all most 
     people need, and in most cases will mean more than any medals 
     they could have been awarded or were awarded.

  President Bush said it best when he described the will of our Nation 
by saying:

       We will not waiver; we will not tire; we will not falter; 
     and we will not fail. Peace and freedom will prevail.

  That peace and freedom will prevail because of the commitment of 
those who serve in uniform. America's veterans are the rock on which we 
have defended America's shores and are the reason our President can 
make such promises.
  May God bless our veterans for their service, and may He continue to 
bless America.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. I yield up to 3 minutes to the Senator from Idaho, 
Mr. Craig.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Idaho.
  Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, let me thank the Senator from Texas for 
taking out this special order this morning.
  I join with all Idahoans and all Americans to pause during Veterans 
Day to honor the service of all our American soldiers. It is a day set 
apart to celebrate peace and freedom through ceremonies of thanksgiving 
and prayer. It is a day dedicated to the men and women whose great 
sacrifices made it possible that we might pause to recognize them, to 
pray and to give thanks. Sadly, however, as battles fade, so do the 
memories of our soldiers, and what was once a fervent memory becomes 
but a passing one of only photographs and pictures of men and women who 
served their country.
  But this is beginning to change.
  As our Nation reaches out to free oppressed people around the world, 
a new generation of American soldiers is joining the honored body of 
U.S. veterans. Men and women who fought and continue to fight in Iraq 
are bringing fresh faces and new experiences to the legacy of those who 
have gone before. Troops stationed in Afghanistan work to maintain the 
standard of freedom others obtained for us in the past. These soldiers 
are expanding the image of American veterans as they stand for liberty 
and redefine the world.
  Like the soldiers before them, today's members of the armed services 
are risking everything to ensure the freedom and happiness of their 
fellow Americans. On a daily basis, they lay their lives on the line to 
face an unsure and dangerous future. Some of them pay the ultimate cost 
and remind us all that freedom is not free.
  Exactly who are the new veterans? They are just like you. They are 
fathers and mothers whose children anxiously await their return. They 
are sons and daughters whose parents proudly boast to their neighbors. 
They are students, graduates, neighbors, and friends. They are people 
in our State, our hearts, and our homes.
  For many people, this newest fight for liberty is bringing home the 
reality of war. A veteran is no longer an unfamiliar face in an old 
black and white photograph. The price of freedom is no longer a thing 
of the past--it is our present and our future. With a new generation of 
young soldiers fighting for our Nation, we are forcefully reminded of 
the sacrifices previous veterans have paid for our happiness.
  In the nearly 80 years since Congress first marked November 11th as a 
day to recognize and honor veterans, the image of the American veteran 
has been changing. Time has gradually brought a seasoned maturity of 
age to the once youthful faces of American soldiers. Sons have turned 
into fathers and fathers into grandfathers as each generation replaced 
the last.
  Following the terrible attacks on our homeland two years ago, 
President George W. Bush declared:

       Americans should always honor our veterans. At this moment, 
     we especially need the example of their character. And we 
     need a new generation to set examples of its own, examples in 
     service and sacrifice and courage.

  Today we see the fulfillment of this challenge. We see a rising 
generation of new veterans fighting for the American people.
  To the veterans of our past and present, we thank you. We honor your 
service, commend your example, and remember your sacrifice. While some 
of us may never fully understand the significance of your labor, we all 
feel your impact on our Nation and our lives.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. I yield up to 4 minutes to the Senator from New 
Mexico, Mr. Domenici.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Mexico.
  Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, first, I thank the distinguished Senator 
from Texas for yielding me a few moments. Obviously, this is a time 
when it is very easy to talk about our veterans. But I thought I might 
just take about half of my time to tell the Senate a little story about 
my father.
  My father came to the United States in 1908 as a 12-year-old 
immigrant from Italy. I don't think many of you know that in the First 
World War, immigrants, noncitizens, were drafted. My father was in 
little Albuquerque in business, 27 years old, couldn't write English, 
couldn't speak English too well, and he got a draft notice. Sure 
enough, 3 months later he went off to war, the First World War.
  Another thing that is most interesting is that Armistice Day was this 
day, November 11; but it was also my dad's birthday. So he was a young 
American soldier, unable to speak very much English. He was 
sufficiently uncertain of his language that when he was up for 
promotion he didn't want to be promoted because he was afraid he 
couldn't drill the soldiers; he would sound funny because he had a big 
accent. Nonetheless, he did move up and whatever he was entitled to he 
got.
  He remembered vividly November 11, Armistice Day--and one man in 
particular. I think all our veterans have a memory of some leader. His 
memory was of his captain, the captain of his Corps of Engineers which 
was building pontoon bridges and the like. The reason he remembered him 
was because this man told his men: Armistice is in the air. We are 
going to have peace. I don't want any of you dying while we are about 
to have peace. So he shepherded all of them and put them under bridges 
in the Argonne Forest, saying: Hide for 24 hours because I sense that 
there will be no war in 24 hours and I don't want you dying.
  Sure enough, within 24 hours the war was over. My father used to 
write to this captain, who lived in Illinois, and thank him for taking 
good care of him in the midst of that war, in the Argonne Forest, as a 
non-American who had become an American citizen by getting drafted and 
serving. Just as all our other veterans, he was very proud.
  Today we have so many millions of American men and women who, one way 
or another, were like my father. They went off to serve their country. 
They have had times of great fear. They have had times of great 
concern. They have had times when there was heroism all around them.
  I close today by saying something to all of them. In all of our 
wars--I know a little about the First World War because of my father, 
as I told you--but from all of the wars, I thank them all on behalf of 
the people of my State for what they have done to preserve the 
greatness of this country and the concept of freedom and liberty.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. I yield up to 1 minute to the Senator from 
Mississippi, Mr. Lott.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Mississippi.
  Mr. LOTT. I thank the Senator from Texas for coordinating the 
opportunity today for us to honor our veterans.

[[Page 28451]]

  ``Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for 
his friends,'' or in this case his country.
  This quotation embodies my sentiment on this Veteran's Day, as we 
honor those men and women who have laid down their lives for our great 
country, and those who stand ready in her defense.
  I stand today to render my sharpest salute to the selfless, brave 
professionals who epitomize the most noble of citizens.
  How can we express our gratitude and overflowing pride for our 
service men and women who have paid the ultimate price for their 
country, and those friends and family members who have endured the loss 
of their loved ones?
  How can we ever truly appreciate the comfort and safety that the 
soldier, airman, or seaman affords us through his or her daily 
dedication to duty?
  Perhaps there are lessons to be learned from the strong, silent, tall 
soldier whose steely eyes well up with tears at the sounding of our 
National Anthem.
  Perhaps we could stand to learn some things from the weathered, 
silver haired, proud veteran who stands taller and breathes deeply as 
he hears another painful round of Taps.
  Today we all stand in solemn remembrance of those Americans who gave 
their lives so that others may be free. Today I would like to remind 
everyone that those lives lost were not in vain. Because of these 
individual sacrifices we are able today to remain the greatest free 
nation in the world.
  I would like to mention my personal pride for the men and women from 
Mississippi who so bravely currently serve and have served their nation 
in defense.
  During the Vietnam War, 637 Mississippians gave their lives. In the 
Korean Conflict, from 1950 to 1957, 412 of our statesmen made the 
ultimate sacrifice.
  Since the horrific day that will forever be remembered, September 11, 
2001, Mississippi has lost nine soldiers during Operations Enduring 
Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.
  More than 3000 of Mississippi's sons and daughters have responded to 
this Nations latest call for arms in the global war on terrorism, and 
operations in Afghanistan in Iraq.
  Unlike previous wars, the veterans of these latest operations will 
probably not have battle names to remember like Leyte Gulf or 
Vicksburg.
  As the President has said, the global war on terror is a different 
kind of war, where some operations would be visible and others would 
not be.
  In this global war, our troops are supporting freedom and democracy 
around the globe, and fighting terrorism in the homelands of the 
terrorists and those who support them.
  The war on terrorism will be a long war, and it will call for the 
endurance and perseverance of every American. In the end, there 
probably won't be a truce or surrender document signed aboard a great 
battleship. What there will be is stability, peace, and representative 
government in places where terrorism used to breed--where dictators no 
longer use poison gas on their own people, or have mass executions.
  And on this Veterans Day we should remember all veterans, including 
those who continue to serve in this different kind of war.
  And it is most appropriate to honor and salute those Mississippians 
who have lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan. They are: Kenneth 
Bradley, Army Staff Sergeant of Jackson, MS; Henry L. Brown, Army 
Corporal, of Natchez, MS; Larry K. Brown, Army Specialist, of Jackson, 
MS; James Anderson Chance III, Army Specialist, of Kokomo, MS; Therrel 
S. Childers, Marine Corps 2nd Lieutenant, of Harrison, MS; John K. 
Klinesmith, Jr., Army Specialist, of Carriere, MS; Jonathan W. Lambert, 
Marine Corps Sergeant, of Newsite, MS; Vincent Parker, Navy Engineman 
First Class, of Preston, MS; Joe N. Wilson, Army Staff Sergeant, of 
Crystal Springs, MS.
  In the words of Boyd Lewis:

       The tranquility we enjoy was purchased dearly. May we never 
     forget.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, how much time is remaining on our 
side?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator has 2 minutes 45 seconds.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be 
allowed to take up to 4 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to the 
remarkable men and women who have, over the years, placed their lives 
in danger to preserve ours. On this Veterans Day, we remember those who 
made the ultimate sacrifice. We express sincere gratitude for those who 
continue to serve and protect our freedom, and we honor those families 
who also contribute every day in service of our country.
  On the heels of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and 
Operation Iraqi Freedom, this Veterans Day is particularly significant. 
As we speak, American and allied soldiers continue to fight and die in 
defense of our liberty. Many are face to face with danger at this very 
moment.
  It is these remarkable men and women, past and present, who embody 
the democratic ideals that are the foundation of our great Nation. I 
would like to share with you the story of one soldier who recently lost 
his life in Iraq. The following commentary was written by LTC John Kem, 
a former Army legislative fellow who worked on the Subcommittee on 
Military Construction during his year here. He wrote:

       There are very few events more poignant than a memorial 
     service for a fallen Soldier. The service finishes with a 
     final roll call by the company first sergeant of the 
     Soldier's squad members. Each Soldier in turn responds: 
     ``Here, first sergeant.'' Then, three times in a row, the 
     first sergeant calls out the dead Soldier's name. Finally, 
     after the third silent pause, waiting for a response that 
     will never come, a lone bugler sounds Taps.
       This evening [he said] I went to a memorial service for 
     Private Second Class Jonathan Falaniko. Jonathan was killed 
     on Oct. 27 in Baghdad by a rocket-propelled grenade. As you 
     would expect, the memorial service was sad, but it was also a 
     profound lesson on faith, selfless service and a family's 
     love.
       Jonathan's unit, the 70th Engineer Battalion, is part of 
     the Army's 1st Armored Division Engineer Brigade. The senior 
     enlisted soldier in the brigade happened to be Jonathan's 
     father, Command Sergeant Major Ioakimo Falaniko.
       After the company commander and a few of Jonathan's friends 
     spoke at the memorial service, the command sergeant major 
     stepped forward and spoke. He spoke about Jonathan as both a 
     soldier and a son.
       Sergeant Major Falaniko read from a few of Jonathan's 
     recent letters.

  For a point of reference, Jonathan was a new soldier who had been in 
the Army less than 6 months. He attended basic training beginning in 
May 2003 and deployed to Iraq in August of this year. The following 
quotes are from some of his letters in the last few months of his life:

       Dad, I love being in the Army and I love serving my 
     country.
       Dad, this is where I belong, and this is where I need to be 
     with you and the other iron soldiers.
       Dad, I push myself hard because I know the drill sergeants 
     expect a lot out of me.
       Dad, Iraq is a mess and I am glad we are here to fix it.

  Sergeant Major Falaniko finished by sharing from his heart talking 
about the kind of kid his was; the kind that loved his sisters and sent 
them money on every payday just to let them know he was thinking about 
them.
  He concluded by saying to the hundreds of soldiers there at their 
memorial service, from the three-star general to the private:

       What our country brings to Iraq is a chance for freedom and 
     democracy . . . making a difference every day. My son died 
     for a good cause . . . he answered the Nation's call like a 
     typical American soldier. Jonathan was accomplishing his 
     mission, doing what he was supposed to be doing. He had a big 
     heart and he was proud to be a soldier.

  Then, First Sergeant Allen called:

       Private Falaniko.

  And there was silence.
  Again, he called:

       Private Jonathan Falaniko.

  And finally:

       Private Jonathan Ioakimo Falaniko.

  Silence prevailed.

[[Page 28452]]

  Jonathan Falaniko was a hero who made the ultimate sacrifice. Both he 
and his father are examples of what makes our Army and our country 
great.
  The Army and our Nation mourn his death. That young man--a soldier 
for not even a full year--was buried at Arlington National Cemetery on 
Friday.
  On this Veterans Day, I think we should reflect on the wonderful 
young men and wonderful fathers who would put service to country above 
all else, for they are the ones who are protecting the freedom that we 
enjoy today.
  Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, today is Veterans Day. It is a time to 
pay tribute to those who have fought for our freedom and made us the 
Nation we are today.
  On November 11, 1919, Veterans Day began as Armistice Day. It marked 
the first anniversary of the cease-fire agreement among the Allied 
powers and Germany to end World War I. It was also to honor the men and 
women who sacrificed during that conflict.
  In 1926, a congressional resolution officially named Armistice Day in 
the United States. It became a national holiday 12 years later. In 
1954, Congress passed a law to change the name from Armistice Day to 
Veterans Day to honor veterans of all U.S. wars.
  As I think about our veterans and all they have sacrificed, I am 
reminded of a day 6 months ago when I visited Madisonville, TN, to see 
and participate in the raising of the largest American flag in our 
State--1,800 square feet.
  It was really an awful day. The rain was coming down, there was 
lightning and thunder, but hundreds of people stood there to 
participate in that ceremony because we knew we were enduring much less 
in that rain and in that lightning than men and women from Tennessee 
who are serving in Afghanistan or Iraq, or had served on the beaches of 
Normandy, or in the rice fields of Vietnam.
  Tennessee is the Volunteer State. From the battle of King's Mountain 
in the Revolutionary War, through the Mexican War, the Civil War, and 
our World Wars, Tennesseans have volunteered. We have honored those 
volunteers, and we have honored them as veterans.
  As this Nation devotes a day to our veterans, we honor both Tennessee 
veterans and Tennessee soldiers because so many Tennesseans--
thousands--are serving in the battle against terrorism--men and women 
in active duty, as well as men and women in the National Guard and 
those in the Reserves.
  The best thing we all can do on this Veterans Day is to show as much 
respect and honor to our veterans as our veterans have always shown to 
our country.
  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, this year, as we again remember our 
veterans and the sacrifices they have made for our country on this 11th 
day of the 11th month, the men and women serving in our Armed Forces 
deserve special recognition. This year's remembrance is a unique time 
as we honor new veterans coming home from the battlefields of 
Afghanistan and Iraq who have made the sacrifice and have answered the 
call. Our appreciation and gratitude extends to all of them and their 
families for the sacrifices that they have made.
  As of last week, 395 American service members have been killed and 
1,889 American service members have been wounded during Operation Iraqi 
Freedom. Our thoughts and prayers are with them and their families. We 
pray for the safety of those still in harm's way and hope they return 
home soon. I visited some of our servicemen and women at Walter Reed 
Army Medical Center here in Washington, DC recuperating from wounds 
they received in Iraq. Some of them had lost limbs, and face 
significant physical challenges in building a new life. As I expressed 
my appreciation to them for their sacrifices, I was humbled and 
inspired by their high spirits, their determination and their abiding 
faith in our country.
  November 11th--the day World War I ended in 1917--has been a 
distinguished day of recognition for America's veterans since 1954 when 
President Dwight Eisenhower signed into law the day that would honor 
the men and women who have served in our Nation's Armed Forces. Since 
the founding of our country, almost 50 million men and women have 
served in the United States military, and nearly half of them are still 
alive. So today, there are appropriate ceremonies at Arlington National 
Cemetery, throughout Michigan and the rest of the country to honor our 
veterans and what their service has meant to our country.
  I would also like to recognize the African-American men and women who 
in years past served our Nation's Armed Forces in primarily segregated 
units. While segregation in our Armed Forces is a shameful chapter in 
our Nation's past, these veterans should be uniquely recognized for 
their honorable service in the face of the burden of segregation. 
African-American soldiers overcame a patten of prejudice that 
questioned their ability and prevented them from training and working 
with their white counterparts. Segregated African-American units have 
played an important and powerful role in America's military, from the 
Civil War's 54th Regiment of the Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, to 
the Indian War's Buffalo Soldiers of the 9th and 10th Cavalry to World 
War II's Tuskegee Airmen. Four hundred thousand African-American troops 
served the United States in World War I and a million African Americans 
served in World War II's segregated services. We should acknowledge 
their commitment which went beyond normal service and the call to duty. 
I am pleased that this past weekend, a special celebration of our 
African-American veterans took place in my home State of Michigan at 
the Color of Liberty Celebration at the Wayne County Armory.
  I would also like to take a moment to stress the importance of the 
Federal Government meeting its obligations to all veterans to provide 
appropriate and adequate health care. There is a commitment by the 
appropriate committees to add an additional $1.3 billion for veterans 
health care before Congress adjourns this year. Right now, 60,000 
veterans are waiting 6 months or longer for an appointment at VA 
hospitals. I am hopeful that Congress will fulfill our commitments to 
our veterans so that they have a strong VA health care system that is 
well-funded and suitably staffed.
  The terrorist attacks of September 11th and the courageous actions of 
our armed forces in Afghanistan and Iraq remind us that friends of 
tyranny and enemies of freedom still exist. Whether they are soldiers, 
sailors, airmen and marines who fought in the World Wars, Korea, 
Vietnam or the Gulf wars, we thank them for their service, their 
commitment and their sacrifice in the cause of America's freedom.
  Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, on this Veterans Day, I rise to 
recognize a group of truly deserving American veterans--the Tuskegee 
Airmen of World War II.
  This heroic group of African American flyers fought in two types of 
battles--the battle of World War II and the battle against racism at 
home.
  The Tuskegee airmen were dedicated, determined young men who enlisted 
to become America's first black military airmen, at a time when rampant 
racism led many people to falsely assume that black men lacked 
intelligence, skill, and patriotism. And boy, were they proved wrong.
  The military feats of this group can be described as nothing less 
than phenomenal.
  In Order to enter the training program, the young men were held to 
the same demanding physical and mental standards as all other military 
pilots and soldiers of supporting fields. And between 1942 and 1946, 
992 black American pilots graduated from the rigorous program offered 
at Tuskegee Army Air Field, not to mention the black navigators, 
bombardiers, and gunnery crews that were trained at selected military 
bases elsewhere due to a lack of facilities at Tuskegee.
  Four-hundred and fifty of the Tuskegee trained pilots headed to the 
Selfridge Air Base in Michigan for combat preparation, before bravely 
heading overseas as proud members of

[[Page 28453]]

either the 99th Fighter Squadron or the 332nd Fighter Group, later to 
be conjoined. As the only four-squadron fighter group performing bomber 
escort missions in the 15th Air Force, the 332nd Fighter Group had 
extraordinary and unprecedented success. They flew all of their bomber 
escort missions--over 200--without the loss of a single bomber to enemy 
aircraft.
  The bomber escort missions of the famed 332nd ``Red Tail'' fighters 
were so daunting to the enemy that they served as an immensely strong 
deterrent to challenges. The bomber crews that the group escorted 
offered abundant expressions of appreciation since they faced far fewer 
challenges than other crews in the 15th Air Force.
  Sadly, while these men were defending liberty for the people half a 
world away, they were also fighting for their own liberation right here 
in the United States. Despite their valiant deeds abroad, racism and 
bigotry impeded their success at home. Due to strict segregationist 
policies, their assignments were restricted to only two fighter groups, 
and one fighter wing. Their morale suffered more damage due to the lack 
of opportunities for advancement than their air fleet did by enemy 
fire.
  Despite this setback, these soldiers still performed splendidly. In 
1949, Tuskegee pilots took first place in the Air Force National 
Fighter Gunnery Meet, surpassing the performances of all the white 
units.
  The bigotry against these men only served to hurt America. During the 
war, many white units badly needed additional qualified soldiers, but 
could not draw upon the superb skills of the Tuskegee airmen due to the 
military's segregationist policies.
  But this cloud had its silver lining. The willpower and skill that 
brought success for the Tuskegee airmen abroad also helped in the war 
against racism at home. President Harry Truman, recognizing the need 
for an integrated air force, enacted an executive order demanding 
equality of treatment and opportunity in all of the armed forces.
  The Tuskegee airmen were instrumental in the passing of this 
executive order, which paved the way for broader victories later on, 
including the end of racial segregation in all military forces, and 
eventually in the United States as a whole.
  These soldiers are a vibrant part of America's history and a part of 
Michigan's. Not only did many of the soldiers train at Selfridge Air 
Base, but the cadet classes drew heavily from the Detroit citizenry. 
One such citizen made Michigan understand the value of the Tuskegee 
program to its own history.
  Lieutenant Coleman Young, later to become a long-time mayor of 
Detroit, was a product of the Tuskegee experience. Assigned to the 
477th bombardier, he and his colleagues were never sent into combat due 
to racism from senior officers. Determined to preserve the memory of 
the Tuskegee airmen, with the help of other Detroit members, he 
fostered what has become the National Tuskegee Airmen Historical 
Museum, housed at historic Fort Wayne. This small but dignified museum, 
occupying an old officer's quarters, perpetuates the great story the 
Tuskegee have to tell.
  A story I believe we should all listen to. All in all, these soldiers 
gave over 150 lives in the name of their country and in the name of 
freedom. I now call on that country, the United States, to provide them 
the recognition they deserve on this Veterans Day.
  According to existing records, 155 Tuskegee soldiers originated from 
Michigan, I wish to recognize each one of them:

                            Tuskegee Airmen

       Kermit Bailer; Clarence Banton; James Barksdale of Detroit; 
     Hugh Barrington of Farmington Hills; Naomi Bell; Thomas 
     Billingslea; Lee Blackmon; Charles Blakely of Detroit, Robert 
     Bowers of Detroit; James Brown of Ypsilanti; Willor Brown of 
     Ypsilanti; Ernest Browne of Detroit; Archibald Browning; Otis 
     Bryant; Joseph Bryant, Jr. of Dowagiac; Charles Byous; Ernest 
     Cabule of Detroit; Waldo Cain; Clinton Canady of Lansing; 
     Carl Carey of Detroit; Gilbert Cargil; Nathaniel Carr of 
     Detroit; Donald Carter of Detroit; Clifton Casey; David 
     Cason, Jr; Peter Cassey of Detroit; Robert Chandler of 
     Allegan; Pembleton Cochran of Detroit; Alfred Cole of 
     Southfield; James Coleman of Detroit; William Coleman of 
     Detroit; Eugene Coleman; Matthew Corbin of Detroit; Charles 
     Craig of Detroit; Herbert Crushshon; John Cunningham of 
     Romulus; and John Curtis of Detroit.
       Donald Davis of Detroit; Cornelius Davis of Detroit; Eugene 
     Derricotte of Detroit; Taremund Dickerson of Detroit; Walter 
     Downs of Southfield; John Egan; Leavie Farro, Jr.; Howard 
     Ferguson; Thomas Flake of Detroit; Harry Ford, Jr. of 
     Detroit; Luther Friday; Alfonso Fuller of Detroit; William 
     Fuller of West Bloomfield; Frank Gardner; Robert Garrison of 
     Muskegon; Thomas Gay of Detroit; Charles Goldsby of Detroit; 
     Ollie Goodall, Jr. of Detroit; Quintus Green, Sr.; Mitchell 
     Greene; James Greer of Detroit; Alphonso Harper of Detroit; 
     Bernard Harris of Detroit; Denzal Harvey; James Hayes of 
     Detroit; Ernest Haywood of Detroit; Minus Heath; Milton Henry 
     of Bloomfield Hills; Mary Hill; Charles Hill, Jr. of Detroit; 
     Lorenzo Holloway of Detroit; Lynn Hooe of Farmington Hills; 
     Heber Houston of Detroit; Ted Hunt; and Hansen Hunter, Jr.
       Leonard Isabelle Sr., Leonard Jackson; Lawrence Jefferson 
     of Grand Rapids; Alexander Jefferson of Detroit; Silas 
     Jenkins of Lansing; Richard Jennings of Detroit; Louie 
     Johnson of Farmington; Ralph Jones; William Keene of Detroit; 
     Laurel Keith of Cassopolis; Hezekiah Lacy of River Rouge; 
     Richard Macon of Detroit; Albert Mallory; Thomas Malone; 
     Ralph Mason of Detroit; J. Caulton Mays of Detroit; William 
     McClenic; Arthur Middlebrooks; Oliver Miller of Battle Creek; 
     Vincent Mitchell of Mt. Clemens; Wilbur Moffett of Detroit; 
     Dempsey Morgan of Detroit; Russell Nalle, Jr. of Detroit; 
     Robert O'Neil of Detroit; Frederick Parker; Robert Pitts of 
     Detroit; Wardell Polk of Detroit; Walter Poole; Calvin Porter 
     of Detroit; Calvin Porter; Leonard Proctor; Della Rainey; 
     Sandy Reid of Southfield; Edward Rembert; Harry Riggs of 
     Bloomfield Hills; Walter Robinson of Detroit; Major Ross of 
     Oak Park; Washington Ross of Detroit; John Roundtree of 
     Westland; Calude Rowe of Detroit; William Ruben; William 
     Rucker; Jesse Rutledge of Detroit; and Issac Rutledge.
       Calvin Sharp; Albert Simeon, Jr. of Detroit; Paul Simmons, 
     Jr. of Detroit; Leon Smith; Chauncey Spencer; William 
     Stevenson; Chester Stewart of Detroit; Harry Stewart of 
     Bloomfield Hills; Roosevelt Stiger of Jackson; Howard Storey; 
     Willie Sykes of Detroit; Willis Tabor; Kenneth Taitt of 
     Detroit; William Taylor, Jr. of Inkster; Lucius Theus of 
     Bloomfield Hills; Donald Thomas of Detroit; Austin Thomas; 
     Wm. Horton Thompson of Detroit; Jordan Tiller; Paul Tucker of 
     Detroit; Edward Tunstall of Detroit; Allen Turner of Ann 
     Arbor; Cleophus Valentine of Detroit; Charles Walker of 
     Jackson; Robert Walker; Roderick Warren of Detroit; Theodore 
     Washington of Detroit; Richard Weatherford of Aibion; Jimmie 
     Wheeler of Detroit; William Wheeler of Detroit; Cohen White 
     of Detroit; Harold White of Detroit; Paul White; Peter 
     Whittaker of Detroit; Leonard Wiggins of Detroit; David 
     Williams of Bloomfield Hills; Willie Williamson of Detroit; 
     Robert Wolfe; William Womack; and Coleman Young.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, today, on Veterans Day, we commemorate 
and pay special honor to all the veterans who have made such great 
sacrifices in the name of country and democracy.
  This day is particularly poignant as our Nation is at war. There are 
more than 150,000 military service members in harm's way, fighting 
overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan.
  They fight for freedom of the Iraqi people, who have faced decades of 
extreme oppression and brutality under Saddam Hussein, and against the 
Taliban forces, who continue to pose a challenge in Afghanistan.
  Sadly, nearly 500 have paid the ultimate sacrifice and many more have 
sustained life altering injuries.
  And as we prepare to send thousands more in harm's way, I believe 
that it's our obligation to ensure that our military service members 
and veterans receive full support from Congress, and that our efforts 
are tailored to benefit those who proudly serve this Nation.
  We have recently granted the Administration an additional $87 billion 
dollars in supplemental funding for Iraq and Afghanistan.
  While I would have preferred that some of those funds be in the form 
of a loan to Iraq, and that there be more safeguards to ensure the 
funds are well-used, I believe that it was necessary to provide these 
funds.
  It is clear to me that we must stay the course, and we must rebuild 
the infrastructure, prevent civil war, and see to it that Iraq does not 
become a base for terror and instability throughout the region.

[[Page 28454]]

  We must see to it that a stable governmental structure and viable 
economy apart from Saddam's tyrannical dictatorship can be put in 
place.
  And most importantly, we must see to it that our troops are given all 
the tools necessary to accomplish these objectives.
  Approving the additional funding was the only way to truly support 
our military service members and aid their ultimate success.
  As we seek to ensure that the current war efforts are well funded, we 
also need to realize that very soon, the young men and women of our 
armed forces will be returning home.
  Some will require extraordinary care for a long period of time. It is 
incumbent upon us to ensure that they have adequate facilities to aid 
them in their recovery and recuperation.
  There must not be any doubt by any of our injured veterans that they 
did the right thing in sacrificing health to defend our nation's 
interest.
  The best way to prove to them that they have our full support is to 
ensure that they receive good health care and adequate benefits once 
they return home.
  It is our responsibility to make sure that our veterans are not 
waiting six months or longer for appointments at VA hospitals, nor 
should they have to wait for 15 months for disability claims to be 
finalized, as is now often the case.
  And prescriptions costs must be affordable.
  We need to make room available in VA hospitals to ensure that all of 
our veterans whether active duty or reserves are adequately served.
  In order to accomplish this task we must be cautious as we close 
hospitals under the Capital Assets Realignment for Enhanced Services--
CARES--program to ensure that we don't leave our veterans stranded 
without accessible services.
  As our veterans return home, some with great and debilitating 
injuries, we must also ensure that their compensation is just, full, 
and reflective of the American spirit.
  Finally, we need to remember the families of the great men and women 
who are separated from their loved ones.
  We must make sure that their concerns are the Nation's concerns. 
While their loved ones are overseas fighting for America's interest, 
Congress must ensure that their medical needs are covered.
  As I reflect on the origin of Veterans Day, it brings me great hope 
that our service members will be home and peace will reign again.
  On June 4, 1934, Congress enacted a concurrent resolution, 
recognizing November 11, 1918. The resolution states: ``Whereas the 11 
of November 1918, marked the cessation of the most destructive, 
sanguinary, and far reaching war in human annals and the resumption by 
the people of the United States of peaceful relation with other 
nations, which we hope may never again be severed, and Whereas it is 
fitting that the recurring anniversary of this date should be 
commemorated with thanksgiving and prayer and exercises designed to 
perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between 
nations; . . . ''
  On May 13, 1938, the 11 of November was approved as a legal holiday 
dedicated to world peace, known as Armistice Day. Finally, on June 1, 
1954, Congress renamed Armistice Day to Veterans Day, thereby 
commending all veterans.
  Veterans Day is often associated with war, but its true significance 
lies in peace and humanity.
  Since September 11 this country has undergone tremendous struggle and 
uncertainty.
  We have shown that our resiliency is greater than our fears and our 
convictions of freedom and right can not be compromised.
  This country is great because its citizens are great. This country 
was born from the sacrifice of its citizens and the vision they saw.
  Today we honor the citizens who served and continue to serve our 
great country. They are the protectors of our democracy and our way of 
life; they are our veterans.
  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, in the past few days, the tragic headlines 
from Iraq have reminded us of the selfless sacrifices our soldiers, 
sailors, marines and airmen make every day to keep this country strong 
and safe. The conflict in Iraq brings home again the debt we owe to 
America's veterans for their service and their sacrifices.
  In North Dakota, we are extremely proud to have the highest per 
capita participation in the Guard of any State and to be among the 
leaders in per capita participation in the Reserves. More than 1,000 
North Dakota National Guardsmen and reservists in Iraq, Kuwait and 
Afghanistan are serving with distinction. Behind these statistics, 
though, are individual soldiers who have left behind families. With the 
wonders of modern technology, I can hear directly from soldiers who are 
on the frontlines in Iraq. I hear of their accomplishments, when 
they've helped make life just a little better for an Iraqi family or 
even a whole community. I hear of their pride in doing a job well for 
their country. But I also hear of their frustration with searing heat, 
swirling dust, and irregular access to showers and the other comforts 
we take for granted. I hear of their worries about family at home, how 
their loved ones are coping with their absence and their concern that 
the news of deaths and injuries among their fellow soldiers are adding 
to the stress on their families. I hear their longing to get back to 
home and family. In short, I hear of the sacrifices they are making on 
our behalf.
  And every day I hear from the family members of our activated 
servicemen and servicewomen. I hear how proud they are that their 
beloved ones are serving the country they love. But I also hear of the 
added burden that those left behind must bear. I hear the frustration 
of not knowing when a loved one will come home and of learning that the 
deployment has been extended. I hear of the hit on the family finances 
for Guardsmen or reservists who have left higher paying jobs to serve 
their country--and of the spouses who are left to keep the family 
business running on their own. I hear of the added work as one parent 
takes on the work normally done by two--the caregiving, the helping 
with homework, the coaching, the meal preparation--all the little 
chores that add up and are starting to become a source of stress for 
some families. I hear the added anxiety of knowing that a loved one is 
serving in a dangerous role far from home. Each time the phone rings, 
they hope that it will be a rare opportunity to hear that everything is 
going well and to say ``I love you,'' but they fear that it could be 
news of a casualty. In short, I hear of the sacrifices that they are 
making on our behalf.
  And I hear of the tremendous impact on small communities throughout 
North Dakota. The current call-up has meant the loss of valued 
employees in small businesses on main streets across the state. It has 
meant the loss of teachers, volunteer firefighters, policemen, and 
medical personnel. And it has meant the absence of church leaders, PTA 
leaders, Little League coaches. In short, it has meant sacrifices great 
and small.
  So this Veterans Day, we are reminded of the tremendous sacrifices of 
our veterans and their families. Today is a Federal holiday. But it is 
more than that. It is an opportunity to stop and thank veterans for 
their service and their sacrifice. It is an opportunity to tell them 
how proud they make you. And it is an opportunity to remember those who 
made the ultimate sacrifice and the debt of gratitude and honor this 
country owes to their heroism.
  I deeply regret that the business of the Senate is keeping me here in 
Washington so that I am not able to deliver that message personally to 
the tens of thousands of North Dakota veterans who served in past 
conflicts and wars. More than 50,000 veterans currently live in my 
State. Their service is rich in history. I remember reviewing 
historical accounts of one of the most significant engagements 
involving North Dakotans in 1942, when members of the 164th Infantry 
Regiment of the ND Army National Guard were the first Army unit to 
engage in combat action in the Pacific Theater on Guadalcanal.

[[Page 28455]]

I was honored to have introduced a resolution that passed the Senate in 
1992 paying tribute to the heroic actions of the 164th Infantry unit.
  Today, as I noted earlier, military personnel from our State continue 
to protect our homeland and to serve in hostile environments around the 
world. Active duty personnel from the Minot and Grand Forks AFB, Air 
National Guard from Fargo, and the more than 1,000 Army National 
Guardsmen and reservists continue to play a vital role in homeland 
security and in the fight against terrorism. We owe these active duty 
personnel and their families a deep debt of gratitude for responding to 
the extraordinary challenges posed by international terrorism.
  As we observe Veterans Day, let us remember that the respect and 
appreciation that we show our veterans and active duty personnel on 
this day is an act that we should demonstrate every day of the year. It 
is especially important that we honor veterans and their families by 
making certain that our active duty personnel and veterans receive the 
benefits that we have promised and that they are entitled to receive. 
We can do no less for the sacrifices that they have made.
  That is why I am working hard in the remaining days of the 1st 
Session of the 108th Congress to make certain that our veterans receive 
significant increases in funding for VA health care, funding that 
should come as close as possible to the recommendations of our national 
veterans service organizations in the annual Independent Budget. I am 
hopeful that Congress will increase the VA health care budget by $1.3 
billion, bringing the level close to $27.2 billion. I strongly support 
that increase. Additionally, I am very concerned by the uncertainty of 
annual appropriations for VA health care every year, and believe that 
we need to make VA health care funding mandatory to guarantee that 
veterans get the health care they need and deserve. I am pleased to be 
a cosponsor of legislation, S. 50, that would guarantee full funding 
for VA health care.
  I also believe that it is time to end the penalty against our 
disabled veterans, and am pleased that we are making progress on 
providing full concurrent receipt of veterans disability compensation 
and military retirement pay for more veterans. While final action has 
not been completed on the concurrent receipt, I am hopeful that an 
agreement to expand significantly the number of veterans eligible for 
concurrent receipt and military retirement pay, without an offset, will 
be enacted by Congress in the very near future. We must, however, 
continue our efforts to provide full concurrent receipt for all 
veterans entitled to this benefit.
  Let me close by saying thank you. Thank you to our veterans. Thank 
you to our military personnel now on active duty around the world. Your 
service and your sacrifice make me, and you make America, very, very 
proud.
  Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, today marks the 50th anniversary of 
Veterans Day. This historic occasion is an important opportunity for 
all Americans to express our gratitude to our Nation's veterans for the 
sacrifices they have made serving our country and defending our 
freedom.
  My first sense of the sacrifice made by our veterans came from my 
family. My father volunteered to serve in the Air Force during World 
War II, and flew missions over Europe. I will never forget his stories 
of the war, of the men with whom he served, and of the dangers they 
faced together. Yet he knew full well the risks he would face when he 
joined up.
  In fact, my father enlisted after learning that his brother was 
missing in action. Like the hundreds of thousands who fell at places 
like Normandy, Guadalcanal, Anzio, and Attu, and places so desolate 
they remain unnamed, my uncle never came home. He and his brothers in 
arms gave their lives to defend freedom at home and around the world.
  In perhaps the most eloquent testament to the sacrifice of our 
Nation's veterans, President Abraham Lincoln said:

       But in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate--we cannot 
     consecrate--we cannot hallow--this ground. The brave men, 
     living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far 
     above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little 
     note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never 
     forget what they did here.

  President Lincoln's stirring words are as true today as they were at 
Gettysburg 140 years ago this month. The ongoing deployments in the 
Middle East are a reminder of these sacrifices. Earlier this year, I 
had the opportunity to visit American troops stationed in Afghanistan 
and Iraq. I was impressed by their grit and their resolve to carry out 
a dangerous mission under extremely difficult circumstances.
  I was also proud to join the families and neighbors who welcomed home 
the thousands of Washington sailors, aviators, and Marines who served 
in the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln carrier battle group. It was uplifting to 
see such a tremendous outpouring of support for our troops.
  Sadly, not all of them will make it home. To the families and loved 
ones of those men and women who have given their lives, I offer my 
heartfelt sympathy. You have the everlasting gratitude of the State of 
Washington and the Nation.
  I am profoundly grateful for the service of America's military 
personnel and for the sacrifices they have made in protecting our 
country and our freedoms. Although we commemorate their service on this 
special day each year, it is important to remember that the men and 
women in uniform make sacrifices to safeguard America every day.
  Their service, both in peacetime and in war, protects us all. Our 
responsibility to them is to ensure that they and their families are 
provided the recognition that they have earned and so greatly deserve. 
It is also our charge, as Lincoln described it, to renew our dedication 
to the ``great task remaining before us''--to renew our dedication to 
freedom and democracy. I am confident that as we a nation will continue 
to live up to this challenge. I hope that we can meet our obligations 
as citizens with the same sense of duty and honor with which America's 
veterans served.
  Mr. BENNETT. Mr. President, on Veterans Day, it is fitting to pause, 
remember and recognize the contributions of those who have defended 
America throughout our history. Today, I would also like to recognize a 
man who risked his life to save his fellow marines in the horrific 
World War II battle for Iwo Jima.
  Historian David Kennedy, in his book ``Freedom from Fear,'' describes 
the battle of Iwo Jima:

       The twenty-one-thousand-man Japanese garrison had 
     honeycombed Iwo's basaltic ridges and Suribachi's ashen 
     flanks with reinforced concrete-and-steel bunkers and stuffed 
     them with artillery, antiaircraft guns, mortars, and machine 
     guns. They were so well and deeply entrenched that seventy-
     two days of aerial bombing and three days of naval shelling 
     barely scratched them. At first light on February 19 two 
     divisions of marines, each man carrying up to a hundred 
     pounds of gear, stepped from their amphtracs onto Iwo's 
     beaches and sank to their boot-tops in the powdery mixture of 
     sand and volcanic ash. Vehicles, including tanks and half-
     tracks, soon bogged down in the quicksand-like topping of 
     pumice and cinder that blanketed the island. From the 
     Japanese bunkers and pillboxes a hellish rain of shells and 
     bullets pelted the beaches, where the marines seemed to be 
     moving in slow motion through the sucking sand . . .
       The battle ground on . . . with unmatched barbarity. 
     Japanese soldiers stubbornly refused to surrender. When the 
     fighting ended at last in late March, only a few hundred 
     Japanese, mostly wounded, had allowed themselves to be taken 
     prisoner.

  From February 19 to March 25, 1945, 6,140 Marine and Navy soldiers 
were killed on Iwo Jima and 17,372 were wounded. Nearly two of three 
soldiers who fought on Iwo Jima were killed or wounded. Twenty-two 
Marines and four corpsmen received medals of honor.
  During those terrible days of February and March of 1945, George E. 
Wahlen was a medical corpsman. James Bradley, in the book, Flags of our 
Fathers said this:

       . . . In the European theater, my dad (a navy corpsman) 
     would have worn a red cross on his helmet and expected the 
     Germans to spare him as a noncombatant. And he would have 
     been unarmed, according to the Geneva Convention. but the 
     Pacific theater was different. . . . The Japanese on Iwo Jima 
     had been trained to look for corpsmen by identifying their 
     telltale medical pouch--and shoot them on the spot. Without a 
     corpsman

[[Page 28456]]

     to save the wounded, the Japanese knew, their kill ratio 
     would be much higher . . .

  Though seriously wounded three times in 26 days, corpsman George 
Whalen refused evacuation and repeatedly defied heavy mortar and rifle 
fire from the enemy to find and treat his wounded comrades. 
Disregarding his own safety, he continued to cross open terrain under 
fire to aid his friends, until he was so badly wounded, he could no 
longer walk. Even then, he carried on, crawling across the ground 
through the raging battle to administer aid to yet another fallen 
comrade. For his unselfish and steadfast courage, and for ``conspicuous 
gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the 
call of duty.'' George Wahlen was awarded the Medal of Honor, and is 
Utah's only living recipient of that rare recognition.
  We are all familiar with the language of military honors, but, in 
these challenging times, where American soldiers and sailors, airmen 
and marines, once again are serving in foreign lands and showing the 
same gallant spirit of sacrifice and courage in the face of battle, we 
need to hear it again. I would like to quote from Mr. Wahlen's 
citation:

       Painfully wounded . . .  he remained on the battlefield, 
     advancing well forward of the front lines to aid a wounded 
     marine and carrying him back to safety despite a terrific 
     concentration of fire. Tireless in his ministrations, he 
     consistently disregarded all danger to attend his fighting 
     comrades as they fell under the devastating rain of shrapnel 
     and bullets. . . .  When an adjacent platoon suffered heavy 
     casualties, he defied the continuous pounding of heavy 
     mortars and deadly fire of enemy rifles to care for the 
     wounded, working rapidly in an area swept by constant fire 
     and treating 14 casualties before returning to his own 
     platoon. Wounded again . . .  he gallantly refused 
     evacuation, moving out with his company the following day in 
     a furious assault across 600 yards of open terrain and 
     repeatedly rendering medical aid while exposed to the 
     blasting fury of powerful Japanese guns. Stouthearted and 
     indomitable, he persevered in his determined efforts as his 
     unit waged fierce battle and, unable to walk after sustaining 
     a third agonizing wound, resolutely crawled 50 yards to 
     administer first aid to still another fallen fighter. By his 
     dauntless fortitude and valor, Wahlen served as a constant 
     inspiration and contributed vitally to the high morale of his 
     company during critical phases of this strategically 
     important engagement. His heroic spirit of self-sacrifice in 
     the face of overwhelming enemy fire upheld the highest 
     traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.

  James Bradley, in an article in the Wall Street Journal on November 
10, 2002, considered the phrase ``Uncommon Valor was a Common Virtue'' 
in his search to learn the story of his dad, and others at Iwo Jima. 
Mr. Bradley wrote:

       Corpsman George Wahlen was injured in the eye and shoulder, 
     but patched himself up secretly so he would not be evacuated. 
     When an exploding shell shattered his ankle, leaving his foot 
     dangling and all but disconnected from the leg, he shot 
     himself with morphine, taped up his ankle, and crawled back 
     to the fight with one good eye, one good arm, and one good 
     leg. Corpsman Wahlen had to be dragged off the field of 
     battle. ``Why?'' I asked. He answered, ``I just did what 
     anyone else would have done in the situation.''
       . . . I thought to myself, ``If uncommon valor was so 
     common on Iwo Jima, why can't I find the Rambos of my 
     imagination?'' All I could find were humble guys who insisted 
     they hadn't done much . . . But I realized then that what my 
     dad's life and words, and the words and lives of these other 
     heroes, were trying to tell me, was that it was all about 
     common virtue.
       My dad and his comrades were men of common virtue before 
     Iwo Jima, on Iwo Jima, and after Iwo Jima. Their actions and 
     lives were consistent . . . I realized that the key to my 
     dad's life was the attitude of common virtue he practiced 
     throughout his days. . . . My dad, running through bullets on 
     Iwo Jima, doing his duty in the Pacific. My dad having the 
     patience to teach me, a young son, how to tie his shoes. My 
     dad, just lending a hand in his community. . . . And I am 
     confident that if my dad were here to read these words about 
     common virtue being the root of heroism, he would shake his 
     head in agreement and say: ``It's as simple as that.''

  Mr. Wahlen has demonstrated common virtue throughout his life and 
continues to do so. He did not end his service on Iwo Jima. Following 
World War II, true to the code of what Tom Brokaw called ``the greatest 
generation,'' he went on to serve his country in two more wars and to 
dedicate countless volunteer hours in following years to the service of 
his fellow veterans.
  It is to honor this fine and humble man, who would be the last to 
claim such an honor for himself, that I am proposing to change the name 
of the Department of Veterans Affairs' Medical Center in Salt Lake 
City, UT to the ``George E. Wahlen Department of Veterans Affairs 
Medical Center.'' Senator Hatch and I introduced this legislation, S. 
1815, last week.
  This is a proper and fitting thing to do, not only because of Mr. 
Wahlen's accomplishments and service, but also because he is beloved by 
his fellow veterans. This is made clear by the unanimous support I 
received in support of this change from all of the State commanders and 
directors of Utah's veterans' organizations and State and Federal 
agencies: the American Legion, the Disabled American Veterans, the 
Veterans of Foreign Wars, the VA Regional Office, the Utah Division of 
Veterans Affairs, and the VA Medical Center itself.
  When carrying the 2002 Olympic Torch George Wahlen said, ``It's an 
honor, but I feel like I'm representing all the veterans in the State 
of Utah.'' He has represented veterans so often over the last 30 years. 
In this circumstance, we honor George Wahlen, as a veteran, a Medal of 
Honor recipient, a man of both valor and virtue, and as a 
representative of all of the veterans who have served their country.
  Many veterans who returned as heroes are often uncomfortable with the 
designation of heroes. James Bradley, in Flags of our Fathers, 
recounted a story where his third grade teacher referred to James's 
father as a hero and wanted him to come and speak to his class. He 
recounts the exchange with his father:

       ``Jim, your teacher said something about heroes . . .''
       I shifted expectantly in my chair, waiting to hear some 
     stories of valor. Instead he looked me directly in my nine-
     year-old eyes, signaling that he'd like to embed an idea in 
     my brain for the rest of my life. He said ``I want you to 
     always remember something. The heroes of Iwo Jima are the 
     guys who didn't come back.''

  Today, we remember those who came back and those who didn't--those 
who didn't come back from Iwo Jima, from Guadalcanal, from Normandy, 
from Vietnam, from Korea, from Afghanistan, from Iraq.
  While words fail to make an adequate tribute to those who lost their 
lives and paid a price in sacrifice for what we enjoy today, I will 
borrow from what has already been written. In 1940, Winston Churchill 
spoke to the House of Commons in relation to the Battle of Britain. He 
said, ``Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so 
many to so few.''
  There are heroes that never came back. There are heroes that did. Let 
us not forget.
  Mr. BREAUX. Mr. President, I rise today to honor the veterans of the 
U.S. Armed Services and to thank those who continue to serve bravely 
and protect the United States around the world.
  My home State of Louisiana has made a significant contribution to the 
war on terrorism. Since September 11, 2001, more than 15,000 Louisiana 
men and women have fought to protect Americans from those that threaten 
our safety. Every military installation in Louisiana has contributed to 
this effort. There are 4,000 men and women from Fort Polk currently 
serving in Iraq, more than 6,000 members from Barksdale Air Force Base 
deployed since September 11, and thousands of reservists and Guardsmen 
continue to be activated and deployed throughout our country and the 
world. In the coming months, over one hundred more Marine Reservists 
from Belle Chasse Joint Reserve Base in Louisiana will be called into 
action in Iraq. I would like to take this opportunity to express my 
deep gratitude for their sacrifice.
  I also want to let the roughly 379,000 veterans living in Louisiana 
and those around the country know we do not forget your service to our 
country. We will be eternally grateful for your service to the United 
States in our past and present wars against communism, fascism, and 
terrorism. Our Nation stays strong because of your efforts, and the 
world is a better place for the things you have done.

[[Page 28457]]

  On this anniversary of the historic World War I armistice in Europe, 
I honor the great achievements and sacrifices of the acting and retired 
members of the United States Armed Services and thank them for their 
bravery.
  Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, I pay tribute to the 26.4 million military 
veterans and their families living in the United States who have served 
in defense of our great Nation. In 1918, on the 11th hour of the 11th 
day in the 11th month, the world rejoiced and celebrated. After four 
years of bitter war, an armistice was signed. The ``war to end all 
wars'' was over. How unprophetic were these sincere but hopeful words.
  The turn of events has since made us realize more than ever that 
``Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty,'' and Armistice Day has 
turned into Veterans Day to honor all our brave men and women who 
served since that hope-filled day in many countries to defend liberty 
and freedom.
  America today, and this imperfect world, is a better place because of 
the sacrifices made by our veterans and their families, many of whom 
paid the ultimate price, for ``The only thing necessary for the triumph 
of evil is for good men to do nothing.'' When duty called, our veterans 
responded magnificently.
  As we engage in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, 
Operation Noble Eagle, and countless other missions around the world, 
it is important that we support our men and women in the military by 
providing them with the training, equipment, and resources necessary 
for them to accomplish their mission so that they can return to their 
families in a timely manner. We must also honor their families who also 
sacrifice precious time with them so that they can defend our freedom.
  At the same time, we must never forget the contributions and 
sacrifices made by those veterans who served in past conflicts, and 
their families. We must work to ensure that our veterans are provided 
with appropriate services and benefits, such as adequate health care, 
in a timely fashion. We currently face a $1.8 billion shortfall in 
funding needed to provide healthcare for our veterans. I remain 
committed to ensuring that our veterans are provided with the services 
and benefits that they have earned.
  I am honored to pay tribute to these fine individuals on behalf of a 
grateful Nation.
  Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. President, from the Meuse-Argonne campaign of 
World War I to the action in Operation Iraqi Freedom, American 
soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines have fought on front lines 
around the globe to defend our freedom at home. Whether fighting on the 
battlefield or manning the ramparts against the threat of Communist 
aggression, it is courage, commitment and endurance of the American 
fighting forces that have made possible the unprecedented prosperity 
and political freedom that we enjoy today. As a result of the constant 
struggle to defend freedom, we now have 26 million American veterans, 
about 768,000 of which are from my home state of Georgia.
  With each year that passes, these veterans are growing older. At last 
count, 37 percent of these heroes are over 65 years old and many of 
them need medical care. Caring for these brave men and women is an 
obligation that we must take seriously. In my first year as a 
Congressman, in 1995, spending on veterans healthcare was $16 billion. 
Just 9 years later, President Bush's fiscal year budget request was $27 
billion, an increase of $11 billion. We can always do better, and we 
will, but I think that this dramatic rise in funding is remarkable.
  We have taken other significant steps to help our Nation's veterans, 
including concurrent receipt legislation in the fiscal year 2004 
Defense Authorization Act, which we will consider today on the floor of 
the Senate. This provision helps disabled veterans wounded in combat to 
receive both their disability compensation as well as the pension which 
they earned in service to our Nation. In addition, the concurrent 
receipt provision will extend full disability and Veterans Affairs 
retirement pay for all disabled veterans rated 50 percent and higher. 
When enacted, this provision does more to honor our Nation's disabled 
veterans than Congress has done in years.
  On this day, my thoughts and prayers are with the families of the 
fallen soldiers who were deployed from my home State and throughout the 
Nation, who served with honor and bravery in the Middle East and 
Afghanistan. My thought and prayers are also with the family of GEN Ray 
Davis, who passed away earlier this year and whose legacy of service, 
honor, and heroism will be remembered for years to come.
  Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, I join with my colleagues on this 
Veterans Day in paying tribute to those men and women who have so ably 
served in our Nation's Armed Forces and honoring the tremendous 
sacrifices they have made for this great country.
  I firmly believe that those citizens who have been called upon to 
defend our Nation, to risk and in many cases sacrifice their lives, 
deserve our utmost respect and gratitude, for these noble men and women 
are responsible for the peace and freedom which we, as Americans, 
cherish.
  As we use this time to reflect upon the heroic deeds of the past, we 
should also recognize the significance of these deeds for the present 
and the future. Due to the unselfish efforts of those of who have 
served, those who serve now, and the efforts of all of those who are no 
longer here with us, the world continues to be a safer place and the 
principles of democracy survive.
  I have often said we ought not be sunshine patriots, that our 
dedication to the men and women who have served should not solely be 
reserved for days such as this. Rather, we should be cognizant of their 
contributions every day of the year.
  Throughout my time in Congress, I am pleased to have fought hard on 
behalf of the issues of importance to our Nation's veterans: improving 
veterans health care and making it more accessible, protecting our 
veterans' benefits, including the authorization of concurrent receipt, 
and ensuring that each veteran has a proper burial.
  This week, the Senate may take up the Department of Veterans Affairs 
Appropriations bill--which will fund VA and its programs during the 
current fiscal year. I am pleased to have joined with many of my 
colleagues in working to increase the VA budget by $1.3 billion--to 
ensure that all veterans receive the benefits to which they are 
entitled. I am hopeful that this increase will ultimately be included 
in the bill when it is sent to the President for signature.
  In my view, we have a responsibility to adequately fund these 
programs--programs critical to the continued health and welfare of our 
Nation's veterans. It is simply a matter of fairness and is, indeed, 
the very least we can do to honor their commitment and service to this 
Nation.
  Mr. CORZINE. Mr. President, I rise to call attention to the 
importance of the Veterans Day commemoration ceremonies and private 
remembrances, both formal and informal, being observed today by 
Americans around the Nation and across the world.
  Given the many demands on this body and the hectic pace of modern 
life, it is all too easy for the Senate, as well as for all Americans, 
to fail to give this day--Veterans Day the attention it demands. It is 
all too easy to let the date on the calendar pass without stopping and 
reflecting.
  But, as citizens, as well as public servants, we must never fail to 
commemorate, honor, and remember in our hearts our veterans and their 
sacrifices and what those sacrifices have meant to our country.
  A mere once a year we are called to publicly applaud and honor the 
many Americans, living and deceased, men and women of every ethnic 
group and walk of life, who have given of themselves, their time, their 
youth, their sweat, and, all too frequently, their blood, and their 
lives. Their sacrifices have kept us free and enabled us to remain the 
last best hope of the world.
  About this nation's revolution, Thomas Paine wrote:

       These are the times that try men's souls. The summer 
     soldier and the sunshine patriot

[[Page 28458]]

     will shrink from the service of their country; but he that 
     stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.

  In observing Veterans Day today, we offer our love and thanks to 
those Americans, over the course of our history, who did not shrink 
from the service of their country.
  Most came to military service willingly, even eagerly, many with good 
humor and high hopes, some more reluctantly, and more than a few who, 
frankly, would rather have been elsewhere.
  I can remember myself some years ago, as a young marine humping an 
81-millimeter mortar tube across the California desert, wishing very 
sincerely to be elsewhere at that moment.
  What they all have in common, and what we all honor today, is that 
they did not shrink from the service to their country, and still don't.
  As they did not shrink from service during World War II in the 
Pacific and in Europe, in long and bitter wars in Korea and Vietnam, in 
Lebanon and Grenada, in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, and, today, in Iraq 
and in Afghanistan, on hundreds of ships in every ocean of the world; 
in Minot, ND; and in Fort Dix, NJ; on Diego Garcia and in Misawa, 
Japan; at Ft. Benning, GA; on Paris Island, SC; and at Walter Reed Army 
Hospital and Bethesda Naval Hospital here in Washington.
  They responded to a sense of duty, obligation, and a desire to belong 
to or strive for something separate and apart from personal ambition.
  They may not even see or clearly understand at the time their own 
motivations, but they do not shrink from service all the same, and our 
country is the better for it.
  A simple choice on the face of it--the willingness to serve--but one 
that, given the unparalleled abundance of choices that Americans today 
enjoy--we must recognize, honor and support.
  As we stop to honor our veterans, we must go beyond rhetorical 
support.
  We must provide for those who have served the rest of us so well, and 
we need to do so in practical and concrete terms, for our debt to our 
veterans' demands that we respond to their needs and their concerns, 
and demands that we deliver the benefits they have earned through their 
service and sacrifice.
  First, full accountability for all MIA/POW's, without exception. 
There is no higher obligation for a country than to keep faith with 
those of its fighting men and women who may still be in enemy hands. We 
must not turn away.
  In this regard, I urge the administration and the Defense Department 
to continue their search for CAPT Michael Scott Speicher, United States 
Navy, whose family is from New Jersey and whose aircraft was shot down 
over Iraq in 1991.
  Then-Commander Speicher was reported as the first American service 
member killed in action in Desert Storm. His status, however, was 
changed by the Department of Defense from killed in action to MIA and 
then, in 2002, to POW. More indications suggesting Captain Speicher may 
have survived his 1991 shoot-down came to light after our liberation of 
Iraq.
  The Defense Department's search for him, with the urging of my Senate 
colleagues and me, must continue until Captain Speicher's fate is fully 
accounted for.
  Turning to the VA health care system, tens of thousands of veterans 
now must wait six months and more for appointments. Some find they have 
to wait as long as one to two years to be seen.
  This kind of delay and lack of access to healthcare is unacceptable 
and yet is all too common. It is also completely unnecessary. The 
difficulties faced by our veterans are caused by chronic underfunding 
of the VA health system.
  The VA system relies on the annual appropriations process, a process 
which is contentious and unpredictable and which makes it all too 
tempting to slash current year funding regardless of how this affects 
our veterans.
  This year, for example, veterans organizations estimate that the VA 
health system needs $1.8 billion more than the President requested.
  As a result, veterans advocates have once again found themselves 
playing catch-up.
  The solution is mandatory funding of VA health needs so that 
veteran's benefits are no longer subject to the politics of the annual 
appropriations process.
  Without such a mechanism, the VA system will remain chronically 
underfunded, and veterans needing care will continue to have to wait 
disgracefully long periods of time.
  I also wish to note that today I am introducing the Comprehensive 
Hepatitis C Health Care Act, to provide increased testing and care for 
veterans at risk of or infection with hepatitis C.
  Most veterans who have hepatitis C don't even know it, and often 
don't get treatment until it's too late.
  Yet despite recent advances in care, the VA still lacks a 
comprehensive approach to testing and treating veterans for the virus.
  The legislation I am introducing would improve access to hepatitis C 
testing and treatment for all veterans, ensure that the VA spends all 
allocated hepatitis C funds on testing and treatment, and set new, 
national policies for hepatitis C care.
  I have also introduced and will continue to push for a measure to 
lower the retirement age for reservists to 55.
  This measure is a way to ensure fairer treatment for reservists in 
their career planning and to make a reserve career more attractive to 
military members who might otherwise opt out of further service.
  We need to think about equity for reservists, and about the 
attractiveness of Reserve careers as our global strategy comes to rely 
ever more heavily on reservist citizen-soldiers.
  We also owe our veterans full concurrent receipts.
  There should be no conflict between a veteran's right to receive his 
or her retirement benefits and a disabled veteran's right to disability 
income. And yet, incredibly enough, disabled veterans continue to pay 
what is, in effect, a tax on their disability payments. It is time--
once and for all--to eliminate this tax.
  Ensuring that all veterans have access to quality healthcare is a 
small repayment for the contributions veterans have made in service to 
this Nation. Unfortunately, the current Veterans Administration 
healthcare funding formula--VERA--puts veterans in high-cost areas, 
such as New Jersey, at a severe disadvantage in getting adequate 
medical care.
  Vets shouldn't be forced to wait months for an appointment at a 
veterans medical clinic or to shoulder excessive fees because of a 
quirk in the formula that funds VA health care.
  That is why I introduced legislation to make VA healthcare funding 
fairer by accounting for the distinct financial challenges confronting 
veterans and healthcare providers in different parts of the country.
  This legislation, S. 1014, would replace the national income 
threshold for classification as a low-income veteran--currently $24,000 
for all parts of the country--with regional thresholds defined by the 
Department of Housing and Urban Development.
  This adjustment would help low-income veterans across the country 
afford quality health care and help ensure that Veterans Integrated 
Service Networks, VISN's, receive adequate funding to care for their 
distinct veteran populations.
  In thinking about our veterans, we must also consider the brave men 
and women fighting for us now in Iraq and in Afghanistan and elsewhere.
  As we honor their service, we must never forget what we owe them--now 
and when they return.
  With so many Guard men and women and Reservists serving, it is 
critical that we extend to them the benefits they deserve.
  One benefit for which we have had to fight is the extension of 
TRICARE coverage to all reservists. We have succeeded in getting this 
critical benefit for a year. We will, therefore, be revisiting this 
issue next year. I and like-minded colleagues remain advocates of 
extending such coverage to reservists.
  As we asked our young citizens in the past, we are again today asking 
them to do extraordinary things, and we

[[Page 28459]]

need to see that they have the proper care and assistance when they 
come home. There is no excuse for failing them.
  We all remember that Veterans Day began as a commemoration of the 
Armistice which ended World War I, a catastrophic event which this body 
described as ``the most destructive, sanguinary and far reaching war in 
human annals'' to that point.
  We pause and remember, and we again commit ourselves to honor and to 
stand by the veterans of the Great War and of all America's wars, past 
and present.
  Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, I am proud to come to the floor 
of the Senate and join in solemn tribute to the millions of American 
men and women who have protected our freedom over the long history of 
our Republic.
  Every American knows it is part of our national character to pay 
tribute to the service of those who have worn the uniform of our Armed 
Forces to defend our way of life.
  As a nation, we have dedicated this day to reflect upon the service 
and sacrifice of the many generations of Americans who have delivered 
and preserved for us a nation free and strong.
  This Veterans Day is even more solemn and thoughtful for all 
Americans for we are a nation at war. Americans are fully aware that 
hundreds of thousands of their neighbors, son and daughters, husbands 
and wives, fathers and mothers are in harms way around the globe. 
Americans are fully aware that over four hundred service members have 
lost and continue to risk their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan while 
over 2,400 more have been wounded or injured. All Americans share the 
pain and sense of loss for those killed and those suffering from 
wounds. And Americans recognize and are ready for the many sacrifices 
that lie ahead. We are a resolute people determined to defend our 
liberty and bring peace and justice to a dangerous world. This 
determination is evident throughout our Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, 
and Coast Guard.
  I saw it myself when I visited soldiers of the Florida National 
Guard's 124th Infantry in Baghdad last summer. They are tough, well-
trained, devoted citizen soldiers demonstrating their professionalism 
every day on the dangerous streets of a city that still quakes with 
war. These great soldiers are worthy of their legacy; they are worthy 
of our admiration and gratitude.
  We must be worthy of them and keep the Nation's promises to them-our 
promise to attend to their welfare and the welfare of their families.
  As Abraham Lincoln instructed us, ours is an obligation to, ``to care 
for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and for his 
orphan.'' Too often we fall short on this care. We must meet this 
obligation with the same sense of determination and honor as our 
veterans' service is always rendered.
  We have underfunded our veterans health care system and the backlog 
of claims remains unacceptably high. This is not right.
  We have partially eliminated the disabled veterans tax, or Concurrent 
Receipt, but only for one-third of those entitled to both their retired 
pay and disability compensation. We have created among our retired 
veterans the ``haves'' and ``have-nots'' and this is simply not right. 
They are all worthy and deserve to have what they have been promised 
now without delay.
  We have done nothing to improve our systems for caring for the 
survivors of veterans or retirees, especially those that were 100 
percent disabled. The Department of Defense Survivor Benefits Plan 
remains uncorrected for offsets based on benefits from Social Security 
and Dependency and Indemnity Compensation--reductions in income in 
amounts and at times that widows often can least afford.
  We, the Congress, must keep trying to do the right thing by these our 
greatest Americans.
  The Nation continues to be truly blessed that our youth, our future 
generations, take inspiration from the devotion and sacrifice of those 
who have answered the Nation's call to arms in the past and those who 
defend us around a very dangerous world today.
  Today we are reminded of where we have been as a nation, and upon 
whose sacrifice we have become what we are.
  Let us rededicate ourselves to freedom and justice and peace--and the 
sacrifice of those men and women whose service will deliver and 
preserve them for America and our friends around the world. For this we 
are a stronger people, a stronger nation, and a stronger community.
  Let us pray for the safety of our men and women in uniform past and 
present, and let us pray for the comfort of their loved ones.
  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, once again we find our young men and 
women in harm's way in a foreign land. As they have so many times in 
our history, Americans in uniform carry the torch of freedom in their 
hands and the promise of peace in their hearts as they face those who 
would rule by tyranny and violence. On this Veterans Day, I rise not 
only to commend our veterans but also to recognize the men and women of 
the State of Maine engaged on the front lines in the Global War on 
Terrorism.
  Maine is well represented by young men and women serving on active 
duty in our Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard. Since 
September 11, 2001, citizen-soldiers from across the State of Maine 
from all Reserve and Guard components have closed ranks with those on 
active duty to protect our shores and secure our future.
  The men and women from Maine have left homes, jobs, and loved ones to 
answer the call to duty. Senior Master Sergeant Stephen Valley is among 
them. Steve, who hails from Millinocket, ME, left the active Air Force 
in 1994 after nearly eighteen years of service. In 1998, he joined the 
Air Force Reserve, and despite family challenges, including a father 
sick with Parkinson's disease, stepped forward and mobilized in 
November of 2001. Steve served nearly continously in the Middle East 
since then, including duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, until he retired 
from active service on November 1. He is a man of courage and 
character. He represents the best we offer to a world longing for 
freedom and peace.
  Mainers are deployed around the globe. Nearly twenty-five percent of 
the Maine Army National Guard is on alert, mobilized, or deployed. 
Maine National Guard soldiers are guarding prisoners at Guantanamo 
Naval Station in Cuba. Soldiers of Company E, 120th Aviation of Bangor 
are controlling air traffic in Afghanistan. Members of the 112th Air 
Ambulance Unit from Bangor are performing medivac missions in Iraq. 
Soldiers of the 11-36 Transportation Company from Bangor and Sanford 
are moving supplies across Iraq and Kuwait. Soldiers from the 94th 
Military Police Company of Maine and New Hampshire are performing 
police missions across Iraq and are helping to train Iraqi forces to 
assume security responsibilities.
  This past summer, I went to Iraq. I met hundreds of American and 
British troops. I saw people from Maine performing key roles in 
rebuilding the country after the fall of Saddam Hussein's brutal 
regime. In the city of Kirkuk, I ate lunch with five service members 
from Maine--Specialist Gregory Norster of Phillips, Chief Warrant 
Officer Brian Mucci of Shapleigh, Specialist Wayne Goodrich from 
Oakland, Specialist Erin Maynard from Washburn, and Senior Airman Bill 
Spreng from Ellsworth. The contributions of Mainers to bring freedom to 
the people of Iraq make me very proud.
  The courage and commitment of the American and other coalition troops 
were strikingly clear during my visit. By night, many of the soldiers 
conduct raids on pockets of resistance; by day, they renovate schools, 
rebuild roads and utilities, and help Iraqis take their first steps 
toward democracy. Despite the continuing danger, the harsh living 
conditions, and the oppressive heat, morale among the soldiers and 
Marines I met was high. Army Sergeant Michael Levesque of Winslow put 
it best when he told me how proud he was to have ``helped to give the 
Iraqi people a precious gift: their freedom.'' In Kirkuk, where I met 
Michael, morale was particularly high because the Iraqis there are so 
grateful. Everywhere we went in this city south of the

[[Page 28460]]

Kurdish section, local citizens waved and called out ``thank you, 
America!''
  By contrast, conditions--both in July and today--remain hostile in 
and around Baghdad. Our troops face near daily ambushes and sniper 
attacks. The fighting goes on for many of our troops who must contend 
with the threat of rocket-propelled grenades, improvised explosive 
devices, and rogue gunmen.
  Of all the places I have visited as a member of the Senate Armed 
Services Committee, including Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kosovo, and Korea, 
nowhere have I found the challenges more difficult and the dangers more 
present than in Iraq. In the end, the commitment of the Iraqi people 
will determine whether Iraq will prosper in peace and freedom, or 
succumb to a violent minority bent on division, destruction, and 
domination. The dedicated young men and women serving in uniform, from 
Maine and from all over America, are giving the Iraqi people the 
opportunity to seize what all humanity desires and deserves.
  On this day set aside to honor sacrifice, we must also honor the 
sacrifices made by the spouses, parents, children and other loved ones 
of our troops. The families left behind must face the challenges of 
daily living as they suffer from the separation and from the relentless 
worry. The news of any casualty strikes a chilling chord in their 
hearts. Every death, every injury, is a blow to them as they wait, and 
hope, and pray.
  In September, I met with family members of the deployed soldiers of 
the 94th Military Police company. These families have had to endure two 
extended deployments in three years: the 94th conducted a peacekeeping 
rotation to Bosnia that ended in 2001; in 2002, the 94th was called to 
arms again and is performing admirably in Iraq. The soldiers of the 
94th are proud and professional and committed to getting the job done. 
Their families bear the burden of absence and uncertainty. Among them 
was Penny Mills, wife of Sergeant Curtis Mills of Shapleigh, ME.
  Just one week later, soldiers of the 94th were ambushed in Iraq. Two 
were severely wounded: Specialist Christopher Kotch of Brunswick and 
Sergeant Curtis Mills. Soon after, I visited them at Walter Reed Army 
Medical Center. There was Penny, standing by her husband. We had no 
idea we would meet again--not so soon, not under those circumstances. 
Sergeant Mills, with the support of his wife and family, is recovering 
well. After reconstructive surgery and extensive physical therapy, he 
will one day return to work as a letter carrier. Specialist Kotch, 
after his recovery, will likely return to college and a life of 
possibility and promise.
  In times of peace and in times of trial, we rely on our young men and 
women to step forward for our defense. The citizens of Maine have 
answered the call. America's first casualty in the War on Terrorism was 
Master SGT Evander Earl Andrews of Solon, ME, who lost his life in 
Qatar on October 10, 2001. Today, in Litchfield, ME, a father grieves 
for his daughter, Army Warrant Officer Sharon Swartworth, who 
miraculously survived the attack on the Pentagon two years ago but who 
did not survive an attack on a Black Hawk helicopter in Iraq last 
Friday. These are but two of the soldiers who died not just in the 
service of their country, but also in the service of mankind. They did 
so on behalf of millions of people they did not know--innocent Iraqis, 
Afghans, and Americans who died on 9-11, and all peace-loving people 
everywhere.
  Our service members and veterans--whether they served in World War I 
or II, Korea, Vietnam, Haiti, Kosovo, Bosnia, Kuwait, or now in 
Afghanistan or Iraq--share a common bond: their uniform is not that of 
a conqueror, but of a liberator. We can never fully pay the debt we owe 
those who put their lives on the line to advance the cause of freedom.
  Nor can we repay the debt we owe those families and loved ones they 
leave behind. The enormity of that debt was best summed up one-hundred 
thirty-nine years ago in a President's letter to a mother who lost five 
sons in the war to preserve this Nation. I will close with the words of 
Abraham Lincoln:

       I feel how weak and fruitless must be any words of mine 
     which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss 
     so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering you the 
     consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic 
     they died to save.
       I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of 
     your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of 
     the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours 
     to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.

  Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, today, I had hoped to be in Sutton, 
WV to fully celebrate Veterans Day with West Virginia veterans and 
their families. Since the Senate is in session, I must be in 
Washington, but I do want to recognize some of our Nation's finest men 
and women who have served to protect that which we hold most dear, our 
very freedom.
  Last weekend, I was in West Virginia and I had the chance to talk 
with Army Sergeant Jared Welker of Putnam County. Sergeant Welker is a 
tank gunner who saw considerable action in Iraq, and who has just 
recently returned home. I had the privilege to spend a few hours with 
this young soldier. Hearing about the war in Iraq from his point of 
view, a young man serving in a tank division entering Baghdad, made me 
very proud of the men and women serving in the military--where ever 
they are stationed. Sergeant Welker's description of his days in Iraq 
will stay with me. His courage and his commitment to duty are truly 
inspiring.
  And it is also a sobering reminder of the obligations that we in 
Congress have to fully support our troops in the field, and at home, 
and as veterans later in their lives.
  On Veterans Day, we should take time to pay our respect to those who 
put their lives on the line and sacrificed in our defense. We have a 
duty to honor all veterans in both word and deed.
  We honor them by remembering their courage, their loyalty, and their 
love of country. My State has one of the strongest traditions of 
military service, and I could not be more proud of that. When the call 
has come to defend this Nation, West Virginians have answered in great 
numbers. In a State as patriotic as our Mountain State, reminders of 
our veterans, heroes and heroines, are everywhere. They stand as a 
reminder of the battles fought defending the principles of democracy.
  Understanding the sense of patriotism of the people of West Virginia 
is what caused me to seek a seat on the Senate Committee on Veterans' 
Affairs the day I arrived in the Senate 19 years ago. Joining the 
committee was one of the best decisions I ever made.
  These last few weeks in Congress have been extremely important ones 
for our Nation's veterans. One of the most important issues of concern 
today is the President's budget request for the Department of Veterans 
Affairs for fiscal year 2004. Everything provided by VA will be a 
direct result of the proposed budget now before Congress. Regrettably, 
the President's budget request for VA health care for fiscal year 2004 
will barely cover the cost of inflation at our VA Medical Centers, but 
there is still time to fix those misplaced priorities.
  Full funding is needed for a health care system that is besieged with 
responsibilities. I am fighting, along with a number of my Senate 
colleagues, to get an additional $1.8 billion appropriated for VA 
health care before Congress recesses this year.
  In addition to our veterans who depend upon VA for their health care 
and prescription drugs today, current law allows members of the 
military, who serve during an armed conflict, to use VA upon their 
return. This includes currently deployed Reservists and National 
Guardsmen, who are such a big part of West Virginia's contribution to 
our war effort. The system must be adequately funded for all these 
veterans.
  Another critical issue of concern continues to be long-term care for 
veterans. As our veteran population grows older, VA must make sure that 
it can meet the need for long-term care. A

[[Page 28461]]

bill I introduced earlier this year extending, for five years, the 
congressional mandate requiring VA to provide long-term care for 
veterans through both nursing homes and community-based options still 
has potential to be enacted this year. This is extremely important 
legislation, and I will continue to push until this become law. If I 
cannot convince my colleagues to act this year, I will be right back 
next year fighting for it until it is done.
  I was thrilled to be in Clarksburg last month for the ground breaking 
of our new State veterans' home, which will be built adjacent to the 
Clarksburg VA Medical Center. I have worked closely with both State and 
Federal officials on this project over the last several years, and I am 
very proud of everyone who has been involved in making this much needed 
nursing home a reality. It is time that West Virginia had a State 
veterans' nursing home.
  In closing, I would like to read a paragraph from a letter found in 
the gear of a 20-year-old boy from Beckley serving during World War II. 
I think it is appropriate on this Veterans Day.
  Private First Class Walter Walker was killed in battle in 1944 and he 
had written a letter to be delivered to his parents in case of his 
death.
  He wrote:

       Frankly I think I will come back, but you never can tell 
     what little accident will happen. I am doing this for my 
     country and people I love. So that little children may grow 
     up to be free and not have to take orders from devils like 
     Hitler and Tojo. I will gladly give my life to keep you and 
     dad free as long as you may live.

  Private Walker was a hero of WWII.
  Sergeant Welker, and the more than 100,000 brave men and women 
serving today, are the heroes of Iraq.
  Today, we honor all our young men and women who have paid the 
ultimate sacrifice for freedom, and all those who have served in our 
military. We need to remember to stand proud when we see the American 
flag waving high in the air, and nod our heads in respect when we pass 
by a veterans' cemetery. We need to remember that behind each of these 
symbols of America are the people who have made them so remarkable--our 
Nation's veterans.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I rise to honor this day and the men and 
women for whom it was established. On the eleventh hour of the eleventh 
day of the eleventh month of 1918, the armistice was signed ending the 
first modern global conflict.
  World War I was an exceptionally bloody conflict that required 
tremendous sacrifices. It was therefore appropriate for President 
Wilson to establish Armistice Day as a time to recognize those who 
served in that war.
  Unfortunately, the hope for a new, more peaceful world after the 
Great War was shattered as we found ourselves embroiled in a life or 
death struggle against tyranny. Americans again rose to the challenge. 
Over 405,000 American soldiers lost their lives and over 671,000 were 
wounded. That's over three times the casualties of World War I. Still, 
the bravery and sacrifice of our men and women in uniform showed the 
world the extent to which the United States of America was prepared to 
go to preserve liberty.
  Then, after our soldiers and sailors were called upon again to fight 
aggression in Korea, it became evident that it was necessary to set 
aside a day to recognize all American veterans. To encourage Americans 
to pay respects to all those who have served in America's Armed Forces, 
President Eisenhower signed into law a proclamation in 1954 changing 
the name of the November 11 holiday to Veterans Day.
  Today, we thank all those who have risked life and limb in service to 
their country, including those who served in Vietnam and the Persian 
Gulf war, as well as Somalia, Bosnia, Kosovo, and other smaller 
conflicts. It is particularly appropriate today to pay tribute to the 
new generation of veterans who are serving their country so bravely in 
the global war on terrorism.
  Americans have never hesitated to answer the call of duty and this 
generation is no exception. America continues to owe an immeasurable 
debt of gratitude to the brave men and women who respond to the call of 
duty. Following in the footsteps of those who served in the 20th 
century, our men and women in uniform are living up to a heritage of 
service, loyalty, honor, sacrifice, and patriotism passed down for 
generations.
  Members of the active duty military, National Guard, and Reserves 
selflessly put their country first. They serve to protect the American 
people, defend national security, preserve freedom and safeguard our 
way of life.
  This Veterans Day, let's remember the patriots who are putting their 
lives on hold while they put their lives on the line. Their sacrifices 
guarantee America's promise for generations to come. Hundreds of 
thousands of Americans have paid the ultimate sacrifice while serving 
in the Armed Forces. Their irreplaceable loss of life reminds us that 
freedom isn't free.
  It is important for younger generations to appreciate the service and 
sacrifice made by those serving their country. Awareness and 
appreciation for veterans has decreased in recent times as fewer 
individuals and families in America have a personal connection with the 
Armed Forces.
  Now that family members, friends, neighbors, and other fellow 
citizens are again putting themselves in harm's way in service to their 
country, I hope all Americans will take the opportunity this Veterans 
Day to remember and honor all veterans, to whom we owe our freedom.
  Today I salute the patriotism, courage, and sacrifice of all American 
veterans who have answered their country's call in times of need.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, as I was watching the sunrise this morning, 
I thought of the men and women currently serving in Iraq and 
Afghanistan, and our Nation's veterans of past wars.
  Today, we must remember those who have sacrificed to defend the 
freedoms and ideals all Americans enjoy. In our thoughts are not just 
the proud Americans who are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan today, nor 
just the members of the ``Greatest Generation'' who fought in World War 
II. We think about those who lost their lives or served in the extended 
Cold War, the Korean War, Vietnam or who gave their lives in some of 
the less-known engagements across the globe aimed at preserving our 
country and preserving basic human rights throughout the world.
  Of course, most in our minds right now are 130,000 men and women 
serving in Iraq. Over 30,000 of these troops are reservists who left 
their civilian jobs and families to serve in Iraq with pride and 
determination. Whether Active-Duty soldiers or Reserves, every single 
person in the military is there because they want to be there, and we 
owe them a special kind of gratitude for their service.
  Today we should not just think about our veterans, but also address 
policies that will directly address their needs, whether they are still 
in the service or after they have returned. We must come together as a 
Senate to ensure that we honor that unspoken social contract with our 
active troops, guaranteeing superb quality-of-life programs exist for 
our active service members and their families and that they will never 
become forgotten soldiers of history.
  Let's come behind our citizen soldiers of the Guard and Reserve to 
ensure they and their families are as healthy as possible. And, above 
all, let's make sure our veterans have a flourishing medical program to 
ensure they receive the high-quality care they deserve.
  On this time-honored day, we express our gratitude to our veterans, 
we remember their courage and dedication, and we act to make up a small 
part of the large debt we owe them.
  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, today I wish to pay my respects to my 
fellow veterans. It is only through the leadership, dedication and 
sacrifice of our men and women in uniform, that we are able to enjoy 
the freedoms that being an American entails.
  No matter what your views on the war on terror or the war in Iraq, 
all Americans can unite behind our brave men and women in uniform. 
These fine Americans have truly answered our Nation's highest calling 
and we are better off for it. Today is a day to give thanks to these 
heroes.

[[Page 28462]]

  On Veterans Day, I like to share the story of one of my heroes during 
my service, Mike Christian. I have shared his story before and it has 
become familiar to many, yet it bears repeating. This year, as 
Americans serve across the globe in important battles against error and 
tyranny, Mike Christian's story takes on even more meaning. In the same 
manner as service in Vietnam, a new generation of heroes is emerging in 
Iraq.
  In the early years of our imprisonment in Hanoi, the North Vietnamese 
kept us in solitary confinement, or if we were fortunate, two or three 
to a cell. In 1971, the North Vietnamese moved us from these conditions 
of isolation into large cells with as many as 30 to 40 men to a room. 
This was, as you can imagine, a wonderful chance. And was a direct 
result of the efforts of millions of Americans, led by people like 
Nancy and Ronald Reagan, on behalf of a few hundreds POWs, 20,000 miles 
from home.
  One of the men who moved into my cell was Mike Christian. Mike came 
from a small town near Selma, AL. He didn't wear a pair of shoes until 
he was 13 years old. At 17, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He later 
earned a commission. He became a naval aviator, was shot down and 
captured in 1967. Mike had a keen and deep appreciation for the 
opportunities this county--and our military--provide for people who 
want to work and want to succeed.
  The uniforms we wore in prison consisted of a blue short-sleeved 
shirt, trousers that looked like pajama trousers and rubber sandals 
that were made out of automobile tires. I recommend them highly; one 
pair lasted my entire stay.
  As part of the change in treatment, the Vietnamese allowed some 
prisoners to receive packages from home. In some of these packages were 
handkerchiefs, scarves, and other items of clothing. Mike got himself a 
piece of white cloth and a piece of red cloth and fashioned himself a 
bamboo needle. Over a period of a couple, of months, he sewed the 
American flag on the inside of his shirt.
  Every afternoon, before we had a bowl of soup, we would hang Mike's 
shirt on the wall or our cell, and say the Pledge of Allegiance. I know 
that saying the Pledge of Allegiance may not seem the most important or 
meaningful part of our day now, but I can assure you that--for those 
men in the stark prison cell--it was indeed the most important and 
meaningful event of our day.
  Our day, the Vietnamese searched our cell and discovered Mike's shirt 
with the flag sewn inside, and removed it. That evening they returned, 
opened the door of the cell, called for Mike Christian to come out, 
closed the door of the cell, and for the benefit of all of us, beat 
Mike Christian severely for the next couple of hours.
  Then they opened the door of the cell and threw him back inside. He 
was not in good shape. We tried to comfort and take care of him as well 
as we could. The cell in which we lived had a concrete slab in the 
middle on which we slept. Four naked light bulbs in each corner of the 
room.
  After things quieted down, I went to lie down to go to sleep. As I 
did, I happened to look in the corner of the room. Sitting there 
beneath that dim light bulb, with a piece of white cloth, a piece of 
red cloth, another shirt and his bamboo needle, was my friend, Mike 
Christian. Sitting there, with his eyes almost shut from his beating, 
making another American Flag. He was not making the flag because it 
made Mike Christian feel better. He was making the flag because he knew 
how important it was for us to be able to pledge our allegiance to our 
flag and country.
  Duty, Honor, Country. We must never forget the millions of Americans 
who, with their courage, with their sacrifice, and with their lives, 
made those words live for all of us.
  This year, as we pause to remember those men and women currently 
serving their country, as well as our family and friends who serve 
before us, we need to remember the sacrifices of people like Mike 
Christian who made this Nation what it is today.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, America today has the most powerful, most 
capable and best-equipped military in the history of the world. But 
none of this would be possible without the brave men and women who 
volunteer to serve in the Armed Forces, who accept any challenge and 
face any danger to protect their country on battlefields around the 
world. Each of them is a volunteer--no conscription, no draft. They 
have a genuine desire to serve, and they do so with great sacrifice 
with great honor, great courage, great commitment, and often with great 
sacrifice.
  Time and again, our Nation has called its sons and daughters to put 
themselves in harm's way, and many bear the scars of battle forever. 
Despite the rhetoric of praise that we hear again and again, too often 
when their service ends, these veterans are forgotten, except on 
Veterans Day. We have consistently underfunded the veterans' health 
care system. The Veterans' Administration is now preparing plans to 
close veterans' hospitals in New England and across the Nation. They 
oppose allowing disabled veterans to receive disability benefits if 
they also receive military retirement compensation.
  As troops continue to serve in Iraq, we need to make sure we can take 
care of them and their families, especially when they return home. We 
have a solemn responsibility to those who are willing to sacrifice so 
much. We do them a grave injustice when they return home to be cast 
aside. Today, tens of thousands of newly discharged veterans are 
unemployed. National Guard and Reserve soldiers face lower wages and 
possible job loss while they are deployed. The Uniformed Services 
Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, USERRA, protects soldiers from 
employment discrimination, but service members can have difficulty 
enforcing their rights.
  We can't have any more situations like the one at Fort Stewart, where 
Guard and Reserve troops were housed in deplorable accommodations, with 
unacceptable access to health care and needed services to heal their 
injuries. Such neglect is no way for a grateful Nation to honor its 
armed services. We can and we must do better.
  For generations, we have honored our fallen veterans on November 11 
each year. The Armistice Agreement that ended the First World War was 
signed on this historic day in 1918--the eleventh hour of the eleventh 
day of the eleventh month that year. Many of those we honor today have 
fallen in battle in Iraq.
  Last week, I attended the funeral service of a Massachusetts soldier 
who gave his life in combat there and was laid to rest in Arlington 
National Cemetery. It was a beautiful fall day and the military 
ceremony was conducted with solemn dignity and utmost reverence. It was 
a very moving moment to be there with his family and friends and 
veterans of his unit. His parents have lost a son, and the Nation has 
lost a hero. As the bugler played taps, and the sounds of the rifle 
volleys from a final salute faded across the Arlington hills, it was 
moving to see that the veterans there had also lost a brother, although 
none of them knew the fallen soldier personally. The brave paratrooper 
who had tried to carry his dying comrade to safety during the attack 
was also there. His silent presence spoke volumes about the valor and 
dedication that our service members give to our Nation every day, and 
have given us throughout our history ever since that day at Concord 
Bridge, when the embattled farmers stood and fired the shot heard 
'round the world.
  On Veterans Day 2003, we thank our veterans. We remember those who 
have given the last full measure of devotion to our country, and we 
affirm our support for all who now wear the uniforms of our armed 
forces. We give thanks to all who have served America so well in years 
gone by, and to all the brave men and women serving now in the ongoing 
war against terrorism. And we pledge, in words that too often pass and 
are soon forgotten, to do a better job of meeting our responsibility to 
them every day, not just on each November 11. May God give us the 
strength to make each day a Veterans Day.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Who yields time?

[[Page 28463]]

  The Senator from Washington.
  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to add five 
additional minutes on each side.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, on this Veterans Day, I want to share a 
few ideas about the meaning this day holds for my family and for 
thousands of families throughout Washington State.
  Today is a day to honor the sacrifices that generations of Americans 
have made to defend our country and to support freedom throughout the 
world. It is a day to reflect on the courage and bravery of our 
soldiers. And it is made even more special as we think of all our 
military personnel who are deployed in Iraq, Afghanistan and other 
hostile environments. But it is much more than that.
  It is a day to make sure that we are living up to the promise we make 
to all veterans--a promise that President Lincoln described as:

     . . . to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and 
     for his widow and his orphan.

  Today throughout Washington State, people are coming together to 
honor our veterans at places such as the Tahoma National Cemetery, the 
Washington Veterans Home, and in communities large and small. 
Washington State is home to almost 700,000 veterans, and every day I am 
honored to represent them in the United States Senate.
  Growing up, I saw firsthand the many ways that military service can 
affect both veterans and their families.
  My father served in World War II. He was among the first soldiers to 
land on Okinawa. He came home as a disabled veteran and was awarded the 
Purple Heart. I should note that, like many soldiers of his generation, 
my father did not talk about his experiences during the war. In fact, 
we only really learned about them by reading his journals after he 
passed away.
  And I think that experience offers a larger lesson about veterans in 
general. They are reluctant to call attention to their service, and 
they are reluctant to ask for help. That's why we have to publicly 
recognize their sacrifices and contributions. It is up to use to make 
sure that they get the recognition they have earned--and not just on 
Veterans Day. It is one of the reasons why a few years ago I worked to 
ensure that all veterans could get the military funeral honors. My 
father had them, and they meant a great deal to our family.
  I was proud to introduce legislation and to work with the VA and 
veterans service organizations to ensure that any family that requests 
military funeral honors can get them.
  In addition to my own family experiences, when I was a senior in 
college at Washington State University, I spent a semester interning at 
the Seattle Veterans Hospital, helping to treat young soldiers 
returning from Vietnam. They were my age at the time. I will never 
forget the sound of the door locking behind me after walking on to the 
hospital's psychiatric ward to spend the day with these heroes. While 
these combat veterans were my age, they had endured experiences most of 
us could never imagine.
  Today, as I see an administration that is considering closing 
veterans hospitals in Washington State--even as today's veterans have 
to wait 6 months just to see a doctor, and as the war in Iraq adds to 
the number of veterans who will need medical care--I get upset, and I 
fight with everything I have. Our veterans have already fought for our 
country, they should not have to fight to get the healthcare or 
benefits they were promised, so we've got to fight on their behalf.
  Today we must ask, Are we keeping our promise to America's veterans? 
Here are some facts to help us answer that question.
  Fact: Right now, 80,000 veterans are waiting 6 months or longer for 
an appointment at VA hospitals.
  Fact: For the past 2 years, an average of 14,000 veterans have been 
waiting more than 15 months for their ``expedited'' disability claims 
to be finalized.
  Fact: Veterans could face new fees and higher co-payments--just to 
get the healthcare they are already entitled to.
  Fact: Each year in Congress there is a debate over how much money we 
should spend on veterans' healthcare. Too often, our veterans lose out 
to other budget priorities.
  Fact: Disabled veterans pay a high penalty through what is called the 
``Disabled Veterans Tax.'' They must give up a dollar of their pension 
for every dollar of disability pay they receive.
  Fact: The VA is looking to ``reconfigure'' veterans' health care and 
is now studying the closure of two VA facilities in Washington State.
  And finally, the war in Iraq--and the tremendous toll it is taking on 
our soliders--is increasing the number of veterans who will need 
medical care for years down the road.
  Those are all facts. To me, they show that we are coming up short in 
keeping our promise to America's veterans. So what can we do about it?
  Simply put, we need to make veterans services a priority once again. 
No. 1, to cut down on the long waits that veterans endure; to help 
expedite claims; and to avoid higher fees and co-payments. We need to 
increase funding for veterans services.
  To end the annual appropriations game, we should make VA healthcare 
funding mandatory. That is why I support the Veterans' Health Care 
Funding Guarantee Act. It would make veterans' healthcare an automatic 
priority for our Nation.
  The VFW, AMVETS, the Disabled American Veterans and many other 
veterans groups strongly support this bill.
  We must also make sure that the Department of Veterans Affairs does 
not close critical medical facilities at a time when more are seeking 
VA healthcare.
  In addition, we must end the disabled veterans tax and ensure that 
veterans are not penalized just because they receive disability pay.
  I am proud to be a cosponsor of a plan that would authorize full 
payment of both retirement pay and disability compensation to half a 
million disabled military retirees. And unlike other proposals, our 
plan would take effect immediately, instead of over 10 years.
  And finally, we have to do right by today's veterans and by 
tomorrow's veterans. The brave men and women who are serving in Iraq 
and Afghanistan today will need our help when they return home. How we 
treat them will send a signal to a generation of young people who may 
be considering military service.
  We have to keep our promise today and tomorrow.
  So while we are currently coming up short, I am going to keep pushing 
for the solutions that will truly serve our veterans. America's 
veterans have earned our respect, and they have earned the benefits 
they were promised when they signed up. They should not have to fight 
for the care and support they were promised.
  On this day--and every day that I am given the honor of representing 
them--I will stand up and fight for Washington's veterans and the 
freedom and security they have given us through their sacrifices in war 
and peace.
  I hope we keep our promise.
  Thank you, Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Who yields time?
  Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President, how much time remains on the Democratic 
side?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Sixteen minutes 30 seconds.
  Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for 10 
minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President, I rise today in honor of Veterans Day, our 
national day of remembrance established to solemnly honor the 
sacrifices of American men and women who have served in military 
actions in behalf of our country.
  We recognize these men and women for preserving our liberty, freedoms 
and democratic way of life. For me, as a first-year Senator 
representing the men and women of Arkansas, this is an especially 
noteworthy Veterans Day. Since September 11th, numerous Arkansans have 
engaged in our battle

[[Page 28464]]

against terrorism, serving in Afghanistan and other points abroad. This 
fall, over 3,000 men and women of Arkansas, members of our 39th 
Infantry Brigade of the Arkansas National Guard, are preparing to 
travel to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
  Every day my prayers include the brave men and women of Arkansas who 
serve, and have served, in our armed forces. I pray that every single 
one of our brave Americans in uniform will return safely home to the 
loving arms of their families.
  Sadly, many of our veterans have not returned safely home. Many of 
our veterans have paid the ultimate price, sacrificing their lives on 
the altar of freedom. We must never forget their sacrifices. We must 
never forget the cost of freedom paid by our veterans.
  As he gazed on the battlefield at Gettysburg in 1863, Abraham Lincoln 
uttered, ``The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have 
consecrated it, above our poor power to add or detract. The world will 
little note, nor long remember, what we say here, but it can never 
forget what they did here.''
  I am in a similar situation today, unable to articulate anything 
which even comes close to capturing the debt of gratitude each and 
every one of us owes our veterans. No words can capture my gratitude, 
or the gratitude of Arkansas, towards our veterans.
  Yet, as I mentioned, Veterans Day is a day of remembrance. This is a 
day to honor and remember those who have served in our armed service. 
Last week, I had the distinct pleasure and unique opportunity to talk 
with Johnie ``Chick'' Matthews. Chick, at 102 years old, is Arkansas's 
oldest living veteran.
  Mr. Johnie ``Chick'' Matthews, a resident of Greenbrier, Arkansas, 
first answered the call to duty to serve this country in 1917. That was 
86 years ago.
  He was given the nickname Chick because he enlisted into the United 
States Army when he was only 16 years old. He was the youngest at his 
training facility at Camp Pike, AR.
  His mother was a widow with mouths to feed and he realized that he 
needed to help shoulder the financial responsibilities of caring for 
his mother and brothers.
  He went to Little Rock to enlist in the Army. He lied about his age. 
The recruiter said: We are not sure we believe you, so go home and get 
your mother to sign this document. When he went back home, he was 
scared to take it to his mother because he was afraid she would not 
sign the age waiver so he went to a neighbor woman and said: Mother 
hurt her hand and she cannot sign this. Can you sign this on her 
behalf? She did, and he was enlisted in the U.S. Army.
  At the age of 16, he was the youngest soldier in his unit, probably 
one of the youngest in the Army. But when it was all said and done, as 
he ended his military career, Chick had completed 46 years of military 
service spanning World War I through Vietnam. That is truly remarkable. 
In addition, he served in four branches--the Army, Navy, Coast Guard, 
and the Merchant Marine.
  When I talked to Chick, I was entertained and captivated by his 
stories, but most of all I was impressed by his sense of duty. In fact, 
when I asked him if he would recommend military service to others, he 
said: If they would let me in, I would be there tomorrow morning to 
sign up.
  In addition to Chick Matthews, I recognize another veteran who is a 
bit younger, but no less committed, to his country and to the State of 
Arkansas. Randy Massanelli is a native Arkansan who dutifully served in 
the U.S. Army for 15 years. While in the Army, he rose to the rank of 
major and served in Desert Storm where he was awarded the Bronze Star. 
Now he serves as my State director in Little Rock. I am grateful for 
the knowledge, experience, and perspective he brings to the office as I 
work to do what is best, not just for veterans and the troops around 
the country and around the world, but also for the people of Arkansas.
  I have known Randy since we were both at the University of Arkansas 
as undergraduates. I thank him today. He has shown me time and time 
again what true devotion to his country really is. I am lucky to have 
him on my team and I am proud to call him a friend. I honor him today 
as a great veteran.
  Last, I want to recognize another veteran on my staff, Wayne Palmer, 
who also served in Desert Storm. Wayne is a tremendous asset to my 
office. I thank him for his service to our country.
  Arkansans throughout the years have followed Chick's, Wayne's, and 
Randy's lead. I am proud to boast about my State's tradition of 
military service. As veterans continue to risk life and limb for us, I 
will work as hard as I can to make sure they are taken care of before, 
during, and after their mission is completed.
  In the coming days, we will vote on the Defense authorization 
conference report. As a conferee, I was proud to work on this 
legislation, which includes a 3.7 percent across-the-board military pay 
increase, expands TRICARE coverage for the Guard and Reserve personnel 
and their families, and provides benefits and programs to improve the 
overall quality of the pay for our service men and women.
  This legislation also authorizes disabled military retirees to 
collect their retirement pay and disability compensation, otherwise 
known as concurrent receipt. This measure would benefit millions of 
Americans who have served our country for years but have been 
prohibited from receiving both retirement compensation and VA 
disability benefits.
  Correcting this inequity for our veterans is long overdue--in fact, 
110 years overdue. I made a promise to take care of our service men and 
women who put their lives on the line for our country. This provision 
indicates Congress's intention to finally honor its word.
  I am also looking forward to debating the VA/HUD appropriations bill 
where I have an understanding we will be looking to add $1.3 billion to 
veterans health care. We cannot discount the importance of this 
funding, especially as more veterans come home from Afghanistan and 
Iraq and the global world on terrorism. We must ensure that the 
Veterans' Administration has the resources it needs to look after those 
men and women who look after us.
  Mostly, this Veterans Day fills me with a sense of security and pride 
because of my faith in the ability and skills of our men and women in 
uniform. This faith nourishes my hope for a peaceful future for my 
children and the children of Arkansas.
  I know our men and women in uniform are the most capable fighting 
force on Earth. I know these individuals will willingly endure personal 
sacrifice and danger to defend our democratic values, just as our 
veterans of yesteryear endured personal sacrifice and danger to provide 
us the freedom and democracy we enjoy today. I know our Armed Forces 
will be victorious in their mission.
  On this Veterans Day, I extend my gratitude and the gratitude of 
every Arkansan to our veterans and their families.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Who yields time?
  The Senator from Texas.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I ask what the allocation of time is.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There are 7 minutes 54 seconds on the 
Democratic side and 5 minutes on the Republican side.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, let me ask the Democratic Senator in 
the Chamber if that is enough time for them to finish. We need to be 
through at 12:15.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Texas for 
making the inquiry. The fact is I need about 10 minutes and the Senator 
from North Dakota needs 5 minutes. If that could be accommodated on an 
equal exchange basis, I suggest we ask unanimous consent to do so.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. How much more would that extend the time on the other 
side? How much more time would that give us if we equally divided that, 
our 5 minutes plus the extra?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. That would be an extra 8 minutes on the

[[Page 28465]]

Democratic side and a total of 28 minutes.
  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, if this is a unanimous consent request 
for more time, I would like to accommodate my colleagues. I have come 
to the floor with the expectation to speak at noon, which it is now, on 
the Syria Accountability Act, and actually I had some time on veterans 
as well. I have other commitments, such as, to go to the White House 
for the bill signing ceremony with the President.
  So I am glad to accommodate my colleagues, but if it is going to run 
for 28 more minutes, that is going to preclude my speaking on the Syria 
Accountability Act.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I do not think we need 28 minutes. I 
was going to ask for 5 minutes for the Senator from Alabama, which we 
have left on our side. I think if you wanted----
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Fifteen.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Fifteen?
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Right. I appreciate the fact the Senator from 
Pennsylvania has other obligations, but this is Veterans Day. I want to 
talk about veterans. I think we have that particular obligation since 
we are here today and we are not in our home States, able to visit 
veterans, visit cemeteries, and talk to people about veterans.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the request?
  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, reserving----
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, if I could ask a unanimous consent 
request and see if this is what people want: that there be 15 minutes 
divided on the Democratic side as they wish and 5 minutes to the 
Senator from Alabama, for a total of 20 minutes from now. Is that an 
acceptable unanimous consent request to all on the floor?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Texas.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Jersey.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I ask that I be reminded at the 9-
minute mark, if I have gotten that far, please, that I have 1 minute 
remaining.
  I was in Newark yesterday, at our cathedral there, attending the 
funeral of SGT Joel Perez. Sergeant Perez had been deployed to Iraq as 
part of the Army's 2nd Battalion, 5th Field Artillery Regiment. He died 
on November 2 when the Chinook helicopter he was in was shot down. An 
article appeared in the New York Times on Sunday, and it listed the 16 
soldiers, including Sergeant Perez, the 16 young people who perished on 
behalf of our country, our interests, our liberty.
  The names of those who died along with Joel Perez when that Chinook 
helicopter was shot down are: Daniel A. Bader, Ernest G. Bucklew, 
Steven D. Conover, Anthony D. D'Agostino, Paul F. Fisher, Darius T. 
Jennings, Karina S. Lau, Keelan L. Moss, Brian H. Penisten, Ross A. 
Pennanen, Brian D. Slavenas, Bruce A. Smith, Frances M. Vega, Paul 
Anthony Velazquez, and Joe N. Wilson.
  We salute their bravery and their courage and their sacrifice.
  Sergeant Perez was on that helicopter because he had been granted 
leave to come home to celebrate his third wedding anniversary. And now 
he has come home, in a flag-draped casket. Yesterday was his third 
anniversary and his funeral. He was 25 years old. He leaves behind his 
wife Milagros, an infant daughter Jaileen, his mother Luisa and father 
Edwin, and three brothers, Elvin, Michael, and Leo.
  As I said at the funeral yesterday, it is a sobering moment when you 
see the reality of a life that has passed so quickly. All you have to 
do is look at the date of his birth--1978--and the date of his death--
2003--they are much too close together.
  Sergeant Perez is the ninth New Jersey resident killed in Iraq. The 
other eight are: Army SP Simeon Hunte, who was 23 years old, of Newark; 
Army 2LT Richard Torres, who was 25 years old, of Passaic; Army SFC 
Gladimir Philippe, who was 37 years old, of Roselle; Army SP Kyle A. 
Griffin, who was 20, of Emerson; Army SP Narson B. Sullivan, who was 
21, of North Brunswick; Army SP Gil Mercado, who was 25, of Paterson, 
my home town; Army SSG Terry W. Hemingway, who was 39, of Willingboro; 
and Army SP Michael Edward Curtin, who was 23, of Howell.
  I feel a special kinship to these young people because they were from 
my State. I also feel a special kinship because I am a veteran. I 
enlisted when I was 18 years old, right out of high school. I served in 
Europe during World War II.
  Today is Veterans Day. It has been nearly 50 years since President 
Eisenhower signed a bill into law making November 11 Veterans Day.
  The history of Veterans Day goes back even further, to 1918, when an 
armistice between the Allied and Central Powers brought World War I to 
an end at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.
  On November 11, 1920, the British interred an unidentified British 
soldier in Westminster Abbey to commemorate the Armistice. The French 
interred an unidentified French soldier under the Arc de Triomphe in 
Paris.
  In 1921, an American soldier's remains were disinterred in France and 
sent on the transatlantic voyage to Washington, D.C., where they lay in 
state in the Capitol Rotunda for three days. Then, at 11:00 a.m. on 
November 11, the remains of this Unknown Soldier were buried at 
Arlington National Cemetery beneath a marble block which reads, ``Here 
rests in honored glory an American soldier known but to God.''
  Since the founding of our country, nearly 50 million men and women 
have answered the call of duty. There are about 25 million veterans 
alive today.
  Right now, we have 130,000 troops in Iraq, another 10,000 in Kuwait, 
and 10,000 in Afghanistan. Other Americans are serving in South Korea, 
in Bosnia and Kosovo, and in every other corner of the globe.
  We owe our veterans and the brave young men and women who currently 
serve in our military more than we can calculate. It is very tough 
duty. I know that from personal experience. That is why I deeply regret 
that the Senate is in session today. I do not ever recall the Senate 
being in session on Veterans Day before. Frankly, I think it is 
disrespectful to veterans across America and to the veterans in this 
body for the Senate to be in session today.
  Why are we doing it? Why are we here? Well, we are told that we have 
a full agenda and that we have very few days left to get our work 
done--work that was supposed to be done six weeks ago. But how are we 
going to spend the precious few days before we hope to adjourn? We are 
going to take 30 hours of that time to debate a handful of highly 
controversial judges whose nominations Democrats object to.
  I feel compelled to put this chart up on the floor for everyone to 
see because it is kind of a scorecard that shows the Clinton years and 
how many nominees were confirmed in those years and the dozens of 
nominees who were blocked by the Republicans. Then we can see how many 
of President Bush's nominees have been confirmed and how many have been 
blocked by Democrats.
  Democrats are objecting to a total of four nominees who have neither 
the experience nor the temperament to be confirmed to lifetime 
positions in the federal judiciary. Four nominees have been blocked, 2 
percent of the total. And we are being told that we cannot afford the 
time today to be at home with our veterans or go to the cemeteries or 
go to the veterans hospitals so that we can pay our respects to those 
who have served or are serving this country. We cannot be with our 
veterans today because we have to spend 30 hours starting tomorrow to 
talk about four nominees.
  So, in all candor, I have to say that I am upset by our being here. 
It is not the question of another day's work--we can do the work--but 
that the majority could not find time to permit Senators to be in their 
States with their constituents, especially veterans, with the families 
who have lost loved ones in Iraq or Afghanistan or Beirut or Vietnam or 
Korea or so many other places.
  When I look at the reason why we are here today, it rings hollow, as 
far as I am concerned. I regret that we are

[[Page 28466]]

here. This is the day we should meet with veterans groups. This is the 
day when we remember the sacrifice that so many have made on our 
behalf. This is the day we ought to be thinking about how we respond to 
our need for additional troops in Iraq. This is the day we ought to 
think about what it is our brave young service men and women should 
come home to when they have fulfilled their duty: adequate health care 
and jobs and opportunity.
  What kind of a message do we send to our veterans and to those who 
currently serve in our military? What kind of message do we send to the 
young men and women we are trying to recruit? Today is a solemn day 
deliberately set aside to pay tribute to our veterans, and the Senate 
is in session because we have to spend a day and a half starting 
tomorrow talking about four judges.
  I want the veterans across the country and the young men and women 
currently in harm's way to know they are appreciated, to know that some 
of the misery they are going through now is understood. How do you do 
that? Ideally, you do that by taking the time necessary to go and greet 
them personally. You do it by making sure veterans' benefits are 
adequate. You do it by making sure the medical care will be there, and 
the educational opportunities. That is the appropriate way to show our 
veterans that we appreciate them. We are not going to show it by 
working here today when, in fact, the veterans back home would like to 
see us back home.
  Be that as it may, we are stuck here today. So I want to take this 
opportunity to say in the most heartfelt way possible that I appreciate 
our veterans. And I salute the brave young men and women who currently 
serve, especially those who serve in the Reserves and the National 
Guard. I appreciate the enormous, enormous sacrifice that many of them 
are making now that we are asking them to serve a year or more at a 
time, taking them away from their families, their communities, and 
their jobs. Today reminds us of just how much we have to be thankful 
for.
  Mr. President, I yield the remainder of the time we have to our 
friend from North Dakota.
  Mr. DORGAN. The Senator from Texas just inquired whether the Senator 
from Alabama might go next. I understand I have 5 minutes remaining; is 
that correct?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Six and a half minutes.
  Mr. DORGAN. I would be happy to have the Senator from Alabama finish 
his remarks which are 5 minutes. I will take 5 minutes, and then we 
will finish.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alabama.
  Mr. SESSIONS. I thank the Senator from North Dakota and appreciate 
his courtesy. I don't think veterans are going to be unhappy we are 
here working today. They might have been happy to see the scene 
yesterday when we should have been able to make progress on a number of 
things, and we had the assistant Democratic leader speaking 8 hours 
plus and reading from a book about cactus and rabbits. They might be 
unhappy about that.
  We have soldiers in the field this very day at risk, carrying out the 
policy of this Senate, this Congress, that we passed by over a three-
fourths vote. We ought to be here talking about our country and doing 
some of the country's business.
  In fact, I was in Walter Reed Hospital this morning. I had the honor 
to meet with the service men and women who have been injured, some 
fairly seriously, in the service of their country.
  I met with Sergeant Larry Gill who grew up in Mobile, AL, went to 
Murphy High School where my daughter went. I knew his father, 
Lieutenant James Gill, in the Mobile police department, a great 
officer. Larry Gill had a severe injury to his lower leg. He has been 
there over a month now. It is getting better. He was so optimistic. It 
was so wonderful to see his wife Leah who is a school teacher at Murphy 
High School, and his two children, Sean and Ryan, and be able to talk 
with them and see the positive attitude he had, the commitment to 
serving his country. It was so inspiring. Larry Gill in 1983 was a 
young Marine serving in Beirut, Lebanon when that embassy was attacked, 
guarding the embassy as a marine, as he was often called upon to do. He 
was knocked unconscious and had to be dug out from the rubble of the 
attack. He was a victim of terrorism in 1983. Now he comes back as part 
of our war on terrorism and is injured again.
  As he said, he thought he ought to start collecting baseball cards 
rather than Purple Hearts. That just is an example of his spirit.
  At the time he was injured, he was part of a National Guard unit from 
Alabama, the 1165th MP company. SPC Chris Harris and SGT Richard Barns 
and SPC4 Jose Garcia were injured.
  I see Senator Lautenberg here.
  SPC4 Garcia, from New Jersey, was assigned to the unit. He was 
injured, and he refused to go home; said, no, he wanted to stay with 
his unit, as did Specialist Harris. Both had flesh wounds that could 
have caused them to be removed from the theater. They said, no, they 
wanted to stay with their troops. That is the kind of character and 
courage we have out there today. It is a pleasure to see them.
  I also visited PFC Chris Busby from Valley Head, AL, a town of 600. 
He was injured in Baghdad. He was in an uparmored Humvee. That is 
important because we have been trying to make sure every uparmored 
Humvee possible is there because it is much more resistant to attack 
than regular Humvees. His foot was out the door as he was speaking and 
a mortar round hit. He said had he not been in an uparmored Humvee, he 
may well have been far more seriously injured, if not killed. His arm 
and leg which were outside the door were both severely injured.
  Asking how he happened to join, he said: Well, it was after September 
11. I thought I ought to serve my country.
  He is 20 years old. His father was there. His father served 7 years 
as an MP. His brother is in Germany. He is also an MP. That is the kind 
of great, rock-solid Americans who preserve, protect, and defend our 
country on a daily basis. I am so proud of them. They serve us so well.
  Just a little over a week ago I had the burden of calling Mrs. Roxy 
Bell. Her son, Aubrey Bell, 33, a sergeant with the 214th MP Company, 
National Guard Company from the Alabama National Guard, was killed in a 
firefight through an improvised explosive device in Baghdad at the Al 
Bayra police station where he was working. Sergeant Bell was part of 
the 214th MP company from Baldwin County, AL. I had the pleasure to 
visit with them when I was in Iraq in August. I had supper with them. I 
talked to them. They talked about patrolling the streets of Baghdad 
with the Iraqi police who had been brought on, which is exactly what we 
need to do to stabilize that country, bring on more Iraqi police. They 
were so positive, had such extraordinarily good morale. I was 
exceedingly proud of them. It was most painful to have to call and talk 
to his mother at the loss of her fine son who lost his life serving his 
country.
  All of us need to remember that. We have sent those young men and 
women out. They are serving at our direction. They are placing their 
lives on the line for us on a daily basis.
  We ask God's blessing and protection be with each one of them and 
that we are given the wisdom to help guide them in the application of 
their abilities and their lives in an effective way.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Dakota.
  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, how much time remains?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Six and a half minutes.
  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, in April of this year I was in Italy. I 
had stopped at an American military cemetery about 15, 20 minutes 
outside of Florence. On a beautiful morning, the sun was shining on the 
graves of 5,000 American soldiers who left their homes, left their 
families, and answered the call to serve their country and gave their 
lives during the Second World War. Their final resting place is now a 
cemetery, a beautifully kept military cemetery maintained by the 
Battlefield Monuments Commission of our country south of Florence.

[[Page 28467]]

  I was thinking of that prose that says: When the night is full of 
knives and the lightning is seen and the drums are heard, the patriots 
are always there, ready to fight and ready to die, if necessary, to 
defend their country. Those patriots have given the ultimate sacrifice 
all across the world in defense of freedom here.
  I was thinking this morning of a telephone call last week. I called a 
German hospital in which Brandon Olson was resting. He had just been 
wounded in Iraq. I called him in the hospital and I called his mother. 
Brandon Olson's mother called him on Thursday. On Friday he had his 
foot amputated. She called him prior to surgery. When I talked to her, 
she told me her son was under heavy medication. She could tell when she 
called him that he was in pain and his voice was weak.
  This mother told her son, lying in the German hospital: You don't 
have to talk. I just want to hear you breathe.
  It is a mother, concerned about her son, who left this small town of 
Hazen, ND to answer the call of his country. That is Brandon Olson. But 
it was also Brandon Ericson and Jason Frey, young men and women, in 
this case three North Dakotans, who lost their lives fighting in Iraq.
  Finally, I believe, after some long period, this country is reaching 
out to its veterans and finally understanding its requirement, its 
obligation to say thank you--thank you for your sacrifice and thank you 
for honoring our country.
  This morning in the newspaper in our largest city, Fargo, ND, they 
pointed out that:
  The planeload of civilian passengers in a metropolitan airport 
terminal a couple of weeks back who stood and cheered in unison when 
asked by United Airlines to give up their seats on an overbooked flight 
and take a later flight so that soldiers headed home on 14-day leaves 
from Iraq could get there a few hours earlier. Every soldier got a seat 
on that airplane.
  They all got on that flight because other passengers gave up their 
seats. That is what is happening in this country today as we face 
danger, difficulty, and challenges as a nation in Iraq and Afghanistan, 
and danger from terrorists around the world. Our country is saying to 
those who wear our uniform: Thank you. We owe you a great debt, one 
which we may never be able to repay, but we recognize your sacrifice 
and commitment to our country.
  As I looked at those gravesites south of Florence, Italy, in that 
beautiful cemetery on that April morning, I thought of John McCrae's 
wonderful poem ``In Flanders Fields.'' He wrote:

     In Flanders fields the poppies blow
     Between the crosses, row on row,
     That mark our place; and in the sky
     The larks, still bravely singing, fly
     Scarce heard amid the guns below.

     We are the Dead. Short day ago
     We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
     Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
     In Flanders fields.

     Take up our quarrel with the foe:
     To you from failing hands we throw
     The torch; be yours to hold it high.
     If ye break faith with us who die
     We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
     In Flanders fields.

  It reminds us again--especially today, on Veterans Day--all across 
America that the liberty we enjoy, the freedom we take for granted was 
paid for by the blood of patriots, and every American family has been 
touched by those patriots who have given the ultimate sacrifice. Every 
American community can and should recognize today those who live up the 
block or down the block or on the farm, who went all across this world 
and have fought valiantly for America's freedom, and have come home to 
live quietly among neighbors, never talking much about their service to 
our country.
  But that service is what has made this the wonderful country it is. 
There is no place like it on Earth. There is no place quite as free as 
the United States of America, and that freedom has not been achieved 
without great sacrifice by young men and women. When America sends its 
sons and daughters to war, when America asks its sons and daughters to 
fight, then we must resolve to do everything we can to make that a 
successful fight on behalf of America's freedom.
  Today, we honor wonderful veterans who have served this country for 
many decades.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, today, Veterans Day, we honor America's 
veterans. It is to serve as 85 years of recognition after armistice was 
declared on November 11, at 11 a.m., in 1918. We pay tribute to our 
veterans today, but I suggest to my colleagues and fellow Americans we 
ought to pay more tribute to veterans every day.
  The first veteran I knew was my father, Harry Specter, who was a 
veteran of World War I. My father had come to the United States as an 
immigrant, at the age of 18, in 1911. The Czar in control of Russia at 
the time wanted to send my father, among many others, to Siberia. My 
father chose instead to come to America. He literally walked across 
Europe, barely a ruble in his pocket, and traveled at the bottom of the 
boat to the United States to make a new life for himself. He did not 
know at that time that he had a round-trip ticket to France, not to 
Paris and the Folies Bergeres with the dancing girls, but to the 
Argonne Forest where he was wounded in action.
  My father carried shrapnel in his legs until the day he died. The 
U.S. Government promised the veterans of World War I a $500 bonus and, 
as has been the case so frequently with the U.S. Government, the 
promise was broken. The veterans then mounted a march on Washington in 
1932 to seek redress, exercising their constitutional right to petition 
their Government, and also in petitioning their Government, to have the 
Government fulfill the promise the Government had made to pay the 
veterans a $500 bonus.
  Today, when there is a demonstration in Washington, the red carpet is 
rolled out. On that day, in 1932, the cavalry was rolled out with drawn 
sabers, led by MAJ George C. Patton. In command was the Chief of Staff 
of the Army, Douglas MacArthur. There is a famous picture of General 
MacArthur, with his aide de camp, MAJ Dwight Eisenhower. On that day, 
veterans were killed. It is one of the blackest days in American 
history.
  That was the way the U.S. Government responded to the pleas of the 
World War I veterans who were asking only for what they had been 
promised--their $500 bonus. In a sense, in a metaphor, I have been on 
my way to Washington ever since to get my father's bonus. I have not 
gotten it yet, so I am still here and running for reelection.
  When we honor the veterans today, we ought to make note of the fact 
that the medical services that are available to veterans are, 
realistically viewed, insufficient. We are about to take up, in the 
course of the next several days, the appropriations bill for veterans. 
We are endeavoring to get an additional $1.3 billion to help on 
veterans medical benefits.
  I have the honor to chair the Veterans Affairs Committee in the 
Senate. Later today, I will join President Bush at the White House for 
a bill-signing ceremony, where we are creating additional veteran 
cemeteries across America, so that the families of veterans can be near 
their departed loved ones and can pay tribute without traveling long 
distances.
  At the present time, families of veterans who live in southeastern 
Pennsylvania have to travel about 100 miles to Indiantown Gap, to 
Annville, to pay respects, where veterans are now interred, buried, 
from the southeastern part of the State. After a great deal of effort, 
going back about 6 years, I am paying tribute to former Congressman 
John Fox, who worked with me initially to introduce the legislation 
that was finally passed by both Houses of Congress. Jim Gerlach is the 
current sponsor in the House of Representatives--Congressman Gerlach--
and there will be a bill-signing ceremony today where President Bush 
will affix a signature and we will at least have done that for 
veterans.
  There are many issues pending to take care of America's veterans. We 
are currently in the Veterans Affairs Committee reviewing a proposal by 
the Department of Veterans Affairs to alter the hospital accommodations 
across America. We are determined to

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see to it that any changes which are made benefit rather than hurt 
veterans.
  Mr. President, on the subject of the proposals which are now pending, 
I am very much concerned, as chairman of the committee, for the entire 
Nation about what will happen to many of the facilities which are under 
review--facilities in New York, facilities in California, facilities 
across the country, and one very hotly contested facility in Waco, TX. 
I am concerned about what will happen in Pittsburgh where there are 
proposals to close Highland Drive. If that is done, there has to be an 
adequate accommodation so that the facilities are at least equal to, if 
not better than what is currently available. There are concerns about 
Butler, PA, Erie, PA, and across my State. A new facility is due in 
Lebanon.
  So on this day when we are concerned about veterans, when we pay 
honor to them, we ought to remember that the veterans have created the 
climate of freedom. When we pause and remember the veterans on 
Armistice Day of 1918, remember that it is a continuum of veterans who 
have served America since the Revolutionary War. My brother served in 
World War II, as did my brother-in-law in the South Pacific. I was in 
the service during the Korean war and served stateside.
  We now have many aging veterans from World War II and the Korean war 
who need more accommodations. We have veterans from Vietnam and the 
gulf war and from Iraq. As we pay tribute to the veterans for what they 
have done for America, America should reciprocate and see to it that 
the needs of veterans are adequately responded to.

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