[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Page 12082]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              MEMORIAL DAY

  Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, I rise today to reflect on this year's 
Memorial Day commemorations and the importance of this holiday in 
American life.
  As I attend Memorial Day parades and commemorations, I'm struck by 
the spirit of national unity on display because I know that across 
Michigan--and across our Nation--our fellow Americans are taking part 
in similar gatherings where we take the time to reflect on our history 
and the sacrifice that brought us to where we are today.
  Memorial Day is unique among American holidays. On Memorial Day we do 
not honor a particular date or event--a battle or the end of a war. On 
Memorial Day we do not honor an individual leader--a president or a 
general. On Memorial Day we do not even honor ourselves--at least not 
in the present tense.
  On Memorial Day we pay homage to the thousands and thousands of 
individual acts of bravery and sacrifice that stretch back to the 
battlefields of our Revolution and are on display today in the deserts 
of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan.
  We honor the brave men and women who answered their Nation's call to 
duty. And--making that ultimate sacrifice--never returned to their 
families and loved ones.
  As part of this year's Memorial Day commemorations, I have been 
paying special respects to our Korean war veterans because this July 
marks the 50th Anniversary of the armistice that ended that war.
  Notice I said Korean war. I did not say ``the Korean Conflict.'' I 
did not call it a police action. I've met too many Korean war veterans. 
I've heard too many of their stories.
  It was the Korean war.
  About 2 million Americans served on active duty with the United 
States Armed Forces during the Korean war. And nearly 55,000 never came 
home.
  The Korean war is often called ``the forgotten war.'' Well, it is not 
forgotten by me. I've met too many Korean war veterans and heard the 
stories of the hardships they endured defending--in the words of the 
plaque at the Korean War Memorial--``a country they never knew, and a 
people they never met.''
  So I think that one of the most fitting ways to pay homage to our 
fallen patriots is to treat their living comrades with the respect and 
honor they deserve.
  Michigan is home to 875,000 veterans, and in personal conversations, 
letters, phone calls and e-mails I have heard from many who are not 
being treated fairly by the veterans' health care system or by present 
pension regulations.
  Right now, we are underfunding veterans' health care by close to $2 
billion. This means it can take months to see a doctor and delays of a 
year or longer for some surgical procedures.
  I am cosponsoring the Veterans Health Care Funding Guarantee Act of 
2003--S. 50--that would order a 20 percent increase in funding for the 
Veteran's Health Administration by 2005, and adjust the amount upwards 
every year after that to take into account new enrollees.
  Also, antiquated laws have also created an unfair situation wherein a 
veteran's pension can be reduced by the amount of their disability 
payment for a service-related disability. In some cases the pension can 
be wiped out entirely.
  This is unfair. Pension and disability payments are two separate and 
distinct benefits. Our veterans have earned their pensions. And if they 
also suffered a service-related disability that has cut their ability 
to earn money outside the military, they are entitled to a separate 
disability payment as well.
  I am cosponsoring the Retired Pay Restoration Act of 2003--S. 392. 
This bill would require that veterans receive their full pension plus 
all disability payments to which they are entitled. This issue is also 
known as full concurrent receipt.
  As we observe this holiday we call Memorial Day, let us remember the 
centuries of sacrifice by thousands and thousands of men and women that 
this day represents. And let's make sure that all who served with honor 
are honored in return.

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