[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 19]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 25809]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              VETERANS DAY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. HILDA L. SOLIS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 10, 2005

  Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to America's 24.5 
million living veterans who have served and sacrificed for our 
country--including the 28,000 veterans in my district.
  Veterans Day is the time to honor the servicemen and women that have 
protected this country and the freedom we hold so dear. Throughout 
history, our veterans have served our nation with great distinction and 
honor. Today, we recognize both those who have worn the uniform and 
those who are currently serving.
  That is why I support several key pieces of legislation that serve to 
benefit our nation's veterans. I am proud to be a cosponsor of H.R. 
2131, the New GI Bill of Rights for the 21st Century. The new GI Bill 
would repeal unfair tax burdens on military families, provide veterans 
with affordable health care, education, and job training benefits, and 
strengthen our support for men and women in uniform, including our 
National Guard and Reservists.
  On this Veterans Day, our servicemen and women continue to risk their 
lives in Iraq and Afghanistan to protect our country. Recently, the 
2,000th soldier was killed in Iraq and more than 15,000 troops have 
been wounded there. During the Iraqi conflict, my district has suffered 
the loss often brave servicemen who did not return to their families. 
They are Marine Corporal Jorge A. Gonzalez; Army Sergeant Atanasio 
Haromarin; Army Private First Class Jose Casanova; Marine Private First 
Class Francisco A. Martinez Flores; Army Specialist Leroy Harris-Kelly 
III; Marine Corporal Rudy Salas; Lance Corporal Benjamin M. Gonzalez; 
Lance Corporal Manuel A. Ceniceros; Specialist Private First Class 
Marcos O. Nolasco; and Corporal Stephen P. Johnson. These men, our 
fallen soldiers, are heroes. My heart and prayers go out to their 
families and friends.
  We have learned that freedom is not free and no one has paid a higher 
price and sacrifice for our freedom than our veterans. I join the rest 
of the nation in remembering their service to our country. Let us renew 
our efforts to keep our promises to our veterans. We can do that by 
making sure that legislation is passed that will help our veterans. Our 
nation's veterans and service members need to know that their families 
will be taken care of while they sacrifice so much.
  I urge my colleagues to keep our promises to our veterans and fight 
for the improvement of services to them.

                          ____________________