[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 13664]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    HONORING AND REWARDING OUR TROOPS FOR THEIR VALOR AND SACRIFICE

  (Mr. BISHOP of New York asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. BISHOP of New York. Mr. Speaker, last week the White House 
recommended a veto of the defense authorization bill and said Congress 
wants to pay our troops too much for defending America. It is 
unconscionable to suggest our troops aren't worth a half percent more 
in pay, while many of their families scrape by on food stamps or pay 
for their own body armor.
  Paying our troops what they deserve should go hand in hand with 
relieving them of taxes they don't deserve. That is why the gentleman 
from Virginia (Mr. Davis) and I introduced a bill last week to 
eliminate Federal taxation of student loan reimbursements to military 
personnel and Federal civilian employees.
  Our bill, H.R. 2363, eliminates this tax and creates an incentive to 
help our Armed Forces compete with private sector recruitment and 
retention by lowering the soaring debt faced by college graduates.
  Mr. Speaker, as we salute our troops and honor our fallen this 
Memorial Day, let's give them the pay raise they deserve.

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