[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 19]
[House]
[Page 26626]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   MISTREATMENT OF RETURNING SOLDIERS

  (Mr. CLYBURN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to voice my outrage and utter 
disgust regarding the treatment of some of our brave men and women who 
have just returned home from serving gallantly in Iraq.
  Recently, members of the Minnesota National Guard, known as the Red 
Bulls, were told that they did not qualify to receive benefits under 
the GI Bill. Why? Because they were deployed for 729 days in Iraq and 
not the 730 days mandated by the GI Bill to receive benefits.
  The fact that they would deny educational benefits to courageous 
veterans who risked their lives defending our freedoms, many of whom 
were deployed for 20 consecutive months, is shameful and appalling. 
Supporting our troops means taking care of them when they come home and 
providing them with the benefits they have earned and rightfully 
deserve.
  Mr. Speaker, if I might invoke the words of Alexis de Tocqueville: 
``America is great because America is good. And if America ever ceases 
to be good, it will cease to be great.''
  Mr. Speaker, this action does not reflect the goodness of our great 
Nation.

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