[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 4]
[House]
[Pages 5370-5372]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  NATIONAL MONTH OF THE MILITARY CHILD

  Ms. BORDALLO. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to 
the resolution (H. Res. 265) honoring military children during 
``National Month of the Military Child,'' as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 265

       Whereas more than 2,750,000 Americans are demonstrating 
     their courage and commitment to freedom by serving in the 
     Armed Forces of the United States;
       Whereas 50 percent of the members of the Armed Forces, when 
     deployed away from their permanent duty stations, have left 
     families with children behind;
       Whereas no one feels the effect of those deployments more 
     than the children of deployed service members;
       Whereas as of March 15, 2008, approximately 3,400 of these 
     children have lost a parent serving in the Armed Forces 
     during the preceding 5 years;
       Whereas the daily struggles and personal sacrifices of 
     children of members of the Armed Forces too often go 
     unnoticed;
       Whereas the children of members of the Armed Forces are a 
     source of pride and honor to all Americans and it is fitting 
     that the Nation recognize their contributions and celebrate 
     their spirit;
       Whereas the ``National Month of the Military Child'', 
     observed in April each year, recognizes military children for 
     their sacrifices and contributes to demonstrating the 
     Nation's unconditional support to members of the Armed 
     Forces;
       Whereas in addition to Department of Defense programs to 
     support military families and military children, various 
     programs and campaigns have been established in the private 
     sector to honor, support, and thank military children by 
     fostering awareness and appreciation for the sacrifices and 
     the challenges they face; and
       Whereas a month-long salute to military children will 
     encourage support for those organizations and campaigns 
     established to provide direct support for military children 
     and families: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) joins the Secretary of Defense in honoring the children 
     of members of the Armed Forces and recognizes that they too 
     share in the burden of protecting the Nation;
       (2) urges Americans to join with the military community in 
     observing the ``National Month of the Military Child'' with 
     appropriate ceremonies and activities that honor, support, 
     and thank military children; and
       (3) recognizes with great appreciation the contributions 
     made by private-sector organizations that provide resources 
     and assistance to military families and the communities that 
     support them.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Guam (Ms. Bordallo) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wittman) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Guam.


                             General Leave

  Ms. BORDALLO. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
on the resolution under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Guam?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. BORDALLO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I might 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, I stand before you in support of House Resolution 265, 
honoring military children for their personal sacrifice and recognizing 
the month of April as the National Month of the Military Child.
  Currently, 2.75 million Americans are serving in the Armed Forces of 
the United States. Of that number, 1.7 million who have served or who 
are currently serving have been deployed, nearly 600,000 members have 
deployed more than once, and close to 260,000 are currently deployed.
  These are important points for us to take note of and reflect upon 
today because today there are nearly 1.2 million military children in 
families whose parents proudly serve in the uniform.
  Unfortunately, 50 percent of the servicemembers who are currently 
deployed away from their duty stations are separated from their spouses 
and their children.
  Long-term and multiple deployments have shown undesirable effects on 
both servicemembers, their families and their children. They sometimes 
experience severe emotional, psychological and fiscal problems over the 
course of these deployments. Over extended periods of time, anxiety and 
strain become a part of the daily lives of both spouses and children 
who sacrifice unduly.
  Approximately 3,400 military children have lost a parent serving in 
the Armed Forces during the preceding 5 years. Military children are 
making personal sacrifices in support of this Nation.
  During National Month of the Military Child, we need to ensure that 
we support all the American children who faithfully share their family 
in order to protect our way of life.
  House Resolution 265 encourages public and private sector support for 
both military children and their families through direct contributions 
to scholarships, grants and donations, action which promotes family 
readiness.
  So it is appropriate to celebrate the children who are loved by these 
brave men and women in uniform. The health and the well-being of these 
children is important to the overall readiness of our forces.
  We therefore appreciate the leadership shown by our distinguished 
colleague from Northern Virginia (Mr. Moran) in sponsoring this 
important resolution.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support House Resolution 265, 
and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WITTMAN of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
might consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of House Resolution 265, as 
amended, which honors military children during National Month of the 
Military Child.
  Today we are a Nation at war with more than 2.75 million men and 
women in uniform and more than 280,000 deployed worldwide. The men and 
women of today's Armed Forces are all volunteers, but as never before 
in our history, they are also married and have families. At any given 
time, when deployed away from their home bases, 50 percent of the 
members of the Armed Forces leave behind families with children.
  While the numbers and statistics are interesting, the real message 
here is that the sacrifices and commitments made by the members of the 
armed services are very often directly felt and experienced by their 
family members and especially their children. Each of the military 
services and the Department of Defense go to extraordinary lengths to 
provide the resources and environment to support military families and 
children. Preservation and support of families is recognized as a 
military readiness requirement.

[[Page 5371]]

  I fully support those efforts. The resolution today strives to ensure 
that proper attention is focused on sacrifices, spirit and 
contributions made by the children of military families. This 
resolution also seeks to bring the recognition and thanks to both the 
Department of Defense and private sector programs that support military 
children and families.
  I want to thank my friend, Mr. Moran of Virginia, for sponsoring this 
important resolution and urge my colleagues to support it.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. BORDALLO. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to 
my friend and colleague, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Moran) who is 
the original sponsor of this important measure.
  Mr. MORAN of Virginia. I thank my friend, the distinguished delegate 
from Guam, for yielding me the time.
  I thank the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wittman) for his kind 
comments as well. I am glad to be joined here by the Chair of Military 
Construction, Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee, Mr. Chet 
Edwards.
  Madam Speaker, a child's process of growing up is difficult, but 
imagine what it must be like when one parent or even both parents are 
deployed abroad as part of their duty in our Armed Forces.
  While friends and relatives pray for their safe return, no one feels 
the impact of deployment more than the children of servicemembers in 
combat overseas. We are learning more about the impact that living 
under this shadow of uncertainty has on our children.
  The incidence of military children needing psychological counseling 
has increased dramatically. Last year Children's Hospital in the 
District of Columbia had over 1,000 visits from military children 
suffering from behavioral and mental health problems. These are just 
normal kids who want what any child wants, their mothers and fathers at 
home to tuck them in at night reassuring them everything will be all 
right.
  Today more than 2,300,000 Americans demonstrate their courage and 
commitment every day to our Nation by serving in our Armed Forces. Of 
these men and women, most have families subjected to frequent moves 
from one installation to another, long deployments abroad, and the fear 
that their loved one serving overseas might never come home.

                              {time}  1430

  Fifty percent of our troops deployed overseas have children that are 
left behind. That is more than one million children with at least one 
parent deployed overseas. Those figures, statistics, can too easily be 
ignored sometimes because they are abstract. But here is one that can't 
be dismissed: 3,400 children have already lost a parent serving in the 
Armed Forces over the past 6 years.
  When I introduced this resolution 2 years ago, the number of children 
who had lost a parent was 1,000 and now it is 3,400. The Department of 
Defense understands that without the families' support, they will never 
have the soldiers' full support.
  In 1986, Secretary of Defense Casper Weinberger declared this month 
the ``National Month of the Military Child.'' Every year since, events 
at military bases, forts and other installations across the Nation have 
been held to celebrate the military family, replete with lots of lofty 
rhetoric but not enough true attention to their needs.
  Two bases in my own district, Fort Belvoir and Fort Myer, hold annual 
events providing military kids the chance to be distracted a bit by 
just being a kid with other kids in similar situations. But the 
Congress needs to step up.
  Today I am glad to join with my colleagues, particularly with my 
colleagues who will speak here today, to offer this resolution 
officially recognizing the month of April as the National Month of the 
Military Child, and dedicating the Congress to pay more attention to 
the children and the spouses of our soldiers.
  My colleagues on the other side of the aisle, Representative Issa and 
Walter Jones of North Carolina are bipartisan sponsors for this effort. 
I thank them for their support and leadership.
  This resolution is just a small way that Congress can recognize the 
sacrifice these youngsters and their families are asked to make, but it 
is an opportunity to commit ourselves to doing much more.
  Specifically, the resolution joins the Secretary of Defense in 
honoring military children, recognizing that they too share the burden 
and are making a great sacrifice in protecting our Nation.
  I would also like to take the opportunity to thank the organization 
Kids Serve Too. It is in my congressional district, and is dedicated to 
the needs of military families everywhere. It was created by military 
families to support other military families. Kids Serve Too sponsors 
activities and events for military children. It is represented in the 
gallery today specifically by Tricia Johnson and her daughters, Cat and 
Claire, and her sister, Kathleen Murphy.
  Madam Speaker, military families and their children deserve our 
heartfelt appreciation for their sacrifice. Today we honor them and 
their sacrifice and thank you for bringing this resolution to the 
floor.


                Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are not permitted to recognize 
guests in the gallery.
  Ms. BORDALLO. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Edwards), the chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on 
Military Construction.
  Mr. EDWARDS. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlelady for her time and 
recognition.
  Madam Speaker, I want to salute Mr. Moran and the cosponsors of this 
resolution. In my book, military children and spouses are truly the 
unsung heroes and heroines of our Nation's defense. They may not put on 
our Nation's uniform, but they serve every single day and they serve 
with great honor and distinction.
  One cannot have a makeup day for a parent not being present for a 
birthday, special occasion, for a mom or dad not being there for a high 
school graduation or a college graduation. There are no makeup days for 
those missed special occasions. And as Mr. Moran pointed out, in 3,400 
cases, military children have made the ultimate sacrifice of losing a 
mother or father in service to our country. It is so right that we 
honor these great Americans, the military children, today with this 
resolution.
  As Mr. Moran also pointed out, I think it is also more important that 
we honor them not just during the month of April with our words and 
floor speeches, but every day and every month and every year with our 
deeds, with effective funding, adequate funding for the Impact Aid 
Program that provides extra Federal funding to school districts with 
heavy concentrations of military children, with day-care programs which 
this Congress last year took the initiative on and added $130 million 
worth of day-care centers for military children throughout the country, 
especially needed during a time of war.
  We worked hard on military housing so children can live in houses 
they are proud to call their homes, and their parents are as well. And 
this Congress last year took the initiative in increasing by an 
historic unprecedented level funding for VA medical care so that when 
those parents leave the military, they will continue to get their 
military care. I urge support of this resolution.
  Mr. WITTMAN of Virginia. I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. TIAHRT. Madam Speaker, I rise today to join my colleagues in 
support of H. Res 265, honoring military children during ``National 
Month of the Military Child.'' While we understand and praise the 
personal sacrifices our brave men and women make in defending our great 
nation, we frequently forget about the sacrifices and burdens that 
children and families face while their parents are serving in the 
United States Armed Forces.
  In peacetime, children of military parents bear the burdens of 
numerous military moves, both overseas and in the United States. In 
these moves, they cope with attending several different schools, losing 
good friends, leaving

[[Page 5372]]

good communities, and typically have parents who cannot attend their 
sporting events, music recitals, and other after school activities. The 
military duty is a 24-7, 365-day commitment for the soldier and also 
their families.
  In wartime, children of deployed military parents spend every day 
living in fear of the unknown. When will my mom or dad return? Will 
they be severely injured? Will they be killed? In years past, military 
children often faced one deployment lasting anywhere from 4 to 18 
months. However, in today's long Global War on Terror, many military 
members and families are facing their second, third, or fourth 
deployments.
  The impacts of these additional and prolonged separations are not 
clear and may have lasting adverse effects on military children and 
families. When military members return from deployments, we focus on 
the impact of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder; we also need to study and 
analyze the impacts of traumas created by war and deployments on the 
children of these military parents.
  The children of military members play a vital role in the defense of 
this country. Their contributions and sacrifices have not gone 
unnoticed. This is our opportunity as a Nation to recognize their 
dedication and support. We honor our brave men and women in the Armed 
Forces who have dedicated their lives to defending our freedoms, but we 
must also pay great tribute to the children and the families of 
soldiers, who bear the burden of their tremendous sacrifice.
  I encourage my colleagues to support this important resolution and am 
pleased that today the House recognizes the role of the military 
children.
  Ms. BORDALLO. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from Guam (Ms. Bordallo) that the House suspend the rules 
and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 265, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the resolution, as amended, was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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