[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 6]
[House]
[Page 8909]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     LET'S LEAVE NO VETERAN BEHIND

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Madam Speaker, the civil war in Iraq has devastated the 
colleges and the universities in that country. It is estimated that 
thousands of students and professors have been forced to flee the 
violence, cutting short their studies and their academic careers.
  A humanitarian organization called the Iraqi Student Project is 
trying to help. It's working with 15 American universities to identify 
quality Iraqi students and provide them with a tuition-free education 
here in the United States. The project, which was created by two 
Americans based in the Middle East, is modeled on the Bosnian Student 
Project of the 1990s, a project that brought approximately 150 Bosnian 
students to American colleges.
  This Friday, Madam Speaker, I will have the honor of delivering the 
commencement address at the graduation ceremonies for Dominican 
University's graduate students. I'm proud to say that Dominican 
University in my district is one of the institutions working with the 
Iraqi Student Project. Dominican anticipates admitting two Iraqi 
students in September and waiving their tuition. Upon graduation, it is 
hoped that the students will return to Iraq to help that devastated 
country rebuild.
  In the coming days, this House will have the chance to show that we, 
too, have the right priorities. We will be considering the 21st Century 
GI Bill. This is a bipartisan proposal that would provide a college 
education to our brave troops when they return from the fighting in 
Iraq and Afghanistan.
  After World War II, Madam Speaker, the GI Bill sent millions of 
veterans to college. Everyone agrees it was one of the best investments 
our country has ever made. It fueled the post-war economic boom, vastly 
expanded our country's middle class, and made good of our Nation's 
solemn promise to care for our veterans.
  But today, the GI Bill covers just half of the average cost of a 
college education. The proposed legislation would provide coverage for 
the full costs of going to a public university, and it would help with 
the cost of attending private university.
  The need for this bill is great. It will help make the transition 
back to civilian life easier for our veterans and for their families. 
Many of those who have already returned home are unemployed or 
underemployed. They need a college education to help them succeed in 
the workplace, and our Nation, we need them to succeed to keep our 
economy strong.
  But surprise, surprise. The administration doesn't share this view. 
Secretary of Defense Gates has expressed opposition to expanding 
education benefits. He has said that it would cause retention problems 
in the military because it would encourage troops to leave the service. 
I believe, Madam Speaker, that our troops have already done quite 
enough to help the military achieve its retention goals. Many of our 
troops have served two, three, and four tours of duty, and the number 
of troops who have been forced to stay in the service involuntarily 
through the Pentagon's Stop-Loss policies is actually rising in spite 
of the Army's promise to cut the number.
  Our troops have done all that we have asked of them. They've done it 
again and again and again. It is true that the occupation of Iraq has 
stretched our military to the breaking point, but the solution to the 
problem is to end the occupation, not to ask our brave troops to give 
up their futures and not to ask them to give up a chance to get a 
college education.
  The 21st Century GI Bill is the right thing to do for our veterans 
and the smart thing to do for our country. It's a win-win, and it has 
strong bipartisan support, and it will leave no veteran behind.

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