[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 8]
[Senate]
[Page 10410]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           GI BILL OF RIGHTS

  Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I wanted to make a couple of remarks about 
the GI bill of rights. We had an opportunity today to vote on a piece 
of legislation which included that. That legislation is so necessary 
for our veterans. I know, Mr. President, you in your State, as a former 
Governor and Senator, know the impact of veterans.
  In Pennsylvania, we have over a million veterans, and so many of them 
served our country in war after war. And in this war, the war in Iraq 
or anywhere in the world where they serve, all they are asking us to do 
is to help them in a couple of very basic ways: They want our respect, 
which we should always provide, and I think most Americans do over and 
over again. But they also should have the right to an education after 
they have served their country. It is that simple. We all know 
education is often referred to as the great equalizer. Sometimes when 
someone comes from a disadvantaged background, they are able to lift 
their sights and partake in the American dream because they have an 
education.
  If soldiers are serving in combat, men and women in uniform for 
America, the least we should do is provide them with an education when 
they come home so they can have the chance at the American dream here 
at home.
  I think the last thing, certainly not in that order, they have a 
right to expect is quality health care. We have a long way to go. 
Despite great work by people who work in the VA, there is a long way to 
go to provide the kind of quality health care our veterans have a right 
to expect.
  So when we remember on this floor the words of Abraham Lincoln a long 
time ago when he talked, about people who served in combat and war, he 
talked about caring for him who has borne the battle and his widow and 
his orphan. When we think about that today, caring for him or her who 
has borne the battle, it must mean at least those three things: our 
respect, quality health care, and a quality education.
  That is why this bill is so important. I am grateful so many of our 
colleagues agree with that. But we have got a long way to go to make 
sure the GI bill is the law of the land, not just something to debate 
but the law of the land.
  I hope the President, I hope people on both sides of the aisle here 
join us in that, in making sure the GI bill of rights at long last is 
the law of the land.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Klobuchar). The Senator from Louisiana.

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