[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 16]
[Senate]
[Page 21418]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    SENATE RESOLUTION 260--DESIGNATING SEPTEMBER 16, 2009, AS ``THE 
                         AMERICAN LEGION DAY''

  Ms. SNOWE (for herself, Mrs. Lincoln, Ms. Collins, and Mr. Chambliss) 
submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 260

       Whereas, on September 16, 1919, Congress issued to the 
     American Legion a Federal charter as a wartime veterans 
     service organization;
       Whereas the American Legion remains active in communities 
     at the national, State, and local levels;
       Whereas members of the American Legion (commonly referred 
     to as ``Legionnaires'') provide millions of hours of 
     volunteer service to medical facilities of the Department of 
     Veterans Affairs and State homes for veterans throughout the 
     United States;
       Whereas the American Legion continues to sponsor activities 
     for children and youth, including the National Oratorical 
     Contest, Boy Scouts, American Legion Baseball, Boys State, 
     and Boys Nation;
       Whereas the American Legion awards millions of dollars in 
     college scholarships to young men and women;
       Whereas the American Legion National Emergency Fund 
     provides financial assistance to Legionnaires displaced by 
     natural disasters;
       Whereas the American Legion Family Support Network provides 
     assistance to members of the Armed Forces of the United 
     States and their families;
       Whereas the American Legion Child Welfare Foundation has 
     provided millions of dollars to programs focused on youth in 
     the United States, including the Special Olympics and the 
     Children's Miracle Network;
       Whereas the American Legion Temporary Financial Assistance 
     provides grants to veterans with children experiencing 
     financial hardships;
       Whereas the American Legion remains second to none in 
     steadfast support of strong national defense;
       Whereas the American Legion supports maintaining a viable 
     and principled foreign relations agenda;
       Whereas the American Legion is a staunch advocate for the 
     principal missions of the Department of Veterans Affairs;
       Whereas the American Legion wrote the original draft of the 
     Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 (58 Stat. 284, chapter 
     268), commonly referred to as the ``G. I. Bill of Rights'';
       Whereas the American Legion continues to support employment 
     programs and opportunities for veterans; and
       Whereas Legionnaires believe that a veteran's service to 
     the United States continues long after the veteran is 
     honorably discharged from the Armed Forces of the United 
     States: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate designates September 16, 2009, as 
     ``The American Legion Day''.

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