[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 12]
[House]
[Pages 16773-16774]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              PROVIDING HONORARY TITLE FOR ARMY RESERVISTS

  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 3787) to amend title 38, United States Code, to deem certain 
service in the reserve components as active service for purposes of 
laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 3787

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. PROVISION OF STATUS UNDER LAW BY HONORING CERTAIN 
                   MEMBERS OF THE RESERVE COMPONENTS AS VETERANS.

       (a) In General.--Chapter 1 of title 38, United States Code, 
     is amended by inserting after section 107 the following new 
     section:

     ``Sec. 107A. Honoring as veterans certain persons who 
       performed service in the reserve components

       ``Any person who is entitled under chapter 1223 of title 10 
     to retired pay for nonregular service or, but for age, would 
     be entitled under such chapter to retired pay for nonregular 
     service shall be honored as a veteran but shall not be 
     entitled to any benefit by reason of this section.''.
       (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the 
     beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting after the 
     item relating to section 107 the following new item:

       ``107A. Honoring as veterans certain persons who performed 
           service in the reserve components.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Filner) and the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Buyer) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.


                             General Leave

  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on H.R. 3787, as amended.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, today there are over a million men and women serving in 
our country in the National Guard and Reserves performing a wide 
variety of duties from combat operations around the world to responding 
to natural disasters at home. Members in the National Guard serve two 
commanders--the President, if called upon to join active duty 
components of the armed services, and the Governor of their State. 
Because of this, they were some of the first on the scene to bring calm 
following Hurricane Katrina. And during the recent British Petroleum 
oil spill in the gulf, over 1,600 members of National Guard units from 
four States were mobilized to protect our treasured coastline.
  At age 60, members of the Guard with 20 years of service qualify for 
benefits similar to military retirees but cannot be designated as 
veterans of the armed services. As such, these so-called gray-area 
retirees cannot call themselves veterans even for honorary purposes. As 
such, they are not saluted during veterans' tributes and don't enjoy 
other ceremonial veterans' honors.
  This bill would allow the members of the Reserve component the honor 
of calling themselves veterans. Specifically, this bill would establish 
members of the National Guard who are eligible for a non-regular 
retirement, but who were never called to active duty during their 
careers, to be called veterans for honorary purposes.
  The chief sponsor of this bill is Representative Walz from Minnesota. 
He served 24 years in the National Guard, rising to the rank of Command 
Sergeant Major; and in fact is the highest ranking enlisted man ever 
elected to this Congress. When he was called to active duty for the 
period required to earn him full veteran status, he realized that many 
of his brothers and sisters at arms were denied that honor.
  This legislation is supported by members of the Military Coalition 
and the National Military Veterans Alliance, which together represent 
several million active duty servicemembers, veterans, and their 
families. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 3787.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise also in support of H.R. 3787, as amended, introduced by my 
good friend, the former Command Sergeant Major Tim Walz of the 
Minnesota National Guard. I know where he wanted to go with this 
legislation. I think what he has done is really struck the right 
compromise. I discussed this even at the time in the committee. We 
don't like to think of America as a coalition government, but in fact 
that's what we are. We are States out there for which we all have to 
recognize the constitutions of each of the States and we are bound 
together by a U.S. Constitution. Different States have their own 
militia but at the same time they're also under the United States Code, 
and can be called upon. When they're called upon to serve in Federal 
status, in particular serving the Nation at war for a period of greater 
than 180 days or are injured on active duty, they gain access to not 
only being called a veteran but also to veterans' benefits.
  But this is a pretty good title. It is an honorary title with regard 
to those who served greater than 20 years in the National Guard and 
they had not been called to active duty for an extended period of time, 
which would make them eligible for VA benefits under the statute. So I 
think what the gentleman from Minnesota has tried to do is to strike 
the appropriate balance, and I believe that he has found it.
  I urge all Members to support H.R. 3787, as amended. I congratulate 
the former Sergeant Major on a job well done.

                              {time}  1320

  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. LATHAM. Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues to support 
H.R. 3787, which I joined my colleague the gentleman from Minnesota in 
introducing. Our military increasingly

[[Page 16774]]

depends on the National Guard and Reserve to keep our country safe. Men 
and women who served our country faithfully for decades deserve full 
recognition as veterans, even if they were never deployed. The 
legislation would extend full veteran status under federal law to 
retired members of the Guard and Reserve. Current law does not consider 
Guard and Reserve members to be veterans unless they were deployed for 
more than 30 days. The policy excludes many soldiers in the Guard and 
Reserve who, while never deployed for long periods of time, carried out 
critical support roles during times of war and peace, engaged in 
frequent and often dangerous training exercises, and stood ready to 
risk their lives to protect our nation during military careers that 
spanned decades. This legislation recognizes the service and sacrifice 
of National Guard and Reserve retirees and grants them the full honor 
of being called veterans that they have earned. I urge my colleagues to 
support this legislation, which is a matter of honor and fairness to 
our citizen soldiers.
  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Filner) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 3787, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  The title was amended so as to read: ``A bill to amend title 38, 
United States Code, to recognize the service in the reserve components 
of certain persons by honoring them with status as veterans under 
law.''.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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