[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 17132]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  BLUESMAN BOBBY RUSH HONORS VETERANS

  (Mr. COHEN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. COHEN. Madam Speaker, this weekend many of us, probably all of 
us, honored our veterans. And they deserve the honors that we gave 
them. The Senate honored them with the passage of a COLA increase, 
which I hope our House will, too--and I'm sure it will--in a bipartisan 
fashion.
  In Memphis, I had a Veterans Day lunch, and so did our city mayors, 
and we honored Bobby Rush. Not the Bobby Rush of the United States 
Congress, but Bobby Rush, the great blues guitarist, singer, and guitar 
player; a blues legend in Memphis who has done much to honor veterans 
throughout this country. Bobby Rush has been the International 
Ambassador of the Blues, named by the State of Tennessee, and has 
traveled to Iraq, Kuwait, and Afghanistan to perform for our troops. He 
holds an annual Red, White and Blues Day Jam in Memphis to honor our 
veterans. When he visited Iraq, Bobby Rush said: I was just overwhelmed 
to witness the very real level of commitment and sacrifice they go 
through so that people like me and you can live our lives without 
feeling threatened. It is something that must not be forgotten or taken 
for granted.
  So as I did in Memphis last weekend and I do again today, I thank our 
veterans, and I thank Bobby Rush for taking his talents to entertain 
our troops and honor our veterans and be a great American.

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