[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 13882]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT FOR RETURNING VETERANS

  (Mr. HIGGINS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. HIGGINS. Mr. Speaker, tonight, I will join Members of Congress 
Mike Quigley and Pat Meehan in an ice hockey game with and to benefit 
the wounded warriors. The Wounded Warriors is a great organization that 
takes care of our returning injured soldiers. Congress, however, is not 
living up to its responsibility to do the same.
  The unemployment rate for returning veterans under the age of 24 is 
29 percent. Congress just approved $53 billion for road and bridge 
repair next year--a very weak response to a big and important issue, 
particularly when you consider that we just spent $90 billion 
rebuilding the roads and bridges of Afghanistan.
  If you really want to say ``thank you'' to the veterans on behalf of 
a grateful Nation, let's nation-build at home and put our veterans to 
work in rebuilding the America they so honorably defended.

                          ____________________