[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 4012]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 RESTORE THE TUITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

  (Mr. O'ROURKE asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. O'ROURKE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce H.R. 1265, 
bipartisan legislation which would restore tuition assistance for men 
and women serving in the military.
  Earlier this month, the Department of Defense announced that the 
Army, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard would all be suspending 
their tuition assistance programs due to sequestration.
  I represent Fort Bliss and the 36,000 men and women in uniform who 
currently serve there. Many of them served in Iraq and Afghanistan, and 
the tuition assistance programs are critical to help them transition 
into civilian life and to find good-paying jobs.
  This program represents 0.1 percent of the Pentagon's budget. As 
Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Martin Dempsey has said, 
``There's nothing more important in a democracy than education.''
  Let's stand up to ensure that those who have given so much for our 
Nation have access to education. Please join me in supporting H.R. 
1265.

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