[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 7043]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  ENSURING THAT ALL VETERANS AND THEIR SPOUSES HAVE ACCESS TO EARNED 
                                BENEFITS

  (Ms. TITUS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. TITUS. Mr. Speaker, last week, during the VA approps debate, I 
spoke about Madelynn Taylor, a veteran being denied the right to be 
interred with her spouse, Jean, in the Idaho State Veterans Cemetery 
because they are lesbians.
  Idaho does not recognize their marriage and is denying the couple the 
honor and dignity earned through Madelynn's service in the U.S. Navy. 
Clearly, LGBT veterans continue to face discrimination.
  Nearly a year after the landmark decision striking down DOMA, the VA 
still does not have a clear policy to ensure all veterans and their 
spouses have access to their earned benefits.
  In response to the situation, Idaho resident and 27-year Army 
veteran, Colonel Barry Johnson, offered Madelynn and Jean his plot at 
the State cemetery stating:

       Madelynn loves her country. She wants her partner by her 
     side, and she wants to eternally rest among veterans in the 
     State she made home.

  She deserves that. We need more people like the colonel here in 
Congress, willing to speak up on behalf of all our veterans and their 
families who deserve to receive the benefits that they have earned.

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