A Veterans Day Message from Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard

A Veterans Day Message from Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard

On November 11, 2006, I join you in thanking our veterans, past and present, for their selfless and heroic contributions to our country.

In 1954, Congress officially changed Armistice Day to Veterans Day. On this national holiday our grateful nation commemorates the service and the sacrifice of the men and women who for more than two hundred years - from the American Revolution to the War on Terror - have nobly answered our country's call to duty.

As we face unprecedented global threats, we are reminded that the safety of our country and the very existence of our freedoms are dependent upon the patriotism and sacrifices of our brave men and women who serve in uniform. The repeated deployments to carry out U.S. operations in places such as Iraq and Afghanistan have placed enormous strain and hardship on our service members and their families. The pain is evident for those service men and women who return home severely injured. It is also evident for their families and for the families of those who paid the ultimate price. For their unselfish devotion to our country, our service men and women deserve to have the promises made to them by our nation fulfilled.

Abraham Lincoln said during his second inaugural address that our obligation to our nation's valiant heroes is "... to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan." To ensure that Lincoln's historic and true words are realized today, I remain steadfast in my commitment to fulfilling our obligations to our veterans and their families by continuing to fight until Congress passes the fair, just, and well deserved New GI Bill of Rights for the 21st Century.

More than 60 years ago, Congress enacted the original legislation to provide World War II veterans with needed medical assistance, educational benefits and home loans. The new GI Bill builds upon these commitments to address the current needs of our veterans and of those who in the future return from the theatre of war by repealing unfair tax burdens on military families and providing veterans with critical benefits such as affordable health care, educational opportunities and job training.

This Veterans Day, it is with great pride that I join our country in extending to our nation's 24 million veterans my deepest gratitude for their sacrifice and commitment to protecting our country's freedoms and democratic way of life. It is clearly our veterans' unwavering courage and patriotism that keep the flame of liberty shining brightly as a beacon of hope upon our great nation and throughout the world. For that, we are, and will remain, eternally grateful.

(Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard's office offers a wide variety of services to the community, including resolving problems with federal agencies such as the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Social Security Administration, and the Internal Revenue Service. She also offers financial aid workshops, a service academy workshop, a scholarship directory and constituent casework services to assist district residents. More information about federal services can be obtained by visiting Congresswoman Roybal-Allard's web site at www.house.gov/roybal-allard or by calling her district office at (213) 628-9230.)

http://www.house.gov/list/press/ca34_roybal-allard/oped061108.html