A Grateful Salute for Military Appreciation Month
By Tom Cole
May 10, 2005
As we enter Military Appreciation Month, there is no better way for Congress to show our continued commitment to our troops than by supplying them with the most up-to-date equipment and protective gear as they defend our freedom and ensure our safety on the front lines of the War on Terror. The war supplemental, passed by the House last week and expected to pass in the Senate this week, provides more than $75 billion to supply and protect our troops in the field, ready our troops in training, and honor those who have given their lives fighting in the War on Terror. The men and women in our military and their families have sacrificed much for our freedom and security and with this legislation we are able to give them resources to help make their jobs a little easier.
As a member of the Rules Committee, I had the opportunity to be the first Member in Congress to speak in favor of the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, H.R. 1268. This gave me the opportunity to play a key role in passing the bill. I was very proud to help make sure these funds and resources will be sent to our men and women on the front lines in a timely fashion.
The supplemental provides $75 million to purchase 47,000 additional sets of body armor and $185 million to field 1,700 armored Humvees. In addition to the battlefield projects supported in the supplemental, $408 million will go to provide hardened facilities that protect our troops against indirect fire attacks. About $108 million is earmarked for the construction of Concrete Masonry Unit barracks in high risk, high threat areas. This bill also fully funds the Army's request for materials and equipment to create at least 10 additional combat brigades. The establishment of these units will alleviate stress on the current active duty combat force, and their early funding means they will be equipped as soon as possible.
H.R. 1268 also provides important increases in coverage for the Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance and increases coverage for individual soldiers from $250,000 to $400,000. It also increases the one time death benefit from $12,000 to $100,000. This provision is retroactive to October of 2001 and will apply to all service personnel who have lost their lives in the War on Terror. While neither of these benefits can ever replace the lives of brave American service personnel lost in action, they can assist their families through the hard times they will face while recovering from the loss of their loved ones.
We have committed 170,000 of our servicemen and women to fight terrorism and advance the cause of freedom in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act makes good on a promise we made to our troops to provide them with the best equipment and most up to date training available. We owe them our full support in the battles they wage on behalf of the American people and the cause of liberty.
For those that are discouraged in our cause I would like to make a final note. I was reminded by a picture in the Washington post last week of the importance of the War on Terror and our purpose for being in Iraq. It showed an American soldier carrying a gravely injured Iraqi child after a suicide bomb attack. It was a graphic photograph that captured the terrible effects of war on an innocent victim and the courage and compassion of the American soldiers who are engaged in the battle. More than any words I could ever utter, that picture illustrates the nobility of our effort, the valor and decency of our soldiers, and the evil and fanaticism of our enemies. I am proud of our soldiers and what they are doing. I hope you are too.
http://www.house.gov/apps/list/hearing/ok04_cole/salutetomilitary.html