Providing for Congressional Disapproval Under Chapter 8 of Title United States Code, of the Rule Submitted By the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection Relating to ``Small Business Lending Under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (Regulation B)''--veto

Floor Speech

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Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, as this day comes to an end, a very sad chapter in the history of this body comes to an end, mercifully.

I stand here before you and my colleagues as the last Vietnam veteran serving in the U.S. Senate, a retired Navy captain, a grandson of a Gold Star Mother, and from a family who believes in the Navy blue.

I want to say to the hundreds of military families who have endured the uncertainty of whether or not their loved ones--their husbands, their fathers, their brothers, their sisters--were going to be able to assume the promotions that they have earned for their years of service in protecting our country and in helping to defend our Constitution that this sad chapter has come to an end.

I want to apologize to those families. I spoke last week and urged that we turn this page and move on, and I am grateful that that has happened.

I want to especially commend the work behind the scenes of our chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Jack Reed, an Army veteran, for the work that he has done in enabling us to end this sad chapter.

I remember serving in a number of tours in Southeast Asia in the Vietnam war. In some of those years, we were not home for Christmas, for the holidays. We were on the other side of the world, and our families were back here in the States. Those were not happy days for us, and I know the last months have not been happy days for a lot of people in the armed services who deserve better.

My hope is and my prayer is that at this Christmas season--at this holiday season, as we move toward Christmas--and as we move toward the end of the year and into a new year that the memories of what they have had to endure will fade and that what they will remember is that there are a number of our colleagues who stood up and said that this has got to end, and let's treat our military folks--all of them--with the respect that they deserve.

We have a big Air Force base in Delaware, Dover Air Force Base. We have C-5s and C-17s. Through their large cargo aircraft, they provide an air bridge to Ukraine by literally carrying in those large aircraft the munitions, the supplies, and the materiels that are needed to help Ukraine fight back against the Russian invasion.

I have kept very close tabs with the Air Force base, gosh, for 30- some years. One of the challenges we have at the Dover Air Force Base, with the Delaware National Guard, and at military installations across the country is the workforce. We find, for civilians, there are all kinds of businesses and all kinds of employers. When I go visit them in Delaware and across the country and I ask them how are they doing, how are we doing, what can we do to help--we in the Federal Government and the State government--they say: We just need people to come to work, people who are employable and trainable who will come to work.

We have similar challenges in our armed services these days. We need people who are willing to step up, be trained, and serve in the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Marine Corps, and the Coast Guard. We want to make sure, when they do that, that we will respect them and their families as we traditionally have done since the beginning of this country.

So, as we wrap this up and prepare to go home for the day--at least in Delaware--I will be back tomorrow to, hopefully, do more of our Nation's business. I am hopeful we will, and I am encouraged by what has happened today.

Again, to those who serve us throughout the world in the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines, the Navy salutes you, and God bless. To each and every one of you out there who is serving us, whether you happen to be in the States or someplace around the world, God bless you. Be safe, and thank you so much.

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