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Congressman Hinojosa discusses Veterans issues with Rio Grande Valley Veterans
Every Veterans Day, Americans come together to remember those who have served our country around the world in the name of freedom and democracy. The debt that we owe to them is immeasurable. Their sacrifices and those of their families are freedom’s foundation. Without the brave efforts of all the soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines and Coast Guardsmen and their families, our country would not live so freely
On this Veterans Day, we continue to have combat troops deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. The President is keeping his commitment to end the American war in Iraq in a responsible way with the recent announcement of the drawdown of U.S. forces to zero in Iraq by the end of this year.
This honors the remarkable sacrifice and service of our men and women in uniform over the last eight years, while giving Iraq the best opportunity to build a prosperous and democratic future.
Today is a day to honor the memory of the more than 4,400 Americans who have died in Iraq and more than 1,800 who have died in Afghanistan. We also honor the sacrifices of our wounded: 32,000 U.S. troops in Iraq and 14,600 in Afghanistan.
We all know that the people of South Texas are deeply patriotic and we have lost many of our sons and daughters to these conflicts as well as the conflicts of the past centuries. Just a few weeks ago I joined many of you as we mourned the loss of two outstanding young men, Sgt. Rudy Rodriguez, Jr. and Staff Sgt. Estevan Altamirano. Their families continue to need our prayers, our support and our promise that their loved ones will not be forgotten.
Now, more than ever, we renew our commitment to keep our promises to the nation’s more than 2 million troops and reservists, their families, and 23 million veterans, including the thousands who call Deep South Texas home.
As part of keeping our promises to our veterans, the President and Democrats in Congress are focused on taking major steps to help our men and women in uniform obtain good jobs when they come home.
With one-in-five young veterans between the ages of 18 and 24 returning from Iraq and Afghanistan looking for work, we have an obligation to make sure they have the necessary tools to navigate this difficult labor market and succeed in the civilian workforce. We support the American Jobs Act and the Hiring Heroes Act to:
- provide tax credits for hiring veterans looking for work,
- strengthen much-needed training programs for separating service members,
- encourage businesses and government contractors to hire the brave men and women who have developed valuable skills and professionalism while in the armed forces, and
- ensure that service members leave the military career-ready.
From 2007 through 2010, the Congress made historic gains for America’s troops, veterans and military families. We passed bills that affected nearly every veteran in America. I continue to fight to preserve and build on this record. Just last week we approved a 3.6% cost of living raise for our veterans. From 2007 to 2010 Congress:
- Enacted the new Post 9-11 GI Bill to restore the promise of a full, four-year college education, that has already allowed over 600,000 veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars to afford college, just like after World War II, along with tax incentives for hiring to expand job opportunities for returning soldiers.
- According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, this strengthened health care for more than 5 million veterans, with a historic commitment -- including the largest single increase in the history of the VA -- for more doctors and nurses, better access for rural veterans, and expanded efforts to treat the signature injuries of the war, PTSD and Traumatic Brain Injury, while enacting a law to guarantee timely and predictable funding for veterans’ health care and to address the health care needs of our nearly 2 million female veterans.
- Provided troops and veterans the benefits they have earned and resources they need, giving troops a pay raise, restoring military readiness, providing the best training and equipment for the men and women serving in our Armed Forces, taking steps to reduce the backlog and wait for veterans trying to access their earned benefits, providing special payments for service members and veterans who were forced to serve under stop-loss orders since 2001, and making headway in ending the Disabled Veterans Tax and the Military Families’ Tax.
November is Military Family Appreciation Month, this month, and every month, we should all take the time to help support the families whose loved ones are fighting to keep our nation free. In Congress, we strengthened support for military families, building more military child care centers and better military family housing, and enacting landmark legislation to provide much-needed support for family members and other caregivers for wounded veterans. These military families are our heroes too, and we must cointinue to support them.
On the battlefield, the military pledges to leave no soldier behind.
As a nation, let it be our pledge that when they return home, we leave no veteran behind. This day and every day, let us honor their service with actions that fulfill our commitment to our troops, their families, and our veterans and that are worthy of our grateful nation.
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Sunday, November 13, 2011 at 11:01PM 
