Bart Stupak: “I am down here on another bill, but I felt compelled to say a few words, if I may, on this piece of legislation, which…”

“I am down here on another bill, but I felt compelled to say a few words, if I may, on this piece of legislation, which really honors American disabled veterans with this commemorative coin. This will help us raise the money to build this monument, which is long overdue. Whether you are talking about my father-in-law, Ken Olsen, up in Escanaba, who was disabled in World War II, or the recent disabled members of our Armed Forces coming back from Afghanistan and Iraq, I think we can all personally relate to different stories. Today, Derek Gagne, who spent quite a bit of time at Walter Reed Army Hospital, is coming back to the upper peninsula of Michigan, where family and friends will be waiting to greet him home. Unfortunately, as Derek has left his bed at Walter Reed for an amputation he had to have because of injuries sustained in Iraq, unfortunately, that bed is being taken by another member from my district who also was wounded in Iraq.”