Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill, H.R. 2878, the Native VetSuccess at Tribal Colleges and Universities Pilot Program Act. I thank Chair Takano for bringing this bill to the floor. I also thank my co-leads on this legislation: Representative Dusty Johnson, Representative Tom O'Halleran, and Representative Tom Cole. Native Americans have served our country in every war since the American Revolution. To this day, Native Americans volunteer to serve at higher rates than any other demographic group. I, myself, served alongside Native American Marines in Iraq. Indigenous peoples have a decorated history of service, yet Native veterans have less access to benefits than other groups of veterans. That must change. Today, we consider a bill that will give Native veterans attending Tribal colleges and universities access to an already successful student veteran program, the VetSuccess on Campus Program. The VetSuccess program helps student veterans graduate on time, successfully enter the workforce, and access VA benefits at over 100 colleges and universities. H.R. 2878 would extend this successful program to TCUs in a regional model to reach as many Native veterans as possible. There is no time to waste in passing this important legislation. In addition to expanding the VetSuccess to Native veterans, H.R. 2878 includes emergency funds for veteran technology education courses, known as VET TEC.…”