Bob Filner: “Mr. Speaker, this war in Iraq has involved our National Guard and Reserve units to an extent that has never before been…”

“Mr. Speaker, this war in Iraq has involved our National Guard and Reserve units to an extent that has never before been the case. And many of our laws simply do not reflect the new force structure that you see in Iraq. And that is what we, as a committee, are working to change. For example, the National Guard and Reserve units, even if they are in active duty, as they are in Iraq, are not eligible for the same benefits from the GI Bill as our active duty troops. We are going to change that. We are going to change a number of things. And I thank Mr. Brady, the gentleman from Philadelphia, for making sure that the Guard and Reserve groups have the protections in law that our active duty troops already have. We must protect their jobs, their credit ratings, and their quality of life as they are away from home in active duty supporting our Nation. The laws have not kept up with this force structure. This is one of the ways that we're going to change that. So we're going to make sure that when they come home, they are recognized and not penalized for their active duty.”