Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise to honor the memory of Captain Rosemary Bryant Mariner, a member of the Navy's first flight-training class for women, the first woman to command a naval aviation squadron, and a lifelong advocate for women's military service. The bill before us, H.R. 7698, would appropriately name the VA outpatient clinic in Ventura, California, the ``Captain Rosemary Bryant Mariner Outpatient Clinic.'' I thank Representative Julia Brownley, chairwoman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee's Women Veterans Task Force, for championing this effort. The VA has more than 1,200 healthcare facilities nationwide, yet as of the beginning of this Congress, just two of these facilities bore the names of women veterans. Representative Brownley's bill will begin to correct this regretful disparity. More than 2 million women veterans live in the United States today. They serve across all military branches and divisions, and they are the fastest growing group of veterans that utilize VA healthcare services. So it is fitting that we honor a trailblazing woman like Captain Mariner at one of these VA healthcare facilities. Captain Mariner had service to this country in her veins. The daughter of a World War II Navy nurse and Army pilot killed in a plane crash when she was just 3 years old, Captain Mariner grew up watching planes take off and land at the Miramar Naval Air Station in San Diego, California.…”