Mike Levin: “Senator Cleland has been a true champion of the men and women who serve our country in uniform. He is directly…”

“Senator Cleland has been a true champion of the men and women who serve our country in uniform. He is directly responsible for a great deal of important legislation, including the transferability of GI bill benefits to a military member's spouse and children. This was a major retention initiative. Secondly, this year he led the effort for a new special assignment incentive pay to encourage military members to serve in hard-to-fill positions. This year he warned us that our military services are too small to meet our ongoing and growing commitments, and he is proving to be prescient in that regard because of the needs we see for our military services in the way in which they are involved in so many parts of the world. But in addition to his role on the Personnel Subcommittee, Senator Cleland continually reminded us of the pitfalls of committing U.S. Armed Forces to conflict without clearly defined objectives supported by the Congress and the American people. Senator Cleland's careful and thoughtful approach to national security has been appreciated by every member of the Armed Services Committee, every Member of this body. His advice and his judgment are going to continue to be needed by us individually, and we will be calling upon him. His indomitable spirit has inspired us, and it will continue to do so.”