Nancy Pelosi: “Mr. Chairman, this weekend we will celebrate Memorial Day, a day to honor our Nation's war heroes. This holiday began…”

“Mr. Chairman, this weekend we will celebrate Memorial Day, a day to honor our Nation's war heroes. This holiday began during the Civil War, my colleagues, when the women, and many of them widows and daughters of those who fought in the Civil War, made a decision to decorate the graves of soldiers from both North and South, regardless of the side on which they fought, to decorate their graves. It was for many, many years, decades, known as Decoration Day. The act of reconciliation between the North and South that these women initiated is something that is carried on in a tradition to this day. Today, we call it Memorial Day, and it is something that we are very, very proud of. Many young women are in harm's way today as we speak so that the democratic process can flourish in the world, certainly in our country, and to begin to emerge in Afghanistan. As the senior Democrat on the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, I know full well, as I know we all know in the body, Democrat and Republican alike, that we must make the necessary investments to protect Americans in the Armed Forces and to protect our country.”