Max Cleland: “I come before you today to offer an amendment that addresses the educational needs of our men and our men and women in…”

“I come before you today to offer an amendment that addresses the educational needs of our men and our men and women in uniform and their families. I appreciate the support of my colleagues who have supported my provisions to enhance the GI bill, Senators Levin, Bingaman, Reed, and Robb. I also like to recognize the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Warner, who himself went to school on the GI bill. I want to thank him for his support and encouragement in improving the GI bill for military personnel and their families. I call this measure the HOPE--Help Our Professionals Educationally-- Act of 2000. This measure is the same at my original legislation, S. 2402. Last year, Time magazine named the American GI as the Person of the Century. That alone is a statement about the value of our military personnel. They are recognized around the world for their dedication and commitment to fight for our country and for peace in the world. This past century has been the most violent century in the modern era. The American GI has fought in the trenches during the First World War, the beaches at Normandy, in the jungles of Vietnam, in the deserts of the Persian Gulf, and most recently in the Balkans and Kosovo. The face of our military and the people who fight our wars has changed. The traditional image of the single, mostly male, drafted, and disposable soldier is gone. Today we are fielding the force for the 21st century.”