Political Quotes

“I congratulate the American Legion on its 100-year anniversary. On March 15, 1919, the first American Legion caucus was held. Later that year, Congress established the American Legion as a federally chartered corporation with purposes that include ``to cement the ties and comradeship born of service; and to consecrate the efforts of its members to mutual helpfulness and service to their country.'' The original membership to the American Legion was extended to those who served in the Armed Forces during World War I, which had ended a few months before the organization was started. Over the past 100 years, its membership has grown to nearly 2 million, with more than 12,000 posts. I recently joined fellow Senators in cosponsoring S. 504, the Let Everyone Get Involved in Opportunities for National Service, or LEGION, Act, which would enable the American Legion to establish its own membership criteria instead of requiring an act of Congress to change eligibility requirements. In this legislation, we recognize the American Legion ``provides invaluable services to its members and supports the community of veterans who sacrificed in service of the United States,'' and it ``has aided, assisted, and comforted the families of the men and women who were called to serve or volunteered to serve . . .'' I join many others across our country, including local posts, in recognizing the American Legion's century of representation of American veterans.…”