Political Quotes

“I thank the chairman for yielding me time. Mr. Speaker, I am very grateful that the House will be voting on this commonsense piece of legislation tonight. I am very proud to represent the Houlton Band of the Maliseet Indians in Houlton, Maine, who created the first Tribal veterans cemetery not only in Maine, but also along the entire East Coast. This past summer, Mr. Speaker, I was very surprised to learn that family members of veterans buried at Tribal cemeteries are not provided the same treatment as those buried at State and national veterans cemeteries. H.R. 3657 fixes this issue permanently. Specifically, it would ensure that the family members of veterans who are buried at Tribal cemeteries--such as the Maliseet Indian Tribal cemetery in Houlton--are provided with government-furnished headstones, the same treatment as those buried at national and State veterans cemeteries. Mr. Speaker, we are all Americans. People who put on the uniform-- whether a man or a woman, whoever they are, wherever they live, or whatever cemetery they are buried in--deserve the same respect, the same honor, and the same treatment. I am thrilled to tell everybody listening here that this moved out of committee--this commonsense fix--this bill moved out of committee with unanimous support. Mr. Speaker, I am asking for that to happen tonight when it appears on the floor, and I am grateful for our chairman to bring this up tonight.”