On the recordJuly 24, 2017
Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Once again, you heard from members of the committee, and Members of this House about an important piece of legislation. This past Saturday, I had the opportunity to meet with my hometown Guard unit, the 2nd Battalion of the 135th Infantry, the Red Bull Battalion. They came back from a mission in the Sinai. When they left to go to the Sinai, because of the 12304(b) orders that were in there, they were not eligible for certain benefits. The entire time they were deployed, they continued to call and asked what was happening on the bill. On Saturday, they had just returned, and I was able to tell them that we were going to vote tonight, we were going to move this thing, and that their questions had been responded to. So, retroactively, we were able to get this back to 2013. There are lots of good things in here that I think, as people spend a little more time on this, they will see, smart stuff. Generations of veterans have contributed to our country and bettered themselves through the GI Bill. It is one of those things that a grateful nation does, an earned benefit that has been improved with time. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the passage of H.R. 3218, as amended, and I yield back the balance of my time.
