Tom Emmer: “I thank my colleague from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern) for yielding. I appreciate the opportunity to work with him on…”

“I thank my colleague from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern) for yielding. I appreciate the opportunity to work with him on this issue. During my time in Congress, I have been privileged to meet with many of our Nation's veterans. The men and women in our Armed Forces are true heroes and truly the best our Nation has to offer. Yet far too often, they do not get the recognition and credit they deserve. This is especially true when it comes to our Nation's atomic veterans. From 1945 to 1962, nearly a quarter of a million of our servicemembers played a role in the testing of nuclear weapons, earning them the title, ``atomic veterans.'' {time} 0930 Since 1990, our Federal Government has taken different approaches to try and recognize and thank our atomic veterans, but we have never given official recognition through an award or medal. Today, that will change with the support of the men and women in this Chamber. With the McGovern-Emmer amendment, we have an opportunity to finally acknowledge the incredible sacrifice these courageous individuals made more than half a century ago. Our amendment will require the Department of Defense to issue a service medal to the veterans or surviving families of those members of our Armed Forces who participated in aboveground nuclear weapons testing, were part of the U.S. military occupation forces in or around Hiroshima and Nagasaki before 1946, or were held as POWs in or near Hiroshima or Nagasaki.…”