Walter B. Jones: “Members can see beside me and behind me are photographs of men and women who have died in Operation Freedom; and the…”

“Members can see beside me and behind me are photographs of men and women who have died in Operation Freedom; and the reason I come to the floor with these photographs, I do not want us as Members of Congress to ever forget, not that we ever would, the high cost of freedom, because someone has given a life to ensure that the American people as well as the people of Iraq can have the freedom that we in America are guaranteed by our Constitution. The reason I wanted to come to the floor is because many of my colleagues, as well as people throughout this country, do not realize that each and every family that has a loved one killed in the military receives what is called a death gratuity. It is a small amount of money, I do not think it is enough, but it is a check for $6,000. What makes it even worse than the amount is a tax on part of the $6,000. In the 107th Congress, I introduced legislation to eliminate the tax, and let me say that the House did its job in a bipartisan way and passed the legislation, sent it over to the other body and they failed to act on that legislation.”