On the recordFebruary 12, 2014
as I just mentioned, today we hope we can act on two vital pieces of legislation. On this side of the aisle, as we say, we are ready to move. We want to move to a measure to restore earned retirement pay to our Nation's heroes--retirees of the U.S. armed services. Dozens of major veterans organizations have written us in support of this legislation which was passed by the House of Representatives yesterday. I commend the sponsors of the Senate bill to restore veterans' pensions--Senators Pryor, Shaheen, Hagan, and Begich, among others-- forcing Republicans in the House and the Senate to take this issue very seriously and take it seriously now. Without their leadership we would never have reached a compromise that protects our Nation's heroic veterans and reached it so quickly. The Senate's unanimous vote on Monday to move forward with the bill to restore veterans' pensions forced the House to understand that we are serious about this and secured a resolution that protects veterans. ____________________
