Political Quotes

“I thank the gentleman for yielding me time. I also want to express my appreciation to Chairman Miller, Ranking Member Filner, Chairman Runyan of the subcommittee, and our colleague Congressman McNerney. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1627, which contains authorization language from a bill that I sponsored, House Concurrent Resolution 12, to designate a plot of land at Arlington Cemetery to be used for a memorial honoring the Jewish chaplains of our Armed Services. Jewish chaplains have served our country for 149 years. In fact, there are 32 currently on active duty today, yet they still do not have a place with their Protestant and Catholic counterparts on Chaplains Hill in Arlington Cemetery. Today, all that is standing between Arlington Cemetery and a memorial for Jewish chaplains is the passage of this bill in the House and Senate. I, frankly, am not the one who thought of creating a memorial for Jewish chaplains. In fact, like many Jewish Americans and veterans nationwide, I was surprised to learn that no such memorial existed at Arlington Cemetery. A citizen named Ken Kraetzer, who is the vice commander of the Sons of the American Legion for New York State and who is joining us here today, noted the absence of a monument for Jewish chaplains while he was researching the stories of the four immortal chaplains who died while giving final rites on board the USS Dorchester in 1943.…”