Steve Israel: “I remember their faces; I remember their families' faces. Our Nation owes them the legislation before us today, but we…”

“I remember their faces; I remember their families' faces. Our Nation owes them the legislation before us today, but we owe them much more than that. We must stand with them. We need to protect their jobs, protect their incomes, protect their homes, provide health care for their families while they are away, and just as important, after they return. We cannot ask men and women who fight for our freedom abroad to fight for their veterans benefits when they return home. We cannot balance the domestic budgets on the backs of those who are willing to fight on our fronts. We have a covenant with these patriots. We have a moral contract with these soldiers. We have a national commitment to these hundreds of thousands of faceless heroes and their families. So as we stand here united in praise of our troops, let us never forget the sustained and long-term obligation we have to our regular Armed Forces, our activated Reserves and our veterans.”