Political Quotes

“I thank Dr. Roe for yielding. I appreciate his leadership on the Veterans Affairs' Committee for the many years that he has been here and has always been a leader. As an Iraq war vet and an Army reservist, I know how important it is to help our warfighters succeed in their transition from Active Duty to civilian life. We should prepare our warfighters for success outside the military from the day they take their oath of enlistment to the day they begin their civilian careers. I think we have ignored this for too long. Leaving the military with a plan and a purpose is key to the long- term well-being of all of our servicemembers. I know when I came back from Iraq as a reservist, they said, ``You have 90 days before you have to go back to work.'' I said, ``I am going next week. What am I going to do, sit around my house and just look at the walls?'' You go from having a job in the military, where you have a purpose and a meaning, and it is important that when you get out that you have the same. That makes the transition and your life that much better. Economic opportunity and transition programs are critical support for veterans when they complete their service. The current structure of the VA allows economic opportunity and transition programs for our veterans to fall by the wayside. These programs should be treated with the same importance as health, compensation, and other benefits.…”