Sheila Jackson Lee: “As we heard from the South Korean President who spoke to a joint session just a few weeks ago, he talked about…”

“As we heard from the South Korean President who spoke to a joint session just a few weeks ago, he talked about patriotism, democracy, and the unity of our nations. It is absolutely imperative that we support these Korean war vets who stood alongside of us and acknowledge that they served in Vietnam. They are now naturalized citizens, and they, in fact, have the evidence of the illness. It is so important to call them Korean American Vietnam veterans, naturalized citizens. We want them to get the honor of the Korean American VALOR Act. I ask my colleagues to support it. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 366 the Korean American Vietnam Allies Long Overdue for Relief (VALOR) Act. H.R. 366 would amend title 38, United States Code, to treat certain individuals who served in Vietnam as a member of the armed forces of the Republic of Korea as a veteran of the Armed Forces of the United States for purposes of the provision of health care by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Title 38 is a special pay authority used to recruit and retain employees in certain health care occupations. It allows NIH to be competitive with other health care facilities in the area. The Korean American VALOR Act would expand the eligibility of these benefits to veterans who served in the armed forces of the Republic of Korea during the Vietnam War and have since become naturalized U.S. citizens.…”