Sheila Jackson Lee: “I thank the gentleman as well, Mr. Takano, for his vision and leadership and the years of service that he has given to…”

“I thank the gentleman as well, Mr. Takano, for his vision and leadership and the years of service that he has given to the Veterans' Affairs Committee. We could not have a more stalwart champion for the veterans of America. I thank my friends on the other side of the aisle and certainly, our colleague from California, who made a very important point. For this to work it has to be bipartisan. I hope we all will lean into the bipartisan efforts that need to be done to ensure not only its passage but its implementation. As the ranking member indicated, I am on the Homeland Security Committee and the Budget Committee. Many times in those committees we see the concerns of domestic security. We also see the concerns of effectively utilizing all of our tools to ensure the proper budget for the people of the United States of America. I cannot think, as we approach Memorial Day, and as we commemorate the accomplishments of Asian Americans in this great month of May, interacting with all of our community, that we would not find an appropriate time to honor those Korean-American soldiers who fought alongside of our fellow Vietnam soldiers in a battle that was for democracy and protecting, if you will, the sense of equality, protecting the people of that era and of that war. These soldiers bled. They rescued. They stood in front of our soldiers in terms of being comrades and fighting alongside. They saved lives. They lost lives.…”