Blake Moore: “Thank you so much to the gentleman from Georgia. I rise to support this omnibus amendment and for the purpose of…”

“Thank you so much to the gentleman from Georgia. I rise to support this omnibus amendment and for the purpose of directing the Department of Veterans Affairs to examine its practices on how it plans to rehabilitate and reuse national landmarks that are aging, outdated, or in obsolete condition within the VA infrastructure and issue a report to Congress no later than January 1, 2012, on any actions taken or planned to be taken to rehabilitate and use these national landmarks, to fulfill its responsibilities under section 106 of the National Historic Preservation and to our veterans. An example of these landmarks is the Milwaukee Soldier's Home, built in 1867, one of the original soldier's homes established by congressional legislation and approved by President Abraham Lincoln on March 3, 1865. The soldier's home reflects how our foresisters chose to care for and honor the soldiers who fought to keep the country united as one Nation. I say foresisters because it was the ladies of Milwaukee's West Side Soldiers Aid Society whose tenacity and dedication made it possible to raise the funds necessary to create the Milwaukee Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers which they generously gifted to the soldier's home system, a forerunner of the Department of Veterans Affairs. This summer, on the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, the soldier's home will hopefully be dedicated as a national historic landmark. I urge the Department of Veterans Affairs to send a report to Congress.”