Jay Rockefeller: “Mr. President, as Ranking Member of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, I have an especially strong interest in issues…”

“Mr. President, as Ranking Member of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, I have an especially strong interest in issues that improve the quality of life for the men and women who now serve and have already served in our Nation's military forces. These brave men and women often face extreme hardships in their service to our country, and later, in their efforts to successfully transition back to civilian life. S. 4, the ``Soldiers', Sailors', Airmen's, and Marines' Bill of Rights Act of 1999,'' goes far to address some of these hardships. I believe that a major impetus of S. 4 is to enhance the military's ability to attract and retain the best young men and women to the ranks of America's Armed Forces. But S. 4 also has the collateral effect of improving the lives of servicemembers by providing them with a much-needed pay increase and eliminating the $1,200 contribution that servicemembers must make to the Montgomery GI bill during their first year in service, while their salaries are at their lowest. S. 4 will also improve these servicemembers' transition to civilian life by increasing the basic monthly allowance of the MGIB from $528 to $600.”