Providing Certain Burial Benefits for Spouses and Children of Veterans Who Are Buried in Tribal Cemeteries
Floor Speech
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Mr. HIMES. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bill, and I want to start by thanking Mr. Takano, Governor-elect Walz, and Dr. Roe for their work on this bill.
As I have sat here and listened to not so much a debate, but a celebration of the bipartisan work that was done to create this bill, including so many things that I know will assist our veterans, it is great to see the parties working together as we close out this Congress.
Mr. Takano was very kind in saying that the SERVE Act, which is included in this legislation, was my idea. It wasn't actually my idea. It was better than that, because it grew out of a conversation I had with a retired marine at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut, in which I simply asked Nicholas Quinzi of the Marine Corps, ``What can we do to make your life a little easier?''
And he said, ``You know, the problem I have, like so many of my fellow veterans, I have post-9/11 GI Bill benefits, but there is no way for me, when I go to a landlord to rent an apartment to be here at school, there is no way for me to verify that income, and as a result, I have had a rough time getting housing even though I have got this stipend from the Federal Government which comes to me as a result of my service.''
So there it was: a problem with an easy solution.
The SERVE Act, which is now incorporated into the amendment to S. 2248 will simply require the VA to provide proof of that stipend so that landlords and other housing organizations can see that our veterans have a steady source of income to help them pay that rent. It is a small thing, but it is something that matters an awful lot to Nicholas Quinzi and the roughly 1.1 million other veterans who are getting this kind of benefit.
So this is an example of what happens when you listen to your constituents. It wasn't my idea, but I am just so thrilled that Republicans and Democrats were able to come together around this small, good thing for a lot of young veterans who are post-service, trying to get educated, trying to get the kind of tools they will need to succeed.
Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Roe for his hard work. I thank Tim Walz and wish him well as he goes off to other things. And to Chairman-elect Takano, I thank him for his good work on this bill.
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