National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022

Floor Speech

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Mr. GREEN of Texas. Madam Speaker, and still I rise. Tonight, I rise to express my gratitude to many persons who have caused us to have this opportunity. I thank Chairman Smith for his service and what he has done and Ranking Member Rogers, the members of the Committee on Rules, and the members of the Committee on Veterans Affairs.

Madam Speaker, I rise to say that I do support the NDAA. I understand the need for a strong military, but I also rise tonight with an appeal for some compassion, compassion and, to a certain extent, mercy for our veteran merchant marines. I ask for this compassion because they didn't get some of the benefits that others did.

Let me just read the words, if I may, of President Roosevelt. On June 22, 1944, these are his words when signing the GI Bill: ``I trust Congress will soon provide similar opportunities to members of the Merchant Marine who have risked their lives time and time again during war for the welfare of our country.''

Congress did not provide similar benefits for the merchant marines. As a result of Congress not doing so, most people don't know that the merchant marines were denied benefits within the GI Bill, denied the stipend for the cost of living, books, and supplies as it relates to education, denied tuition-free education, denied unemployment benefits, denied medical benefits, denied low-cost guaranteed loans, denied opportunities.

Madam Speaker, I appeal tonight for those who are still surviving, all of whom are in their nineties. I had the privilege of being with Mr. Charles Mills, 101 years young and still making the appeal for help for these veterans, who literally won a lawsuit to have themselves declared as such.

I make the appeal for compassion for our merchant marines, who had a very high casualty count during World War II.

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Mr. GREEN of Texas. Madam Speaker, may I inquire how much time is remaining.

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Mr. GREEN of Texas. Madam Speaker, tuition benefits in today's dollars would be about $8,000. The stipend for the cost of living, books, and supplies would be about $1,200. The unemployment benefits-- and I am low-balling--would be about $16,000.

The medical benefits we can't measure. The loss of opportunities because of the loans that they could have received we cannot measure.

But we can do this: We can do what General Eisenhower asked us to do. We can do what President Roosevelt asked us to do and President Truman asked us to do.

This is our opportunity, a unique moment in time to correct an injustice. And I appeal to you to do so.

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Mr. GREEN of Texas. Madam Speaker, how much time do I have remaining?

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Mr. GREEN of Texas. Madam Speaker, to take this through regular order at this time would mean that we would call on witnesses who have long since gone to glory. It would mean that many of those who live today would not live to see the day that the justice would be served that they richly deserve.

So I make an appeal on behalf of the those who have earned this compassion, they risked their lives for their country, and many of them died. This is our final opportunity for many of them, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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