Guard and Reserve Gi Bill Parity Act of 2021

Floor Speech

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Mr. MRVAN. Mr. Speaker, it is my honor today to rise in support of H.R. 1836, the Guard and Reserve GI Bill Parity Act. I am so grateful for the sacrifices and the services of all our National Guard and Reserve members. They stand ready at a moment's notice to protect our Nation, our democracy, and the health of our communities.

Two instances jump out at me when I think of the heroism of the Indiana National Guard members from this past year. The first was being able to spend time with our brave National Guard members last year in the cafeteria of the Department of Labor on the other side of the Capitol complex when they bravely rushed to our Nation's Capitol to defend our Constitution and to protect our democracy.

The second was when I was able to stand side by side with them in the city of Gary when they operated a Federal COVID-19 vaccine site, which provided over 60,000 vaccines in Northwest Indiana at a critical time during our pandemic.

The First District is also home to the proud Slovak community. And I am particularly appreciative that the Indiana National Guard has a flourishing military partnership with our strong ally, the country of Slovakia. We also have the 113th Engineering National Guard, which I have shared time with, who the men and women have sacrificed their time, dedication, and efforts to go over to Afghanistan. What this bill does is it gives us the opportunity to have equitable training and equitable educational opportunity for our National Guardsmen.

Mr. Speaker, our Nation today has the opportunity to treat their Active Duty service on par with all branches of the military and ensure that every day the National Guard Reserve member serves our Nation in uniform is a day that counts toward their GI Bill benefits.

Thank you to the leadership of Congressman Mike Levin, Chairman Takano, and all of my fellow members of the Committee on Veteran Affairs for your commitment to our Guard and Reserve members and for bringing this measure to the floor today.

I also thank Chairman Takano on his leadership to protect the National Guardsmen on the burn pits and the toxic fumes that we have passed and how we are providing benefits and making sure that that is distributed fairly and equitably and making sure they receive the benefits necessary.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support this important legislation.

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