Cbc Honors America's Veterans

Floor Speech

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Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I thank my distinguished colleagues, the Honorable Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick and the Honorable Gwen Moore for their comments.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to give special consideration to the contributions and bravery of Black soldiers and veterans.

Veterans in this country deserve far more than we have thus far been willing to give them and, certainly, Black veterans are more than eligible for the kind of dignity and respect too long denied to them, both in and out of the armed services.

Let us never forget that, in several instances, the enemies of America were treated better than Black soldiers fighting for America. I remember my grandfather today, Charles Henry Jackson, who was working three jobs for a man in South Carolina who, after having been disrespected, told the man he could keep his jobs; although our family needed the money, needed the work so that we could feed the family.

The young man then went on to turn my grandfather into the Army recruiting office and had him enlisted, drafted into World War II.

Having fought in World War II and being honorably discharged he recounted the story for me when he came back from New York City, down on the train in first class, down to Union Station, not far from here. By the time they were heading down south to the Jim Crow era of the south, he had to go to the second class coach cars in the back of the train so that Nazi POW prisoners could sit in first class, right here in Washington, D.C., right here in America.

Let us never forget the kind of bigotry and hatred the Black soldiers had to endure simply because of the color of their skin.

It would be a tragedy of the worst kind for us to no longer remember the intrinsic, systemic evils that prevented African Americans from receiving equity in healthcare and the distribution of benefits, once again, simply because of the color of their skin.

There have always been gross inequities in how Black veterans have been treated and, regrettably, this has always been the case.

A recent internal document from the Department of Veterans Affairs obtained by NPR revealed that Black veterans are less likely to get approved for benefits associated with conditions like PTSD.

According to NPR, an internal report developed by the Veterans Administration found that Black veterans who filed claims for PTSD were rejected, on average, 12 percent more often than their White counterparts. Thankfully, the VA's equity task force has been alerted to this problem and is dedicated to making improvements.

This is not the first time Black veterans have been treated with indifference and disrespect. Black soldiers were never allowed to have full and unfettered access to the benefits enshrined to them in the GI bill.

In some cases, Black veterans could not take advantage of the GI bill simply because they were not granted an honorable discharge. In other cases, even when Black veterans properly qualified for the full range of benefits, they were denied them because of segregation and anti- integration policies.

In fact, one Congressman I researched in particular, Congressman John Rankin, a southern Dixiecrat, did everything in his power to exclude Black veterans from receiving the unemployment benefits enshrined in the bill. We were thick on words and thin on deeds.

When those benefits could not be legally denied in the legislation itself, local postmasters conspired in an effort not to deliver the forms Black veterans needed to fill out in order to receive their unemployment benefits.

In 1947, only 2 of the more than 3,200 VA guaranteed home loans in 13 Mississippi counties went to Black veterans. This was not just a southern problem. In New York and in the northern New Jersey suburbs, fewer than 100 of the 67,000 mortgages insured by the GI Bill supported the home purchases of African-American veterans. That is 100 out of 67,000. It means that less than .15 percent of the loans in that area went to Black veterans.

The list goes on and on. The kind of inequalities, inequities and indignities that Black soldiers and Black veterans have had to endure amount to a cacophony of slights, the full list of which I do not have the time to fully mention.

Yet, Black people have fought in every major war that this country has ever had because we are a brave and an honorable people. And when we fought, nobody was doing us a favor.

I will call the roll: from the Revolutionary War, to the Battle of 1812, to the Civil War, to the Spanish American War, to World War I, World War II, the Korean war, the Vietnam war, the war in Iraq, and the war in Afghanistan, Black people have always been willing to serve.

Today, we honor Black veterans because of their bravery and what they had to endure, and because of what they accomplished in spite of it all. We honor their sacrifices and their service. We honor their dignity and determination.

Without Black veterans, there could be no Colin Powell. Without Black veterans, there could be no Lloyd Austin. Without a long history of brave Black veterans, there is no such thing as a Black Commander in Chief.

The Governor of Florida can act like Black history isn't important to America, but there would be no American history without Blacks in our history.

Our thoughts are with Black veterans today because history remembers the men and women who put their shoulders to the wheel of progress and push until one dies and another world is born.

We will never forget the contribution of Black veterans because they did what racism said could never be done. They proved to the world that Black people are as brave and innovative as anyone else. They proved to the world that when the game is fair, and the rules are public, and the playing field is even, Black people can do anything.

I must tell you, Mr. Speaker, that I am proud to be a part of a caucus and a party that does more than just send thoughts and prayers to our veterans.

During the last Congress, under the leadership of the Honorable Nancy Pelosi, and the Honorable Steny Hoyer, and the Honorable Jim Clyburn, and our current leader, the honorable Hakeem Jeffries, Democrats in the House of Representatives led the way to passing the Honoring our PACT Act. This important law expands VA healthcare benefits for veterans exposed to burn pits, Agent Orange, and other toxic substances.

I am grateful to be a part of a party and an institution that continues to find ways to honor its commitments to our veterans. It should not have taken us this long to decide that if we expose the brave men and women of our armed services to toxic conditions, the least we could do is make sure they have access to all of the healthcare they need to recover.

From the Vietnam war to all of our post-9/11 conflicts, our soldiers have been exposed to all kinds of horrific substances and, yet we could not find the political will to dedicate specific resources to this particular aspect of modern war.

The devastating effects of dangerous toxins have been an albatross around the necks of our brave men and women for far too long.

But as the old saying goes, better late than never. Several members of the Congressional Black Caucus, who were part of the 117th Congress, were instrumental in the passing of this restorative law, and that is how I view the PACT Act.

This law widens the path that leads to greater restoration for the men and women we ask to risk their lives in defense of this country. This law deepens the validity of the promise we made as a country to these honorable soldiers. Call me a dreamer, but I just may happen to believe that when we ask people to do extraordinary things, it is altogether fitting that your response and our response collectively should be to make sure that they are treated equally and in an extraordinary manner.

We can simply never do enough for our veterans. We love our soldiers, but we turn our backs far too often on our veterans. It is with the best of intentions that we call on the Veterans Administration to make sure that Black veterans are not excluded from the important care and restoration they need afforded to them in the PACT Act.

We call on the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Denis McDonough, to personally commit his attention and time to making sure that none of the past injustices and disparities reveal themselves in the practical application of this law.

I must say to all my colleagues, my Democratic colleagues, and my fellow members of the Congressional Black Caucus who were members of the 117th Congress, on behalf of all of the veterans, and particularly of all the Black veterans, who make their home in the First Congressional District of the State of Illinois, I extend to you my most sincere gratitude for your hard work in making this law a reality.

Millions of people will be positively affected by what you have accomplished. Millions of people find relief and some measure of restoration because of what you have done in the 117th Congress. Millions of veterans will be able to sleep a little sounder at night from the care that they receive because of what you did in the passing of this law. Future veterans will owe much of the improvements we will make in taking care of them to all of you.

Well done, good and faithful servants. You have honored this country by caring about the people of this country and nothing is greater than that.

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