Benefits That Endure for Lifetimes of Service Act

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1682, a crucial measure that would guarantee free access to our national treasures for all Gold Star families.

To honor the sacrifice and service of their loved ones, Congress has provided Gold Star families with a free America the Beautiful pass that covers entrance fees and standard day-use fees for national parks and other Federal recreation sites.

However, eligibility for this program is limited and leaves some families out because of a technicality. This bill would fix that oversight by broadening access to include families of servicemembers who died during inactive or Active-Duty training, as well as travel to and from training or duty stations.

These families have already made the ultimate sacrifice for our country, and they deserve for us to fix this technicality. I thank Representative Evans for bringing this forward and everyone who worked on this in a bipartisan way to make this happen.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Ms. HOYLE of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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