Anthony ``tony'' J. Gallopo Va Clinic

Floor Speech

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Mr. GOTTHEIMER. Mr. Speaker, I thank my very good friend from New Jersey as well as my friends on the other side for their support.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of my bill, H.R. 6007. Today, this House will come together and do something simple but important: honor a great American hero.

Mr. Speaker, Tony Gallopo, as you have heard, was a brave Navy veteran, vice commander of the New Jersey Department of The American Legion, and commander of American Legion Post 86 in Newton, New Jersey. He spent time in Bergen County and Sussex County. He was a firefighter. He was a man who served and then came back and served more.

For years, my good friend did what a lot of people talk about but few actually do. He fought every single day to make sure our veterans got the healthcare they earned and deserved and to make sure they were looked out for. He never forgot anyone, and that is why he was such a special man. We all miss him.

Tony was instrumental in opening the Sussex County, New Jersey, Veterans Affairs Clinic in 2017, the CBOC. He and I worked side by side, cutting through red tape to get veterans real referrals, real specialists, and real healthcare--healthcare that they earned and deserved.

Sadly, Tony passed away in 2020, leaving behind his wife, Betsy; his brilliant daughters, Ashley, Sarah, and Ally; and an incredible legacy of helping those in need. Today's vote on this bill will honor his name and his work at the very clinic he helped to build.

I can tell you, Mr. Speaker, he literally helped build it. We sat at a picnic bench right outside the clinic many times talking about how we could make it better and how we could deliver more service to veterans.

He never forgot that for a second. He never forgot the country he served, and he never forgot the flag he saluted every day with such great pride.

It is Americans like him we should all look up to. It is Americans like him who built this great country for 250 years. It is why we should honor him today.

This isn't partisan. It is just common sense. It is what we owe every person who ever wore the uniform and protected our great Nation.

I thank his family--Betsy, Ashley, Sarah, and Ally--for sharing Tony with all of us. I know how hard it is right now without him, but his legacy goes on, and it looms large. He lives on. No one has forgotten him for a minute. When we go to The American Legion, we all talk about him. There are pictures everywhere, and he continues to be a light in New Jersey, in our country, and for all of us as somebody we should look up to.

Mr. Speaker, I urge the House to pass this legislation, and I am so grateful for the bipartisan support. I also urge the Senate--I know Senator Cory Booker has taken the lead on this--to take this up quickly and honor our great hero, Tony Gallopo.

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