Financial Support for the Troops

Floor Speech

FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR THE TROOPS -- (House of Representatives - November 06, 2007)

(Mrs. GILLIBRAND asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute.)

Mrs. GILLIBRAND. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of Mr. Murphy's resolution to strongly urge the President to give our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines the pay raise that they deserve.

The military families in my district have sacrificed more than any of us could ever imagine, for mothers and fathers who have to run households while their spouses are deployed over and over again, to parents and grandparents that watch the news every night with dismay, to returning soldiers that have to piece together their lives upon the return from a war zone.

These families deserve more than just the cost-of-living adjustment proposed by the President. They deserve a raise. While the 3.5 percent increase that we are able to add to the defense authorization bill is a good start, there is much more that we can and should do. Yet the President may still veto this raise.

I urge my colleagues to vote for this resolution, to tell the President to lift his objection to this well-deserved raise for the brave men and women who serve in our military.

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