Honoring Current And Former Female Members Of The Armed Forces

Floor Speech

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Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. I thank the gentlewoman from California for yielding to me and for her great leadership on behalf of members of our Armed Forces and, in particular, the women.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of House Resolution 868, a resolution to honor women serving in our military and women veterans.

As co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues, I am happy to be saluting the 350,000 hardworking, brave and dedicated women serving in our Armed Forces. I particularly want to say a special ``thank you'' to the 54,000 women veterans, living in my State of Illinois, for their commitment to our freedom.

Women have logged more than 170,000 tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan; 30,000 single mothers have served their country in those two wars. They have sacrificed time with their families, time from their careers here at home, and many have sacrificed their lives. It is only right that we recognize them in this Chamber today.

Year after year, we have seen the numbers of both women veterans and active duty members increase. Women are in leadership roles, and they have ascended to the highest ranks of our Armed Forces through hard work and often in the face of extreme opposition. We will continue to stand with them.

I am proud to stand in support of House Resolution 868. I urge my colleagues to support the thousands of women servicemembers and veterans by passing H. Res. 868.

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