Expressing support for the designation of the week of June 16 through June 23, 2019, as National GI Bill Commemoration Week and Celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944.

IV 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 451 Expressing support for the designation of the week of June 16 through June 23, 2019, as National GI Bill Commemoration Week and Cele- brating the 75th Anniversary of the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 19, 2019 Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee (for himself, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. BILIRAKIS, Mrs. RADEWAGEN, Mr. BANKS, and Mr. BOST) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs RESOLUTION Expressing support for the designation of the week of June 16 through June 23, 2019, as National GI Bill Com- memoration Week and Celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944. Whereas, on July 28, 1943, in seeking a solution to integrate returning members of the Armed Forces into civilian life, President Franklin D. Roosevelt called for a comprehen- sive set of veterans benefits during a fireside chat saying, ‘‘While concentrating on military victory, we are not ne- glecting the planning of things to come . . . among many other things we are, today, laying plans for the return to civilian life of our gallant men and women in the Armed Services.’’; VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:23 Jun 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR451.IH HR451 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HRES 451 IH Whereas, on June 22, 1944, in demonstration of the full sup- port of the United States for the transition of members of the Armed Forces to civilian life, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into law the Servicemen’s Readjust- ment Act of 1944 (58 Stat. 284), more commonly known as the ‘‘G.I. Bill of Rights’’; Whereas such Act was the culmination of the tireless work and advocacy of Veteran Service Organizations and Mem- bers of Congress; Whereas such Act made immediate financial support, trans- formative educational benefits, and home loan guarantees available to the 16,000,000 veterans who served in the Armed Forces during World War II; Whereas such Act helped 7,800,000 veterans enroll in post- secondary education or training and democratize higher education in America and caused total post-secondary education enrollment to grow exponentially from 1,676,856 in 1945, with veterans accounting for 5.2 per- cent of the total, to 2,338,226 in 1947, with veterans ac- counting for 49.2 percent of that total; Whereas such Act contributed 450,000 engineers, 240,000 accountants, 238,000 teachers, 91,000 scientists, 67,000 doctors, 122,000 dentists, 17,000 writers and editors, and thousands of other professionals to the workforce of the United States and expanded the middle class more than at any other point in American history; Whereas such Act expressed the duty, responsibility, and de- sire of a grateful United States to see to it that those who served on active duty in the Armed Forces are af- forded every opportunity to become disciplined forces for VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:23 Jun 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR451.IH HR451 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HRES 451 IH prosperity and progress in the United States through economic opportunity and investment; Whereas Congress enacted subsequent Acts to provide edu- cational assistance to new generations of veterans, includ- ing the Veterans’ Readjustment Benefits Act of 1966 (Public Law 89–358), the Post-Vietnam Era Veterans’ Educational Assistance Act of 1977 (Public Law 94– 502), the Veterans’ Educational Assistance Act of 1984 (Public Law 98–525), the Post-9/11 Veterans Edu- cational Assistance Act of 2008 (Public Law 110–252), and the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assist- ance Act of 2017 (Public Law 115–247); Whereas since the signing of such Act, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has paid about $400 billion in edu- cational benefits to 25 million veterans and their loved ones who continue to excel academically in post-secondary education; Whereas such Act created the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Home Loan Guarantee program, which, since 1944, has provided a pathway for 24 million veterans to purchase a home guaranteed by the Department, the ma- jority of which are purchased with no down payment; Whereas such Act improved health care opportunities for vet- erans by transferring medical facilities from the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy and providing funding for U.S. De- partment of Veterans Affairs hospitals; Whereas this combination of opportunities changed the social and economic fabric of the United States for the better, with a 1988 report from the Subcommittee on Education and Health of the Joint Economic Committee of Con- gress concluding that for every $1 the United States in- VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:23 Jun 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR451.IH HR451 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HRES 451 IH vested in such Act, $6.90 was returned in growth to the economy of the United States; Whereas 1,262 Members of Congress served in the U.S. mili- tary on or after June 22, 1944, and, therefore, many Members of Congress directly benefitted from the pas- sage of this Act; Whereas June 22, 2019, is the 75th Anniversary of the Act being signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt; and Whereas the week of June 16 through June 23, 2019, is an appropriate week to designate as ‘‘National GI Bill Com- memoration Week’’: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 (1) honors the achievements of the Servicemen’s 2 Readjustment Act of 1944 (58 Stat. 284) in democ- 3 ratizing higher education, increasing home owner- 4 ship, establishing greater citizenship through eco- 5 nomic empowerment, and empowering a generation 6 that would serve for decades to guide the trans- 7 formation of the United States into a global force 8 for good; 9 (2) considers those veterans benefitting from 10 the GI Bill on this Anniversary to be equal to the 11 challenge of creating a lasting American prosperity 12 as their forebears, and have the opportunity to be- 13 come the heirs to the Greatest Generation; 14 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:23 Jun 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR451.IH HR451 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HRES 451 IH (3) affirms the responsibility of Congress to be 1 faithful stewards of educational assistance provided 2 under laws administered by the Secretary of Vet- 3 erans Affairs to ensure that such assistance endures 4 as an honorable investment of public dollars; and 5 (4) encourages all Americans to celebrate the 6 75th Anniversary of the signing of the Servicemen’s 7 Readjustment Act of 1944 (58 Stat. 284) by Presi- 8 dent Franklin D. Roosevelt. 9 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:23 Jun 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR451.IH HR451 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS