E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 116 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION Vol. 165 WASHINGTON, TUESDAY, JUNE 18, 2019 No. 102 House of Representatives The House met at noon and was France, to observe the 75th anniversary Despite its stellar performance, the called to order by the Speaker pro tem- of the D-day invasion. It was a solemn relative strength of the GI Bill deterio- pore (Mr. BEYER). moment to rightly honor the sacrifice rated in the late 20th century. By 2008, f and courage of the combined Armed it was clear that tuition assistance and Forces of the Allied Powers, who, from living stipends had not kept pace with DESIGNATION OF SPEAKER PRO that moment, launched the final, deci- the rising cost of a college education. TEMPORE sive assault that eventually destroyed As a freshman Congressman in the The SPEAKER pro tempore laid be- the Axis Powers’ murderous strangle- House Armed Services Committee at fore the House the following commu- hold on Europe and Asia. the time, I heard from returning Iraq nication from the Speaker: Mr. Speaker, another 75th anniver- and Afghan vets who were forced to WASHINGTON, DC, sary surrounding the epic effort to save choose between dropping out of school June 18, 2019. democracy will occur in 4 days, this or shouldering the burden of daunting I hereby appoint the Honorable DONALD S. Saturday, June 22. On that day 75 years student loans. To fix this decline, we BEYER, Jr. to act as Speaker pro tempore on ago, President Franklin Roosevelt passed the Post-9/11 GI Bill, which was this day. signed into law the Servicemen’s Read- signed into law by George Bush on NANCY PELOSI, justment Act, more commonly known June 30, 2008. Speaker of the House of Representatives. as the GI Bill. That landmark measure The updated law boosted tuition to f would provide both college tuition and match the cost of a 4-year public uni- MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT a stipend for returning servicemembers versity in servicemembers’ home who, as FDR said at the time, ‘‘have States and increased the living stipend A message in writing from the Presi- been compelled to make greater eco- to keep faith with the original law. It dent of the United States was commu- nomic sacrifice and every other kind of also allowed GI benefits to be trans- nicated to the House by Ms. Mariel sacrifice than the rest of us.’’ ferred to a spouse or dependent child, a Ridgway, one of his secretaries. Even though the war would rage on groundbreaking change which trans- f for another year, leaders in Wash- formed the value of military service for MORNING-HOUR DEBATE ington wisely recognized that millions families. of young soldiers, sailors, and airmen After the bill signing, I flew to Iraq The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu- would soon be returning back into ci- in late 2008 for a committee visit and ant to the order of the House of Janu- vilian life; and for their sake and for vividly recall being surrounded by sol- ary 3, 2019, the Chair will now recog- the sake of a healthy postwar econ- diers bursting with questions about nize Members from lists submitted by omy, creating this educational path- when and how the new law would be the majority and minority leaders for way made tremendous sense. implemented. Since then, it has be- morning-hour debate. In the 75 years since the GI Bill was come clear that the transferability of The Chair will alternate recognition signed into law, it is now recognized as the GI Bill has been an enormous mo- between the parties. All time shall be one of the most successful pieces of do- rale booster and a valuable incentive to equally allocated between the parties, mestic legislation ever enacted. The enlist and remain in service. and in no event shall debate continue postwar economic boom and the blos- Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, the beyond 1:50 p.m. Each Member, other soming of the American middle class Trump Department of Defense an- than the majority and minority leaders have both been attributed, in part, to nounced a new policy last July which and the minority whip, shall be limited the GI Bill. would arbitrarily cut off servicemem- to 5 minutes. Many renown Americans, including bers with more than 16 years of service f Bob Dole, Johnny Carson, Harry from transferring their Post-9/11 GI Belafonte, William Rehnquist, and benefits to eligible family members. AMERICANS SUPPORT THE GI BILL Clint Eastwood, were beneficiaries of We were told at the time that the De- The SPEAKER pro tempore. The the GI Bill. partment viewed this as a shrewd cost- Chair recognizes the gentleman from Economic studies have shown that, cutting measure. Connecticut (Mr. COURTNEY) for 5 min- for every dollar the government spent However, revoking transferability utes. on the GI Bill, our economy saw nearly breaks our commitment to our most Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, 12 $7 in return of additional economic dedicated and seasoned servicemem- days ago, the eyes of the world were fo- output in tax revenues from income bers and their families. In addition, in cused on the beaches of Normandy, growth. a tight, lean labor market, it remains b This symbol represents the time of day during the House proceedings, e.g., b 1407 is 2:07 p.m. Matter set in this typeface indicates words inserted or appended, rather than spoken, by a Member of the House on the floor. H4703 . VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:53 Jun 19, 2019 Jkt 089060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 7634 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A18JN7.000 H18JNPT1 H4704 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE June 18, 2019 critically important to attract and re- nimity that these weeks of appropria- dress the House for 1 minute and to re- tain the best qualified individuals for tions might issue forth in solutions vise and extend his remarks.) military service. that benefit the Nation. Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. I believe it sends exactly the wrong May all that is done be for Your Speaker, yesterday, the National Nu- message to some of our most seasoned greater honor and glory. clear Security Administration an- servicemembers who may have married Amen. nounced a $5 million investment in late in life or started their families f workforce development at the Savan- later, to make them ineligible for in- THE JOURNAL nah River Site in South Carolina to centives, to continue their service to create jobs. our Nation. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair has examined the Journal of the We are grateful that the Undersecre- Two weeks after the Pentagon re- last day’s proceedings and announces tary for Nuclear Security at the De- leased this policy, 83 of my colleagues to the House his approval thereof. partment of Energy and Administrator in the House joined me in a letter that Pursuant to clause 1, rule I, the Jour- of NNSA Lisa Gordon-Hagerty an- I wrote to Secretary Mattis objecting nal stands approved. nounced the investment through the to this change and calling for its rever- Workforce Opportunities in Regional f sal. So far, DOD has refused to budge. Careers with the Savannah River Site Mr. Speaker, I have some good news PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Community Reuse Organization for to report today. With the cutoff due to The SPEAKER pro tempore. Will the Aiken Technical College, Augusta go into effect next month, the House gentleman from Ohio (Mr. DAVIDSON) Technical College, University of South Armed Services Committee last week come forward and lead the House in the Carolina Aiken, Augusta University, unanimously passed my amendment to Pledge of Allegiance. and the University of South Carolina the 2020 National Defense Authoriza- Mr. DAVIDSON of Ohio led the Salkehatchie. tion Act, which would block the Sec- Pledge of Allegiance as follows: I thank Rick McLeod, David Jame- retary of Defense from restricting GI I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the son, Dr. Sandra Jordan, Dr. Forest Bill transferability based on a max- United States of America, and to the Repub- Mahan, and Congressman RICK ALLEN. imum number of years of service. lic for which it stands, one nation under God, We appreciate their commitment to As Congress took action 75 years ago indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. partnership and look forward to con- to create the GI Bill benefit, today it is f tinuing to work together. our job to restore the hard-fought mod- HOUR OF MEETING ON TOMORROW In conclusion, God bless our troops, ernized GI Bill of 2008. That is even Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mr. and we will never forget September the more the case today at a time of an 11th in the global war on terrorism. All-Volunteer Force. If a servicemem- Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that ber demonstrates that they are ready, when the House adjourns today, it ad- f able, and willing to continue their journ to meet at 10 a.m. tomorrow. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there service to our Nation, we should uphold objection to the request of the gen- our end of the commitment. HONORING U.S. ARMY RANGERS tleman from California? To paraphrase President Roosevelt’s There was no objection. (Mr. DAVIDSON of Ohio asked and words 75 years ago when he signed the was given permission to address the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act, pro- f House for 1 minute and to revise and tecting transferability today ‘‘gives RECOGNIZING GUN VIOLENCE extend his remarks.) emphatic notice to the men and women AWARENESS MONTH Mr.