Expressing the sense of Congress that the President should posthumously award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Harry W. Colmery.

Mr. Speaker, in my capacity as chairman of the Subcommittee on Benefits of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, I am honored to speak in strong support of H. Con. Res. 257 considered by this body on July 6, expressing the sense of Congress that the President posthumously award the Medal of Freedom to Harry W. Colmery.

President Truman established the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1945 to recognize notable service during war. In 1963, President Kennedy reinstated the medal to honor the achievement of civilians during peacetime. The Medal of Freedom may be awarded to any person who has made an especially meritorious contribution to (1) ``the security or national interest of the United States, or (2) world peace, or (3) other significant public or private endeavors.'' As I share with you today the remarkable wisdom and foresight of Mr. Colmery, I believe my colleagues will agree he is highly deserving of this prestigious award.

The book The G.I. Bill and the Making of Modern America, and domestic policy experts, economists, business leaders, and educators acknowledge Mr. Colmery as the visionary who drafted the far-reaching legislation that made the United States the first overwhelmingly middle-class nation in the world.

Mr. Colmery's roots were in Braddock, Pennsylvania, and he worked his way through the University of Pittsburgh Law School graduating while teaching at Camegie Tech (now Carnegie Mellon University). During World War I, he joined the fledgling Army Air Corps as a pilot instructor.

A lawyer who earlier argued two cases successfully before the U.S. Supreme Court, during his term as National Commander of The American Legion, Mr. Colmery drafted in long-hand over Christmas and New Year's of 1943-44, the legislation that became the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the G.I. Bill of Rights. He drafted this comprehensive bill a full six months before D-Day. President Roosevelt signed Mr. Colmery's vision into law on June 22, 1944, 16 days after the Normandy Invasion. Colmery was already anticipating the needs of America's 15 million sons and daughters who would wear the military uniform during the war.

Harry Colmery knew from his own military service that ordinary Americans can do extraordinary things. He didn't want World War II veterans to stand in the unemployment lines or sell apples on street corners, as was often the case after World War I. Indeed he was determined not to allow impoverishment to define World War II veterans after the cessation of hostilities: ``The burden of war falls on the citizen soldier who has gone forth, overnight, to become the armored hope of humanity. Never again, do we want to see the honor and glory of our nation fade to the extent that her men of arms, with despondent heart and palsied limb, totter from door to door, bowing their souls to the frozen bosom of reluctant charity.''

Indeed Colmery, too, likely was familiar with data cited by Keith W. Olson, Ph.D., in the book The G.I. Bill, the Veterans, and the Colleges (University of Kentucky Press, 1974): ``Within the first year of the demobilization process there will exist the likelihood, if not the certainty, of a large volume of unemployed, involving as many as 8 or 9 million [American former servicemen and women].'' Final Report of the Conference on Post-War Adjustment of Civilian and Military Personnel, June 1943. Undoubtedly these data steeled Colmery's commitment and resolve. I would note for the Record, as well, that Dr. Olson later recounted the effects of Colmery's policy goals for the bill in The Astonishing Story: Veterans Make Good on the Nation's Promise'' in the Educational Record, Fall 1994.

Mr. Colmery drafted legislation that the late author Michael J. Bennett observed ``allowed veterans to achieve the American Dream--an education, a home, a stable and profitable career, and ownership of their own business.''

Mr. Speaker, I'll cite Mr. Bennett's insights often today because he is the recognized authority on how Colmery's wisdom produced an enormously successful program that changed America forever.

Said Mr. Bennett, ``more than any other law, the GI Bill was responsible for the post-World War II explosion in college graduates, the education of leaders of the civil rights movement, the growth and dominance of the suburbs, and the proliferation of interstate highways, supermarkets, and franchise stores and restaurants. Quite literally, the GI Bill changed the way we live, the way we house ourselves, the way we are educated, how we work and at what, even how we eat and transport ourselves.''

Mr. Speaker, at this point I think it very fair to ask how Mr. Colmery's unwavering vision would have such a profound and far-reaching impact--not only for veterans but for America. Some 7.8 million veterans went to college and other types of training on the G.I. Bill. Mr. Colmery held the view that World War II veterans wouldn't just pass through higher education, but as adult-learners (the average combatant was about 26 years) would be anxious to make up for lost time. He also probably knew from his own military experience that those who defend our free-enterprise system in war would be anxious to equip themselves to participate in that system when the mills of war stop grinding.

Mr. Bennett's 2003 paper titled ``A GI Bill for the 21st Century: Continuing an American Way of Life,'' points out that ``in the peak year of 1947, veterans accounted for 49 percent of enrollment. Of a veteran population of 15.4 million, some 7.8 million received skill training, including 2.2 million in college, 3.5 million in other schools, 1.4 million in on job training and 690,000 in farm training. Millions who would have flooded the labor market instead opted for education, which reduced joblessness during the demobilization period. When they did enter the labor market, most were better prepared to contribute to the support of their families and society.''

In 1965, the then-Veterans Administration found that due to the increased earning power of GI Bill college graduates, federal government income tax revenues increased by more than a billion dollars annually. It also concluded that in 20 years, the $14 billion cost of the G.I. Bill--as conceived by Harry Colmery--had paid for itself.

Current Secretary of Veterans Affairs and former chairman of the 1997 bipartisan Congressional Commission on Servicemembers and Veterans Transition Assistance, Anthony J. Principi observed, ``they [WWII veterans] excelled in the classroom, ran the student governments, challenged professors, refused to wear freshman beanie caps, began raising families, and some veterans did something that was seen as unusual--they went to school year round.''

Not surprisingly, Colmery's vision applies today, as well. A 2000 Joint Economic Committee of the Congress study titled ``Investment in Education--Public and Private Returns'' found that in 1998 the average college graduate made $46,285, while the average high school graduate only earned $26,592. Workforce training counts.

I note for my colleagues that few in our society attended college prior to World War II and Colmery's notion of large federal investment in same--given our massive war debt--constituted a legitimate argument against his largely unproven, macro-ideas. Robert M. Hutchins, President of the University of Chicago, argued in December 1944 that ``colleges and universities will find themselves converted into educational hobo jungles. And veterans, unable to get work and equally unable to resist putting pressure on the colleges and universities, will find themselves educational hobos . . . education is not a device for coping with mass employment.''

James Conant of Harvard, an advocate of IQ testing for college entrance, argued that the bill would benefit ``the least qualified of the wartime generation.'' Later Dr. Conant would admit ``the GI's were the best students Harvard ever had'' though Harvard Professor Seymour E. Harris argued in 1947 that ``the GI Bill carried the principle of democratization too far.''

In fact, I note for my colleagues that during debate on Colmery's bill some in this body opposed Colmery's plan, as evidenced by the view of Representative Dewey Short of Missouri, for example:

``Have we gone completely crazy? Have we lost all sense of proportion? Who will have to pay for this bill? You think you are going to bribe the veterans and buy this vote, you who think you can win his support by coddling him and being a sob sister with a lot of silly, slushy sentimentality are going to have a sad awakening.''

With all due respect to then-Representative Short, the ``awakening'' associated with Colmery's bold, multi-faceted vision emerged in our robust post-war economy, which I'll discuss in a moment.

Colmery's foresight wasn't limited to job training and education. Before the GI Bill of Rights, the great majority of Americans were renters. Colmery believed those who fought in war should be able to buy their own home, so the GI Bill provided access to low interest mortgages.

Author Bennett noted that based on Colmery's wisdom, ``to house these veterans and their children born during the post-war baby boom, the idea of the affordable house in the suburbs was born. Families moved into their new homes by the millions and became proud members of the middle class.'' Indeed, the GI Bill largely made the United States the first overwhelmingly middle-class nation in the world, but it also is credited with starting the suburbs, a word not spoken in the American vernacular until after the GI Bill took effect.

Colmery's vision cascaded beyond the housing industry. Here's author Bennett's explanation why: ``The GI Bill produced a social revolution even greater than Henry Ford's. Whereas Ford put millions of cars on the road and spawned one of the nation's biggest industries, William Levitt (creator of pre-fabricated houses) put people in homes and spawned an even bigger one, while indirectly spawning ancillary industries in furniture and appliance making and sales, supermarketing of food, franchising of restaurants for young families, even expansion of schools.''

``The results were quickly apparent. One year after President Truman announced Japan's surrender, 11 million World War II veterans had been discharged, leaving less than one million in service. Seventy percent of the veterans were employed, the majority in jobs other than those they held before the war. Almost one million veterans were in school, another one million drawing checks to supplement farm work, 403,000 employed in on-the-job training, and 318,000 being helped to establish businesses or professional practices.''

As of September 1946, only 13 percent were drawing unemployment benefits. During the previous year, 4.9 million had collected unemployment, but, of those, 86 percent were on unemployment for less than 20 weeks. One percent had exhausted the 52 weeks of benefits they were entitled to. Of the remainder, 396,000 were on vacation, taking rehabilitation training, or just resting up, and 86,000 were hospitalized. These data are cited from ``What GI's Are Doing Now,'' US News and World Report, September 20, 1946.

Mr. Speaker, Colmery's GI Bill investment paid off--and kept paying off. Colmery's legacy endures in today's Montgomery GI Bill and ongoing VA and Small Business Administration programs for veterans to participate in our economic system their service has sustained.

On June 18, 2004, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Principi cited data that I believe speaks volumes as to why the President--on behalf of a grateful Nation--should posthumously award Harry W. Colmery the Medal of Freedom: ``The GI Bill made home ownership and a college education available to millions of Americans. By harnessing the talent and drive of America's veterans, it created six decades of opportunity for the men and women who serve in uniform. About 21 million veterans, servicemembers and family members, have received more than $77 billion in GI Bill benefits for education and training since 1944. The GI Bill's home loan program has been used by $17.5 million people for loans totaling $830 billion.''

Mr. Speaker, I earnestly encourage my colleagues to support the Medal of Freedom for Harry W. Colmery.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Con. Res. 257, which would express the sense of Congress that the President posthumously award the Medal of Freedom to Harry W. Colmery. Mr. Colmery, a lawyer who successfully argued cases before the Supreme Court after World War I, was the visionary who drafted in long-hand during the Christmas and New Year's holidays of 1943-1944 what would become the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the ``G.I. Bill of Rights.''

Michael Bennett, author of When Dreams Came True--The G.I. Bill and the Making of Modern America, credits Mr. Colmery with the wisdom and foresight that ``made the United States the first overwhelming middle- class nation in the world. It was the law that worked, the law whose unexpected consequences were even greater than its intended purposes.''

The World War II G.I. Bill of Rights--and the engaging response on the part of the 7.8 million veterans who used it--produced 450,000 engineers; 238,000 teachers; 91,000 scientists; 67,000 doctors; 22,000 dentists; and another one million college-educated men in other professional disciplines like business, management, manufacturing, banking, and social services. Among the 7.8 million GI Bill recipients were about five million World War II veterans who received other forms of valuable technical schooling or on-job training that become so important to our post-war civilian economy.

Mr. Speaker, even before WWII ended, Harry Colmery forecast that we as a nation would need a kind of economic ``cubby hole'' for training its veterans after the war, as the American economy would transform from making machine guns to making Maytags. Congress agreed, and on June 22, 1944, it sent the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 to the White House. President Roosevelt signed the bill saying ``. . . it gives emphatic notice to the men and women in our Armed Forces that the American people do not intend to let them down.''

But frankly, it was more than not letting down the veterans themselves. Michael Bennett speculates on Mr. Colmery's foresight, ``For this was a bill . . . conceived in democracy and dedicated to the proposition that those called upon to die for their country, if need be, are the best qualified to make it work, if given the opportunity.''

Having served in the Army Air Service during World War I, Harry Colmery understood that economically empowering veterans through education and training was vastly superior to providing them with cash bonus payments, as was done for World War I service.

And history has shown how correct Mr. Colmery was.

Building upon the success of the original GI Bill, Congress subsequently approved a second bill following the Korean War; a third bill following the Vietnam War; a fourth bill for the post-Vietnam War era; and in 1985, under the dedicated leadership of former Veterans' Committee Chairman Sonny Montgomery, Congress approved the modern version of the GI Bill which is fittingly called the Montgomery GI Bill.

And in recent years, Congress has continued to keep faith with the goals originally set out by Harry Colmery by passing legislation that modernizes the GI Bill to meet the needs of America's military veterans in the 21st century. As a result of bipartisan legislation I was proud to sponsor along with my good friend Congressman Lane Evans, the total lifetime college benefit for qualified veterans has risen from $24,192 in January 2001, to $35,460 today. In total, more than 21 million veterans have received higher education and job training through the original WWII GI Bill and its successors.

Michael Bennett noted that, ``the $14.5 billion cost of the WWII GI Bill was paid by additional taxes on the increased income of the GI Bill recipient by 1960. Without the property--and the social peace-- engendered by the GI Bill, America couldn't have afforded the Marshall Plan's $12.5 billion.''

Mr. Bennett further observed that by 1960, ``veterans were only in their early 40s, at the height of their earning powers, and the bill's catalytic effects would be felt for years to come throughout the entire economy as homes, schools, roads and service industries multiplied. Between 1960 and 1980, America's Gross Domestic Product quintupled from $515.9 billion to $2.7 trillion. Since then, the GDP has risen to $8.5 trillion in 1998, a tripling in 17 years rather than a quintupling in 20.''

Economic philosopher Peter Drucker said in the Harvard Business Review that ``the GI Bill of Rights and the enthusiastic response to it on the part of America's veterans signaled the shift to a knowledge society. In this society, knowledge is the primary resource for individuals and for the economy overall.''

Mr. Drucker later wrote that ``future historians may consider it the most important event in the 20th Century. We are clearly in the middle of this transformation; indeed, if history is any guide, it will not be completed until 2010 or 2020. But already it has changed the political, economic and moral landscape of the world.''

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Harry W. Colmery essentially articulated for America what author Bennett later referred to as the ``American Creed in Action.'' Mr. Colmery knew from his personal experiences during and after World War I that Americans who fight in wars often are ordinary people who do extraordinary things. Mr. Colmery and The American Legion mounted the campaign for the GI Bill and against those who predicted that it could turn the nation's college and universities in to ``educational hobo jungles.'' In the end, Mr. Colmery and Representative Edith Nourse Rodgers (MA), who worked with him and co- authored the GI Bill legislation in the House of Representatives, won out.

As the New York Times reported in November 1947, ``. . . here is the most astonishing fact in the history of American higher education. . . . The G.I.'s are hogging the honor rolls and the Dean's lists; as they are walking away with the top marks in all of their courses. . . . Far from being an educational problem, the veteran has become an asset to higher education.''

Mr. Speaker, as a trained lawyer and not an economist or an educator, Harry Colmery designed the legislation to allow 14 million World War II veterans to transform arsenals of mass destruction into industries of mass consumption.

These veterans did not just pass through higher education, they transformed it. But it was more than that. They created the modern middle class, thanks to the vision of Harry Colmery.

I encourage my colleagues to emphatically support the Presidential Medal of Freedom for this extraordinary American.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 257) expressing the sense of Congress that the President should posthumously award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Harry W. Colmery.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H. Con. Res. 257.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to offer my support for House Concurrent Resolution 257. This resolution expresses the sense of Congress that the President should posthumously award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Harry W. Colmery.

Mr. Speaker, countless remarkable Americans have contributed great

sums to the building and development of our great Nation. Today we celebrate Harry Colmery, truly one of the most remarkable of all Americans. Harry Colmery had the awesome vision and the practical brilliance to compose ``The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944,'' or much better known as the GI bill.

Harry Colmery grew up and attended school in Pennsylvania before earning a law degree in 1916. When the U.S. entered World War I, Colmery left to serve America as a first lieutenant in the Army Air Service. When he returned safely home after the war, he developed a successful law practice, eventually arguing two cases before the United States Supreme Court. He also became involved in the emerging American Legion and was elected National Commander in 1936.

As the head of the American Legion, Colmery had the foresight to see beyond the second great war and to understand that at its completion nearly 15 million servicemen and servicewomen would be returning home looking to continue their lives. Many would probably want to go back to work, many more would want to go on to college. Colmery addressed both interests at an emergency meeting of the American Legion leadership in December of 1943. There Colmery drafted the initial draft of what became the Servicemen's Readjustment Act. President Franklin Roosevelt signed the law the following year, and it is credited with almost single-handedly jump-starting the modern American economic engine.

Mr. Speaker, the G.I. Bill provided educational benefits that more than 2 million men and women utilized to attend college after coming home from World War II. Furthermore, an additional 5 million veterans received job training and other preparation through the G.I. Bill. Indeed, the G.I. Bill became one of the most directly influential acts of Congress in American history. It is impossible to measure the benefit to our national economy and general welfare from the fruits of all of this education.

Harry Colmery's work in authoring the G.I. Bill make him one of the great Americans about whom many people today actually know very little.

Mr. Speaker, this resolution requests the President to posthumously award the Nation's highest civilian award to Harry Colmery. On behalf of the chairman, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Tom Davis), and the rest of the Members of the Committee on Government Reform, I want to make clear that this is not a frivolous request, nor do we believe that the Presidential Medal of Freedom is an honor that should be awarded lightly. But we believe that Harry Colmery deserves the Presidential Medal of Freedom for the millions of lives that he helped improve through the G.I. Bill.

I want to applaud the distinguished gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Ryun) for bringing this legislation forward on behalf of Harry Colmery and his momentous contributions to our Nation. I believe this legislation deserves the full support of the House.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I urge all Members to support House Concurrent Resolution 257 that was offered by the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Ryun). He wanted to be here today but was delayed at the airport.

I certainly commend him for his leadership on this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Con. Res. 257, a resolution that would urge the President to posthumously award Harry W. Colmery of Topeka, Kansas, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

In order to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, a person must have contributed in one of the following areas: the security or national interest of the United States, world peace, or another significant public or private endeavor. Harry Colmery's work to bring the gift of education to so many millions of American service members certainly qualified.

Harry Colmery answered the call of duty in World War I by serving as a first lieutenant in the Army Air Service. Aviation was a new concept in those days, and Mr. Colmery showed exceptional bravery and faith by serving his country in the air.

Harry Colmery also served the United States as a lawyer, having received his law degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1916. He used his education well and argued two successful cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. In his personal life, Mr. Colmery was active in the American legion, and its members elected him National Commander in 1936.

In December of 1943, Mr. Colmery's law career and his devotion to his country intersected. Millions of young Americans had answered the call of duty and served in World War II and were starting to return home. Harry Colmery and the American Legion wanted to ensure that these returning soldiers would be able to transition back into civilian life. In Room 570 of the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C., Mr. Colmery outlined the legislation that became the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, better known now as the G.I. Bill of Rights.

The G.I. Bill has helped to create over 250,000 engineers 238,000 teachers, 91,000 scientists, 67,000 doctors, and 22,000 dentists since being signed into law. Thanks to these men and women, bridges, buildings, and ships have been built; children have realized their dreams, scientific mysteries have been solved, and patients in need of care have been healed.

As an active member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, I am proud that Mr. Colmery's work on the G.I. Bill of Rights is something we have built upon. In the 107th Congress, my colleagues and I worked to pass legislation to expand educational benefits for veterans. This legislation, The 21st Century Montgomery G.I. Bill Enhancement Act, included an increase in basic education benefits, an increase in the rate of survivors' and dependents' educational assistance and an expansion of the work-study program.

Today, the military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq are creating a new generation of veterans. Harry Colmery's foresight has secured valuable educational benefits for these men and women who are so bravely defending freedom in the war on terror and gives them opportunities for their futures.

I am pleased that my colleague, Mr. Ryun, has been successful in bringing this resolution to the House floor, and I am proud to be a cosponsor of this resolution to posthumously award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Mr. Harry W. Colmery.

Mr. Speaker I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. Miller) for her remarks on Mr. Colmery.

Mr. Speaker, it is never too late to honor someone who has done a great deed for our Nation. Harry W. Colmery should be honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom because millions of Americans are better off today as a result of his vision and the hard work he put in to making his dream a reality.

After returning from duty in the Air Service during World War I, Mr. Colmery was struck by the financial and emotional hardships he and his fellow veterans encountered when they returned home. These hardships included trouble adjusting to civilian life and the inability to find adequate jobs.

Holding a law degree and therefore in better shape than most veterans, Mr. Colmery immediately became involved in the newly formed American Legion, where he helped fellow veterans who were less fortunate than he was. He held several legion posts before being named National Commander in 1936.

As more and more young men were drafted into service during World War II, Harry Colmery began to think of his own experiences and how he could improve the lives of American veterans when they returned from war. He led efforts to make sure that these fine young men who had risked their lives for the freedom America enjoys would best benefit from that freedom when they returned.

In December 1943, Colmery called an emergency meeting of the American Legion leadership. Colmery drafted legislation that would become the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, known today as the G.I. Bill of Rights.

The G.I. Bill of Rights is considered to be one of the core reasons that the 15 million U.S. soldiers active during World War II were able to return to America and lead productive lives.

Since its enactment, the G.I. Bill of Rights has provided education and training for 7.8 million men and women. For the first time some of our Nation's most elite universities became available to working class Americans through the G.I. Bill, when they otherwise would not have had the opportunity or financial resources.

Executive Order No. 11085 states that the Medal of Freedom may be awarded to any person who has made a meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States. Frankly, the contribution Mr. Colmery has made to the well-being of all Americans, regardless of race, class or religion, is immeasurable. As a grateful Nation, we thank Mr. Colmery and award him the Presidential Medal of Freedom because it is never too late to honor American heroes like Harry Colmery.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.