A resolution recognizing the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the Veterans' Administration and acknowledging the achievements of the Veterans' Administration and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Mr. President, I seek recognition today to submit a resolution recognizing the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the Veterans' Administration and acknowledging the achievements of the employees, past and present, of the Veterans' Administration and the Department of Veterans Affairs. As Chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, I am honored to offer public recognition of this auspicious anniversary and, more importantly, the fine work being done every day by over 230,000 VA employees.

The Veterans' Administration was created by an Executive Order signed by President Herbert Hoover on July 21, 1930, 75 years ago today. Prior to 1930, of course, Federal programs existed to assist war veterans. For example, early in the Revolutionary War, the Continental Congress created the first veterans' benefits package, which included life-long pensions for both disabled veterans and the survivors of soldiers killed in battle. Other veterans benefits--for example, ``mustering out'' pay--were also provided to veterans of the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Civil War, the Indian wars, and the Spanish-American War, and the first educational assistance benefits for veterans were enacted as part of the Rehabilitation Act of 1919 which provided for a monthly education assistance allowance to disabled World War I veterans. But it was not until 1930--75 years ago today--that a Federal agency recognizable by today's standards was created by President Hoover.

The VA has a unique place in history having administered one of the most significant pieces of legislation ever enacted in the Nation's history, the ``Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944,'' better known as the ``GI Bill of Rights.'' This legislation, it is now generally recognized, revolutionized American society after World War II by providing educational opportunity to an entire generation of Americans--opportunity which otherwise would not have been available and which changed the Nation and ushered in the space age. During the period, VA's capability to provide medical care and rehabilitation services to disabled and needy veterans also grew significantly, leading ultimately to a health care system which is today recognized as a provider of ``the best care, anywhere.''

In the Nation's history, more than 48 million citizen-soldiers have worn the uniform, and more than 1 million have perished as a result of their service. More than 25 million men and women are alive today who proudly acknowledge the title ``veteran''. The Department of Veterans Affairs, as VA is designated today, exists solely for the reason articulated by President Abraham Lincoln in his Second Inaugural Address: ``. . . to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan.'' I applaud the efforts of the more than 230,000 VA employees who keep faith, every day, with President Lincoln's words. They--and we--could have no higher calling.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the consideration of S.

Res. 203, which was submitted earlier today.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table.