Recognizing and commending all volunteers and other persons who provide support to the families and children of members of the Armed Forces, including National Guard and Reserve personnel, who are deployed in service to the United States.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Concurrent Resolution 181, a resolution authored by Congressman Solomon Ortiz, a dedicated member of the Armed Services Committee who is a proven friend of servicemembers and their families.

This resolution commends a large group of selfless and dedicated people, many of whom are volunteers, in organizations that provide support to the families and children of deployed Members of the armed forces.

As a 31-year veteran of the Army Reserve and National Guard, and as the proud father of four sons in the military, I know firsthand the rewards of service protecting American families and learning valuable skills.

Our military families face extraordinary demands, stresses and challenges related to the service of their loved ones. Every soldier, sailor, airman and marine understands the challenges they will face as well as the sacrifices their families must also make. These include extended deployments, risk of injury and death, frequent relocations, long and unpredictable hours, and the unfamiliar customs and lifestyles of foreign lands.

Many military families have multiple family members, which substantially outnumber the servicemembers themselves. According to a recent Army report, there are more than 1.8 million family members compared to 1.3 million active duty personnel. Beyond the statistics, however, is the reality that supporting and meeting the needs of military families is a matter of military readiness.

Every branch of the military as well as the Department of Defense provide significant resources to the spouses and children of members of the Armed Forces. Much of the excellent support is provided on and through military installations.

Actually, most military families do not live on military installations. Nearly two-thirds of the active duty Army family members live off post, and for virtually all the families of National Guard troops and reservists who reside in civilian communities, there is the challenge of ensuring access to the support they need, particularly during extended periods of mobilization and deployment.

To ensure that military families get the proper support wherever they live, numerous nongovernmental organizations have sprung up. This extraordinary community of volunteer and nonvolunteer groups seek to ease the challenges and promote the extraordinary opportunities of military life in many ways.

For example, some of their efforts include providing essential extracurricular activities for school-aged children, assisting new parents, building support systems in school districts not located on military installations, building bridges between local communities and military families to improve access to State and local services, and providing emergency and financial assistance.

Today's resolution, introduced by my colleague, Representative Solomon Ortiz, is a fitting way to celebrate and thank such organizations as Our Military Kids, Parents As Teachers, Kids Serve 2, Operation Homefront, American Military Family, and the Citizen Soldier Support Program, along with other volunteer groups who help families and children of deployed members of the Armed Forces maintain as normal a life as possible.

Again, as a 31-year veteran of the South Carolina Army National Guard and having a son, Alan, who served for a year in Iraq as a member of the Army National Guard, I have seen firsthand the many challenges and opportunities our National Guard troops and their families face.

Many members of my former unit, the 218th Brigade commanded by Brigadier General Bob Livingston and currently stationed in Afghanistan, have families and loved ones that can benefit from the types of assistance these organizations and programs provide.

I urge my colleagues to support House Concurrent Resolution 181 and to recognize and commend all the volunteers and others who help to take care of our military families and children. This new greatest generation deserves our support and assistance whenever and wherever we can be of service.

Additionally, with personal sadness, my sympathy to the families of our late colleagues, Paul Gillmor of Ohio and Jennifer Dunn of Washington State.

In conclusion, God bless our troops, and we will never forget September the 11th.

Mr. Speaker, I yield so much time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ginny Brown-Waite).

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of House Concurrent Resolution 181 which recognizes and commends all volunteers and other persons who provide support to the families and children of members of the Armed Forces, including the National Guard and Reserve personnel, who are deployed in defense of the United States. I appreciate the work of my dear friend and our colleague, Congressman Solomon Ortiz, in bringing this resolution to the floor today and commend him for his leadership on issues affecting military families. Congressman Ortiz is Chairman of the Readiness Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee. I think it is important to highlight that family readiness is first and foremost a readiness issue for our Armed Forces.

Never was this more apparent than on Congressman Ortiz' recent Congressional Delegation to Guam in April 2007. The Congressional Delegation had the opportunity to meet with families and servicemembers of the Guam National Guard and Army Reserve. The Congressional Delegation heard firsthand accounts about the difficulties and challenges that are faced by military families during mobilization. The Congressional Delegation also heard how the families view their role in support of the soldier and reviewed the services that are available to them when a loved one is deployed. The testimonials of these families proved that our Nation is better served when families of deployed servicemembers are provided the best support and assistance at all times and from a variety of sources.

The Congressional Delegation also had the opportunity to meet with volunteers who help support families of Guard personnel and Reservists. It is volunteers that make the National Guard and Reserve family readiness programs a success. Volunteers in these readiness groups act as an extension of the unit by providing accurate command information. Most of the volunteers are the spouses of company commanders. The close ties of volunteers to company leadership also help foster a greater sense of community with shared benefits and help families navigate various issues at any time, but especially when a loved one is deployed. Without the support of thousands of volunteers across the country, many family readiness groups would not be able to provide the support that is needed for servicemembers families. It is important for these volunteers and the Congress to recognize the important role they fulfill in the readiness of our Armed Forces.

On Guam our families have recently endured many long deployments of their loved ones to the Horn of Africa and to other areas of the world associated with Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. Volunteers have been crucial to the success of these family readiness efforts. In particular, in 2002 the Department of Defense recognized the family readiness group of Charlie Company, 411th Engineer Battalion of the Army Reserve for their instrumental service in

improving many facets of unit readiness, including a 99 percent retention rate and 90 percent attendance rate for drill. The family readiness group engaged in many community activities and each member attended special events of importance to the other families. It was these initiatives and community activities that helped bring the families of the deployed soldiers together and made enduring the long deployment more bearable.

The recognition awarded to the Charlie Company emphasizes the critical importance of providing the best family support possible during deployments. When families of the deployed soldiers are taken care of it relieves our soldiers of worrying about their daily tasks at home and helps them to focus on the mission at hand. Indeed, the readiness of our men and women in uniform goes beyond providing the best equipment or training that is available. It is required that we provide a strong sense of community for their families at all times. Family readiness must be viewed as a continuum of support that continues beyond a servicemember's mobilization. Without volunteers who donate countless hours to this effort, family assistance would not be as effective and the readiness of our Armed Forces would not be as strong as they are today. House Concurrent Resolution 181 raises appropriate awareness of the readiness of our Armed Forces and the value of military families. I hope that all of us will recognize the important ways in which families and family readiness groups contribute to the strength of our Nation's Armed Forces.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 181) recognizing and commending all volunteers and other persons who provide support to the families and children of members of the Armed Forces, including National Guard and Reserve personnel, who are deployed in service to the United States.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on the resolution under consideration.

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

Mr. Speaker, today we have the chance to thank the volunteers of nonprofit organizations who provide support for families and children of deployed members of the Armed Forces for their extraordinary contributions to those families.

I want to thank Congressman Tom Davis, Congressman Joe Wilson and others for their contributions and for helping us bring this resolution to the floor.

The families of United States troops serve this Nation by providing unconditional love and support for their deployed loved ones. While the government offers significant resources on military installations, when families live far away from a base, it is very hard to access those opportunities.

True patriots look at this kind of situation and ask, what can I do for my military families? That's what the patriots did who founded Our Military Kids, Kids Serve 2, and several other organizations that recognize and support military families.

These organizations' founders recognized the families' contributions and identified the need to provide opportunities and resources for their families, especially for the families and children of deployed Guard and Reserve troops.

The organizations' contributions are so significant that in May, General David Petraeus, the United States Army Commanding General of the Multinational Force-Iraq, personally thanked Our Military Kids for their great work and support for Guard and Reserve troops' families.

Our Military Kids is a nonprofit organization which is wholly devoted to offering financial resources and grants for children K-12 of deployed and severely injured Reserve and National Guard personnel. Our Military Kids helps families participate in sports, arts and tutoring programs that are so important to children during those stressful times.

Today my resolution puts the House of Representatives on record as supporting the excellent work these nonprofit groups do to support the children and families of deployed troops. I ask the House to support this resolution and thank the founders and volunteers at Our Military Kids and at the other nongovernmental groups that support military families.

Mr. Speaker, I ask that the May 8 letter from General Petraeus be included for the Record.

May 8, 2007.

Linda Davidson,

Executive Director, Our Military Kids,

McLean, Virginia.

Dear Ms. Davidson: On behalf of the Soldiers, Sailors,

Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen serving in Iraq,

especially our Reserve and National Guard component forces, I

want to thank you for the support of your wonderful

organization, Our Military Kids.

We ask a lot of today's military families. And I know that

families of National Guard and Reserve forces, in particular,

often feel a strain when their loved ones are called to

active duty. These troopers not only leave their families at

home, but they also leave their civilian jobs, adding

financial stress to the other stresses associated with

deployment. The support your organization provides through

generous financial grants helps to mitigate that financial

stress. In doing so, you are making tough deployments that

much easier on the forces deployed and their families at

home. I applaud the efforts of your organization.

Thanks again for the important assistance you provide to

our servicemembers and their families.

Sincerely,

David H. Petraeus,

General, U.S. Army, Commanding.

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

Mr. Speaker, at this time I don't have any further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Con. Res. 181, a resolution I was proud to cosponsor with my colleague Congressman Ortiz, which recognizes and commends the many thousands of volunteers who provide support to the families of deployed military personnel, including those serving in the National Guard and Reserve.

We make significant resources available to families and children of members of the Armed Forces who reside on or near military installations. But resources for families and children of National Guard and Reserve members are often difficult to access. Of the 1.2 million young sons and daughters of members of the Armed Forces, approximately 153,000 are children of those serving in the National Guard and Reserve.

These children also need help when parents deploy. The heroic work of these volunteers stresses the importance of maintaining childhood routines during times of stress and sacrifice. Grants supporting extra- curricular activities, including tutoring, sports, art, camping and other educational opportunities that might be missing when a parent is gone, keep families active and linked to their communities. The help and support provided by these organizations tells military families, particularly the children, that they have not been left behind, but that we all recognize the personal sacrifices they are making when their family serves in the military.

It's gratifying that many private non-profit organizations have been created by caring and thoughtful Americans to help fill this gap for Guard and Reserve children. This resolution recognizes and honors their work.

One outstanding example is an organization called Our Military Kids, Inc, created by Linda Davidson and Gail Krusel of McLean, Virginia. It is a small corporation that has continued to expand nationally, providing assistance and grants to the children of deployed or severely-injured parents in over 35 states this year. The positive effect they have had on children of the National Guard and Reserve cannot be overstated.

I salute the people behind Our Military Kids, Inc., and other organizations that have dedicated time, effort and money to assist our nation's military children. I ask my colleagues to stand up and join us in this resolution honoring their commitment and patriotic servIce.

I thank the gentleman from South Carolina.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Con. Res. 181, a resolution to honor the efforts of those volunteers that support military families when a servicemember is deployed.

It is a superhuman task to fight for your country and take care of your family from thousands of miles away. Thanks to the efforts of volunteers and not-for-profit organizations across the country, deployments are made somewhat easier. Volunteers give their time, energy, and, most importantly, their prayers.

Some offer their time at after school programs, others may help around the house. However, no matter what they give, the difference they make in the lives of our military families is immeasurable.

Many nonprofit groups go beyond and provide backpacks, clothes and emergency funds to help military families. Beyond helping families in time of emergency, these organizations help with the problems associated with everyday life.

In particular, I'd like to recognize Hernando Home Front for their work with the families of the National Guard members who were activated from Brooksville, Florida. Whether they were builders, who helped in case the spouse had a problem, either a leaking roof or perhaps a plumbing problem that needed fixing, or just plain simple carpentry, this group was there. The home builders, various people throughout the community pitched in to help the family members of those National Guard units that were called up.

Mr. Speaker, our men and women in uniform give everything for their country, and it gives me great pleasure to recognize those who care enough to give back to them.