Honoring military children during "National Month of the Military Child".

I thank my friend, the distinguished delegate from Guam, for yielding me the time.

I thank the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wittman) for his kind comments as well. I am glad to be joined here by the Chair of Military Construction, Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee, Mr. Chet Edwards.

Madam Speaker, a child's process of growing up is difficult, but imagine what it must be like when one parent or even both parents are deployed abroad as part of their duty in our Armed Forces.

While friends and relatives pray for their safe return, no one feels the impact of deployment more than the children of servicemembers in combat overseas. We are learning more about the impact that living under this shadow of uncertainty has on our children.

The incidence of military children needing psychological counseling has increased dramatically. Last year Children's Hospital in the District of Columbia had over 1,000 visits from military children suffering from behavioral and mental health problems. These are just normal kids who want what any child wants, their mothers and fathers at home to tuck them in at night reassuring them everything will be all right.

Today more than 2,300,000 Americans demonstrate their courage and commitment every day to our Nation by serving in our Armed Forces. Of these men and women, most have families subjected to frequent moves from one installation to another, long deployments abroad, and the fear that their loved one serving overseas might never come home.

Fifty percent of our troops deployed overseas have children that are left behind. That is more than one million children with at least one parent deployed overseas. Those figures, statistics, can too easily be ignored sometimes because they are abstract. But here is one that can't be dismissed: 3,400 children have already lost a parent serving in the Armed Forces over the past 6 years.

When I introduced this resolution 2 years ago, the number of children who had lost a parent was 1,000 and now it is 3,400. The Department of Defense understands that without the families' support, they will never have the soldiers' full support.

In 1986, Secretary of Defense Casper Weinberger declared this month the ``National Month of the Military Child.'' Every year since, events at military bases, forts and other installations across the Nation have been held to celebrate the military family, replete with lots of lofty rhetoric but not enough true attention to their needs.

Two bases in my own district, Fort Belvoir and Fort Myer, hold annual events providing military kids the chance to be distracted a bit by just being a kid with other kids in similar situations. But the Congress needs to step up.

Today I am glad to join with my colleagues, particularly with my colleagues who will speak here today, to offer this resolution officially recognizing the month of April as the National Month of the Military Child, and dedicating the Congress to pay more attention to the children and the spouses of our soldiers.

My colleagues on the other side of the aisle, Representative Issa and Walter Jones of North Carolina are bipartisan sponsors for this effort. I thank them for their support and leadership.

This resolution is just a small way that Congress can recognize the sacrifice these youngsters and their families are asked to make, but it is an opportunity to commit ourselves to doing much more.

Specifically, the resolution joins the Secretary of Defense in honoring military children, recognizing that they too share the burden and are making a great sacrifice in protecting our Nation.

I would also like to take the opportunity to thank the organization Kids Serve Too. It is in my congressional district, and is dedicated to the needs of military families everywhere. It was created by military families to support other military families. Kids Serve Too sponsors activities and events for military children. It is represented in the gallery today specifically by Tricia Johnson and her daughters, Cat and Claire, and her sister, Kathleen Murphy.

Madam Speaker, military families and their children deserve our heartfelt appreciation for their sacrifice. Today we honor them and their sacrifice and thank you for bringing this resolution to the floor.

Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 265) honoring military children during ``National Month of the Military Child,'' as amended.

Madam 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.

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

Madam Speaker, I stand before you in support of House Resolution 265, honoring military children for their personal sacrifice and recognizing the month of April as the National Month of the Military Child.

Currently, 2.75 million Americans are serving in the Armed Forces of the United States. Of that number, 1.7 million who have served or who are currently serving have been deployed, nearly 600,000 members have deployed more than once, and close to 260,000 are currently deployed.

These are important points for us to take note of and reflect upon today because today there are nearly 1.2 million military children in families whose parents proudly serve in the uniform.

Unfortunately, 50 percent of the servicemembers who are currently deployed away from their duty stations are separated from their spouses and their children.

Long-term and multiple deployments have shown undesirable effects on both servicemembers, their families and their children. They sometimes experience severe emotional, psychological and fiscal problems over the course of these deployments. Over extended periods of time, anxiety and strain become a part of the daily lives of both spouses and children who sacrifice unduly.

Approximately 3,400 military children have lost a parent serving in the Armed Forces during the preceding 5 years. Military children are making personal sacrifices in support of this Nation.

During National Month of the Military Child, we need to ensure that we support all the American children who faithfully share their family in order to protect our way of life.

House Resolution 265 encourages public and private sector support for both military children and their families through direct contributions to scholarships, grants and donations, action which promotes family readiness.

So it is appropriate to celebrate the children who are loved by these brave men and women in uniform. The health and the well-being of these children is important to the overall readiness of our forces.

We therefore appreciate the leadership shown by our distinguished colleague from Northern Virginia (Mr. Moran) in sponsoring this important resolution.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support House Resolution 265, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to my friend and colleague, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Moran) who is the original sponsor of this important measure.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Edwards), the chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise today to join my colleagues in support of H. Res 265, honoring military children during ``National Month of the Military Child.'' While we understand and praise the personal sacrifices our brave men and women make in defending our great nation, we frequently forget about the sacrifices and burdens that children and families face while their parents are serving in the United States Armed Forces.

In peacetime, children of military parents bear the burdens of numerous military moves, both overseas and in the United States. In these moves, they cope with attending several different schools, losing good friends, leaving good communities, and typically have parents who cannot attend their sporting events, music recitals, and other after school activities. The military duty is a 24-7, 365-day commitment for the soldier and also their families.

In wartime, children of deployed military parents spend every day living in fear of the unknown. When will my mom or dad return? Will they be severely injured? Will they be killed? In years past, military children often faced one deployment lasting anywhere from 4 to 18 months. However, in today's long Global War

on Terror, many military members and families are facing their second, third, or fourth deployments.

The impacts of these additional and prolonged separations are not clear and may have lasting adverse effects on military children and families. When military members return from deployments, we focus on the impact of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder; we also need to study and analyze the impacts of traumas created by war and deployments on the children of these military parents.

The children of military members play a vital role in the defense of this country. Their contributions and sacrifices have not gone unnoticed. This is our opportunity as a Nation to recognize their dedication and support. We honor our brave men and women in the Armed Forces who have dedicated their lives to defending our freedoms, but we must also pay great tribute to the children and the families of soldiers, who bear the burden of their tremendous sacrifice.

I encourage my colleagues to support this important resolution and am pleased that today the House recognizes the role of the military children.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of House Resolution 265, as amended, which honors military children during National Month of the Military Child.

Today we are a Nation at war with more than 2.75 million men and women in uniform and more than 280,000 deployed worldwide. The men and women

of today's Armed Forces are all volunteers, but as never before in our history, they are also married and have families. At any given time, when deployed away from their home bases, 50 percent of the members of the Armed Forces leave behind families with children.

While the numbers and statistics are interesting, the real message here is that the sacrifices and commitments made by the members of the armed services are very often directly felt and experienced by their family members and especially their children. Each of the military services and the Department of Defense go to extraordinary lengths to provide the resources and environment to support military families and children. Preservation and support of families is recognized as a military readiness requirement.

I fully support those efforts. The resolution today strives to ensure that proper attention is focused on sacrifices, spirit and contributions made by the children of military families. This resolution also seeks to bring the recognition and thanks to both the Department of Defense and private sector programs that support military children and families.

I want to thank my friend, Mr. Moran of Virginia, for sponsoring this important resolution and urge my colleagues to support it.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I yield back the balance of my time.