Housing our Military Veterans Effectively Act of 2023

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my support for H.R. 593, a bill to rename the outpatient clinic of the Department of Veterans Affairs in Hinesville, Georgia, as the John Gibson, Dan James, William Sapp, and Frankie Smiley VA Clinic.

I thank Representative Carter for introducing it and the Georgia delegation for its support.

These individuals, all hailing from Liberty County, Georgia, were killed in action during the Vietnam war. Four young men who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

Private First Class John Gibson, a marine, was killed by small arms fire in the Tet Offensive on February 7, 1968. He was 21 years old.

Specialist Dan James served in the Army's 25th Infantry Division and was killed on December 29, 1968. He was 20 years old.

Specialist William Sapp served in the Army's 4th Infantry Division. He was killed on June 7, 1968. He was 25 years old.

Marine Lance Corporal Frankie Smiley served in the 1st Marine Division. He was killed on August 25, 1968. He was 24 years old.

These are four names out of the 58,000 who died in the Vietnam war that we honor for their service and sacrifice. These four names will continue to be honored at the VA clinic in Liberty County as it carries on its mission to serve veterans.

The sacrifices of those who served in Vietnam and in other wars and conflicts is particularly salient as we just commemorated Veterans Day, and as we had the opportunity to reflect on the sacred obligation we owe to veterans.

Mr. Speaker, I support this legislation, and I urge my colleagues to do the same. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I do believe it is important to remember the service and sacrifice of servicemembers and veterans because we must keep close to mind our duty to repay that service and uphold the promises we have made to those who swore an oath to our country to protect and defend it. However, I fear that we have fallen short this year. While I do urge support for this naming bill, I am extremely disappointed that during National Veterans and Military Families Month and Warrior Care Month, and 2 days after Veterans Day, that this is the only veterans legislation the Republican majority has brought to the floor for us to consider.

These young men who lost their lives in the Vietnam war sacrificed everything they had for our country. If we really wanted to honor them and the millions of Americans who have risked their life and limb in service, we should be doing even more.

In this Congress so far, our committee has only originated three bills that have been signed into law. By comparison, in the last two Congresses, under Democratic leadership, we passed more than 70 bills to expand access to care and benefits that are now law. This inaction is unconscionable when there is such an acute need for assistance among veterans and survivors.

It is not for a lack of good ideas. There are several worthwhile bills that are ready to be voted on right now, bills that would change and improve the lives of veterans and their families across the country.

For example, H.R. 3848, the bipartisan Housing Our Military Veterans Effectively, or HOME, Act of 2023, sponsored by Republican Representative Chavez-DeRemer, would restore authorities that were essential to ensuring America's most vulnerable veterans found or stayed in housing during the pandemic.

For the period of the public health emergency, the Department of Veterans Affairs was able to provide food, clothing, bedding, hygiene items, shelter, transportation services, and communication devices to veterans experiencing homelessness. VA also had temporary authority to increase reimbursements to grant and per diem providers which ensured veterans in transitional housing received the care and services they needed. Unfortunately, these authorities and funding expired with the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency declaration in May 2023, and there has been since no congressional action to restore them.

To aid in this effort, Representative Nikema Williams introduced H.R. 491, the Return Home to Housing Act, and Representative Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick introduced H.R. 645, the Healthy Foundations for Homeless Veterans Act. These bills are both included in the HOME Act, which was reported out of our committee by voice vote on July 26, 2023. That is right, a bill with strong unanimous support has been languishing for months for no clear reason.

Earlier this year, Chairman Bost and I were standing in these exact spots, and he made a promise to me that we would pass this legislation. I understand from staff conversations that Chairman Bost has been imploring the Speaker to schedule that bill for a vote. I, too, sent a letter to the newly elected Speaker imploring him to bring this bill to the floor.

In the book of Matthew 25:35 it says: ``For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me . . . Then the righteous will answer him, `Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go visit you?' ''

Do we not take these words as a call to action? There are homeless veterans suffering as we speak. It is our responsibility to take care of the most vulnerable veterans. Every night a veteran spends on the street is a night this Congress could have acted to shelter them. You can feel the cold setting in here in Washington, D.C.

The HOME act would fill the basic needs of veterans experiencing homelessness to help get them on a path to stable housing. Whether it be emergency shelter to escape the cold, a warm meal, or clothes to wear and a ride to a job interview, this bill allows VA to help homeless veterans in the most fundamental ways.

Veterans service organizations and advocates have called on Congress to pass legislation to continue the flexible funding and authorities for critical VA homelessness programs. These authorities resulted in a reduction in veteran homelessness by over 11 percent over the last 2 years during the pandemic. This was an amazing feat during one of the most difficult times in our recent history, and yet this House has not seen fit to bring this bill to the floor.

If the House fails to act or continues to delay action, I fear that veteran homelessness will undoubtedly increase and critical gains made during the pandemic will be lost. We are about to enter the winter months. Will this Congress allow veterans to remain on the streets or lacking access to basic necessities?

The other bill I have urged the Speaker to bring to the floor is H.R. 542, the Elizabeth Dole Home Care Act. This bill, introduced by Representatives Brownley and Bergman, was also reported out of committee with unanimous support in July. It would require VA to provide access to all home and community-based services, such as home health aides, home-based primary care, and respite care to all veterans and caregivers who need them. Currently, elderly and disabled veterans only have access if their VA medical centers have chosen to offer these services.

This legislation will enable veterans to remain at home, safely age in place, and avoid or delay admission to nursing homes and other costly institutional settings of care. It will also help connect veterans' caregivers to respite

care and other supportive services that help them care for veterans at home and improve VA's coordination with other Federal long-term care programs that promote aging at home.

Finally, the Elizabeth Dole Home Care Act will require VA to create a website where veterans and their families can more easily obtain information about VA's home- and community-based services programs and assess whether any of these programs may be right for them.

Nearly every veteran will, at some point, face the need for additional care at home or, if they can't get it, spend their last years in a nursing home setting. This legislation is an investment in care for millions of veterans and current servicemembers who need this help now or may in the future. We can afford to do this. We must do this.

Senator Elizabeth Dole, alongside all other major veterans service organizations, has spoken to several committee members and its chairman about the urgency of passing this bill this year. The health and well- being of thousands of veterans depends on it. I have heard that certain Republican Members object to the Dole act. I would ask those Members with concerns to speak to me or the bill's sponsors so that we can try to address those concerns. That would be the fair and honest thing to do, so that we can tell the advocates for this bill what the actual holdup is.

The Elizabeth Dole Home Care Act has the support of every major veterans service organization, including Disabled American Veterans, Paralyzed Veterans of America, Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion, Wounded Warrior Project, and the Military Officers Association of America. It is also supported by AARP, the National Association of Counties, the National PACE Association, and the Elizabeth Dole Foundation.

Democrats on the committee remain ready to help pass both of these bills and many others that have passed out of the committee with broad bipartisan support.

Weeks were spent waiting for the Republican Conference to select a new Speaker, and significant time has been wasted on partisan appropriations bills that have no chance of being signed by the President. We are here using precious floor time on poison pill amendments at worst or symbolic gestures at best, but none of these things will actually help veterans get the care and benefits they deserve.

Last year, we came together to pass the largest expansion of veterans benefits in a generation, my Honoring our PACT Act, but we cannot and should not stop there.

Every bill brought to the House floor represents a choice and makes a statement about priorities. From my experience, whenever I had a veterans bill that was ready or timely, Speaker Emerita Pelosi made way for it because for her veterans issues are sacred. They are not fodder for negotiation or collateral. I hope our current Speaker comes to that same understanding. There is always time for veterans legislation.

We ask servicemembers to leave their families to protect our country, and we have a responsibility to honor our pact with them, that we will take care of them when they come home. That includes our most vulnerable veterans, such as homeless, elderly, and disabled veterans.

We must get these bills passed and honor our commitment to veterans. Mr. Speaker, I support H.R. 593. I ask my colleagues to do the same, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Brownley), my friend, and the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Health.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all of my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my support for H.R. 3848, as amended, the Housing our Military Veterans Effectively, or HOME Act.

I have conflicting emotions as I finally stand here advocating for the

passage of the HOME Act. On one hand, I am elated to finally see this language move forward that will ultimately get more veterans off the street and into housing. That is my goal here, to end veteran homelessness. On the other hand, I remain frustrated with the length of time it took this body to take up this bill and the fact that I will have to be back on the floor next year advocating for the same authorities here to be extended yet again since most of this bill expires on September 30, 2024.

Last week, VA announced they met their goal to house 38,000 veterans this calendar year several months early. I am very proud of this accomplishment, but unfortunately, this does not reflect the full picture of the reality we face related to veteran homelessness in our country.

HUD's 2023 Point-in-Time Count will be released soon. Based on initial reports from communities across the country, it will likely show a dramatic increase in veteran homelessness. We are losing ground. The VA is doing incredible work to get veterans into housing, but when one veteran gets housed, another is falling into homelessness.

We need to bolster the prevention tools the VA and providers have to quickly address a veteran's housing insecurity the moment it occurs. The Democratic-led authorities in the HOME Act are those very tools.

This bill, which includes two Democratic bills, from Congresswomen Cherfilus-McCormick and Williams, gives the VA and its community providers the flexibilities and resources they need to effectively house veterans experiencing homelessness and at risk of becoming homeless.

However, the bill before us today isn't perfect. It has technical flaws that we quickly brought to the attention of our Republican colleagues, but they refused to fix it. If we send the language we are considering today over to the Senate, the Senate will have to amend the language, pass it, and send it back to the House for final passage, leaving more time that the VA and providers operate without these authorities, more time that homeless veterans go without, and more time that homeless veterans spend on the street.

I need not say to all in this Chamber that we know that December is upon us. I spoke in the Chamber just a few weeks ago about the fact that winter was upon us and yet we had not passed the HOME Act.

I am really disappointed by this unforced error of being in a position where we find ourselves here on the floor to pass an empty gesture. We reported this bill out to the House in July. As happens, there have been additional changes that needed to be made. We had agreement with the Senate on these changes, yet the majority chose not to proceed with the agreement. We are here on a bill that is not going anywhere any time soon.

The reality of this situation is that Republicans are playing games and using homeless veterans as their pawns. Homeless veterans do not have time for games. Maybe it seems easy because these most vulnerable veterans don't have lobbyists stating their case or advocating their case. Every night they spend on the street is a night this Congress could have prevented. These are our most vulnerable veterans, in the most vulnerable situations, and we owe it to them to keep our word to send the VA the resources they need to help them.

For some homeless veterans, this is literally a matter of life or death.

At the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity legislative hearing on this bill earlier this year, we heard directly from the VA about a homeless veteran who was imminently considering taking his life by suicide before the VA intervened and got him the help he needed using the authorities this bill would reauthorize.

The VA's recent Suicide Prevention Report indicated that homeless veterans are 186 percent more likely to die by suicide than any other veteran. These Democratic-led provisions are suicide prevention tools. They are lifesaving. In only 12 days from when the authorities in this bill lapsed at the end of the public health emergency, between May 11, 2023, and May 23, 2023, the VA was forced to cancel over 42,000 rides that supported over 18,000 veterans to attend 10,000 medical appointments. Just 12 days caused that big of an impact. Here we are, 207 days later, and I can barely fathom how many homeless veterans went without in that period.

If we are going to help homeless veterans, we need a hotline-ready bill to send to the Senate. By hotline, we are talking about the Senate hotline for House bills that have been passed and are ready to pass the Senate because they have no flaws, no substantive flaws.

Why aren't we sending to the Senate hotline-ready bills from the House of Representatives when we know the language that needs to be put in those bills has all been agreed to by the four corners? Senators Tester and Schumer both assured me last week that if we sent the Senate both of the four-corners agreed-upon language for this bill and for the Elizabeth Dole Home Care Act, they would get these bills onto the Senate hotline so that they have a chance of getting to the President's desk by Christmas.

As we enter the holiday season and a cold winter, we should take our duty to help homeless veterans as seriously as possible. We must do all we can to get these veterans housed and off the streets during the coldest months of the year. We did have a choice here. We had a choice.

Instead, we have before us here a flawed bill that the Senate will have to amend and send back to us. We can end veteran homelessness. It is a choice that Congress can make to fully fund the resources and authorities that the VA and its partners need to get veterans into stable permanent housing.

We saw proof of this during the pandemic, one of the most difficult times in our country's recent history, when we actually reduced veteran homelessness by 11 percent. We know what works. We know that the Democratic-led flexibilities and authorities included in the HOME Act will reduce homelessness.

I must register my disagreement with what my colleague from Wisconsin has claimed, that the grant and per diem rates were adequate. They were never adequate. It was because of the flexibilities we included during the health emergency that we were able to address the always inadequate levels of funding. It is a falsehood to try to claim that it was about inflation. No, these program per diem rates for the many, many organizations out there that help our veterans across the country were never adequate.

We had an opportunity to move forward a compromise today, but a different choice was made. I am going to hope against hope that somehow this bill does get to the President before the end of the year and that we don't have it on our conscience that we made homeless veterans suffer any more than they already have.

I will ask my colleagues to support H.R. 3848, as amended, today, and I will also say a prayer that we see through to doing the right thing.

I would submit to my colleagues on the other side, after all, isn't that why we are here, to do the right thing?

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I wish that we could be sending over to the Senate today a hotline-ready bill.

We knew what we had to put into this bill. The majority knew what corrections needed to be made. By tradition, subsequent to the vote that we took today, we could have done those corrections and had a bill that could have gone on the Senate hotline. Absent any Senator's objection, it could have been sent to the President's desk for sure by the Christmas holiday.

By some miracle something could happen. There could be a heating of the conscience. There is a conscious choice being made today to not send the Senate a bill that is substantively freed from the flaws that we could have fixed.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill. I hope against hope that we still can get this done by the end of the year.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 593) to rename the Department of Veterans Affairs community-based outpatient clinic in Hinesville, Georgia, as the ``John Gibson, Dan James, William Sapp, and Frankie Smiley VA Clinic.''

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 593, a bill to rename the Department of Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic in Hinesville, Georgia, as the John Gibson, Dan James, William Sapp, Frankie Smiley VA Clinic.

I would take a moment to tell each of these Americans' stories of service.

John Gibson was born in Riceboro, Georgia, and later joined the Marine Corps where he rose to the rank of private first class. He deployed to Vietnam in 1967, served 100 days in-country, 65 of which were in combat. He was killed by small arms fire on February 7, 1968, in Quang Nam, South Vietnam, during the Tet Offensive at just 21 years old.

Dan Ninkey James was also a native of Riceboro, Georgia, and deployed to Vietnam in 1968. He was an SP4 in the Army's 25th Infantry Division. While in Vietnam, out of a total of 100 days in theater, he also saw 65 days of combat. Dan James was killed in action by small arms fire on December 29, 1968, in Hua Nghia, South Vietnam. He was recently married and was just 20 years old.

Their fellow Georgian, William Edward Sapp, was born on March 12, 1943. He joined the Army's 4th Infantry Division during the war, reaching the rank of SP4. While deployed in Vietnam, he served 114 days in combat out of a total of 175 days in theater. William Sapp was killed in action on June 7, 1968, in Kon Tum, South Vietnam, at the age of 25.

Last, but certainly not least, Frankie Lee Smiley was born in Miami, Florida. He joined the Marine Corps and rose to the rank of lance corporal in the 1st Marine Division.

He deployed to Vietnam in 1968. He served 205 days in theater, with 133 days of combat. Lance Corporal Smiley was killed by small arms fire on August 25, 1968, in Quang Nam, South Vietnam, at the age of 24. He is buried in Cay Cemetery in Dorchester, Georgia.

All of these men rose to the call of the Nation and made the ultimate sacrifice. All of these men were 25 years old or less. To give your life for your country at the dawn of your life is an incredible sacrifice and one we can't forget. By naming the clinic after these men, they will continue to be remembered and honored in the place they called home.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Buddy Carter for introducing this bill and his work in making this happen.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support H.R. 593, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Carter), a very close friend.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, let me say that, as the chairman of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, along with working with the leadership, several times during this time here since January, certain things have been said: One, that we were going to cut funding for veterans back whenever the caps were increased, and that proved out that we did not do that.

I have told the ranking member and the Democrats who work with the committee that these two bills are vitally important, but we must be wise. We must move forward, and we must make sure they get across the threshold.

Now, also know this: On Elizabeth Dole, I want the bill. As my colleague from the other side of the aisle made a statement, she loved working with Elizabeth Dole. Well, I am going to tell you, I have been working with Elizabeth Dole for about 30 years on most things that she brought up back when she was a Senator, back when her husband was running for President.

We are going to be working to try to figure it out. It was said from the other side of the aisle that the CBO score came back, but there is still a cost. That cost has to be calculated.

I explained, when we passed the PACT Act, that there was a problem, not that we weren't going to provide exactly everything that the PACT Act said, but the TIF had some language problems that actually double- counted some of the things we are providing for our veterans already.

Now, if someone will work with me, let's get this working with this side of the aisle and across the rotunda to try to figure this out so that we can make sure we can provide all of these other things that we want to provide.

As far as the fact of how fast we brought them forward, let me say this: Whether you want to admit it or not, when the other side of the aisle joined with the eight to remove the Speaker of this House and then caused the chaos that occurred for 3 weeks, that is 3 weeks we have lost and can't get back. We are going to work very hard to try to get it back, and we are going to try to pass everything that they have talked about.

The ranking member quoted some Scripture, so let me quote some, and then I am going to shift to something else. Proverbs 29:11 said: A fool gives full vent to his feelings, but a wise man holds them back.

At this time, I am going to hold those feelings back about the things that were said. Let me say that what we are really talking about here is the naming of a CBOC for four amazing people who made a sacrifice.

For those of us with more gray hair who have seen the nightly news when we sat around the dinner tables back in the time when these valiant soldiers and marines fell, we remember what it was like to see Walter Cronkite come on and give a list of where the battles had been and a list of how many people were dead, how many were wounded, where the next battle was looking like it was going to come up.

Later on, right after you followed up with your local news, there was a list of young servicemembers who wouldn't be coming home, at the local level.

Good heavens, with that war for the first 13 years of my life, I thought you were born, raised, got out of high school, and then went to Vietnam. If you survived Vietnam, you could actually go home and live a real life. These guys didn't get the chance to do that.

Mr. Carter has worked very hard on making sure that we are going to name this in tribute to them, as we should.

I will still continue to have the other debates and discussions. I am sorry we had to do that now, that we had to at the sacrifice of what we were debating here, that all of this floor time couldn't have been given to those four heroes.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage all of my colleagues to support the gentleman's resolution and this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I, too, support the renaming of the VA outpatient clinic in Hinesville, Georgia, after the four servicemembers who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country in Vietnam. Like a majority of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, I will support this bill because it is the right thing to do.

This weekend, so many of us returned to our districts to honor the men and women who have served our Nation in uniform in theaters and eras from World War II to our veterans who served multiple deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan. We recognized every man and woman who has answered the call to duty because it is the right thing to do.

However, it is incumbent upon all of us in this Chamber to do more and to do better. Our words ring hollow if we don't do our part to fulfill our Nation's solemn promise to serve our veterans and their families as well as they have served our country. These words cannot only be spoken, but we must act upon them, live upon them.

While I believe it is important that we recognize John Gibson, Dan James, William Sapp, and Frankie Smiley, I ask myself how do we best serve the next generation of our Nation's veterans? How do we show them the respect that they have shown us? How do we let them age with as much dignity as they deserve and as much as possible?

Long-term care is one of the biggest challenges facing our aging population and their families. That is why I am calling on Speaker Johnson to bring before the House my bill, H.R. 542, the Elizabeth Dole Home Care Act, for a vote. This bill, which has overwhelming bipartisan, bicameral support and passed out of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee unanimously almost 4 months ago, would be a fitting honor for the service and sacrifice of the Vietnam veterans advocating for this bill.

It would be the single largest expansion of long-term care services at VA in decades. It would impact nearly every veteran living with catastrophic disabilities or living with the effects of aging.

Currently, every veteran enrolled in VA has the right to nursing home care if clinically eligible, but it is important to note that nursing homes are not where veterans want to live their golden years. They want to be home. They want to be with their families. They want to be in their communities and with their communities. I doubt there is a person here today who has not grappled with how best to care for an aging or disabled loved one. Every veteran should have the right to dignity in their later years.

VA home- and community-based services enable veterans to do just that. However, these services are not available at all VA medical centers, and my bill changes that.

In addition to listening to what veterans want, home- and community- based services are also a far less expensive option for taxpayers and an investment in the elder care infrastructure this country so desperately needs. Even more important is, the health outcomes of those who are cared for at home are far, far better than the outcomes of those who receive care in an institution.

The chairman spoke about the Elizabeth Dole bill and said that CBO has scored it in a way that has caused him to have to revisit the bill. I don't know what he means because we got a CBO score. We had one CBO score that was astronomical. Then, finally, we won with CBO, and CBO went back and looked at the bill again and said, oh, no, it is just a very minimal cost. The beauty of this bill is the health outcomes of veterans are much better, it is less expensive than institutionalized care, and we can use that money to invest in other programs for our veterans.

As you all know too well, our healthcare system is facing a silver tsunami as the largest generation, baby boomers, enter their later years. VA is not exempt from this tsunami, and preparation is critical.

Almost half of VA's patient population is over 65. Without an aggressive expansion of home care, in the next 15 years, VA will have doubled its spending on institutional, long-term care services, nearing $15 billion, to meet these needs.

Without the option of receiving care at home, veterans will have to languish on wait lists or move to facilities far away from their families.

All this aside, the Elizabeth Dole act is the right thing to do right now. As both Chairman Bost and Ranking Member Takano have stated, this is the right time. The Elizabeth Dole act is the right bill for this Congress to pass and move forward.

It is too late for this bill to go to the President's desk before Veterans Day,

as I had hoped, but we cannot delay any further. Our veterans, their caregivers, and their families cannot wait any longer. To further delay this bill is really absolutely cruel.

Let us work together. Let's work with Senator Elizabeth Dole to fulfill our promise to America's veterans. Let us act, and let us act now, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill, H.R. 593, which will rename the Department of Veterans Affairs, as you have heard, the community-based outpatient clinic in Hinesville as the John Gibson, Dan James, William Sapp, and Frankie Smiley VA Clinic.

Mr. Speaker, I have the honor and privilege of representing the First Congressional District of Georgia. We have much to be proud of in the First Congressional District of Georgia. We have a strong military presence in our district. We are home to Hunter Army Airfield, to Kings Bay Naval Base, and to Fort Stewart.

Fort Stewart is located in Hinesville, Georgia, in Liberty County. Whenever I travel to Fort Stewart, whenever I travel to Liberty County, I know that they know what they are talking about when they talk about military affairs.

I submit to you that the community of Hinesville, Georgia, supports their military as much if not more than any community in America.

However, I have to be quite honest with you. Last fall, I was called to a meeting with them and with some community leaders in Liberty County and they told me they wanted to name a VA clinic in Hinesville after four veterans who gave the ultimate sacrifice during the Vietnam war.

When I went into that meeting, I was skeptical. We can't do this. We can't rename a VA clinic anyway, much less after four individuals. I have to tell you when I left that meeting, not only was I convinced, but I was committed to making this happen.

Mr. Speaker, you heard the bios that Chairman Bost just read of these young men all in their 20s, all of them with their life ahead of them, all of them gave the ultimate sacrifice. Let's think of what they could have experienced in their life--children, graduations, family memories, but they gave their lives, all four of them gave their lives, so that we can enjoy the freedoms that we enjoy in this country.

I sat through that meeting that day and I listened to the families. I listened to their friends tell the stories of their loved ones. I was convinced this needs to happen. Each of them made an incredible sacrifice on behalf of their country and on behalf of their community. They serve as righteous examples of patriotism and selflessness that are deserving of being memorialized permanently by naming the Hinesville clinic after them.

This effort is supported by the families and by the community, and we believe that all four deserve to be memorialized for their extraordinary sacrifice and their valor.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the community members in Liberty County, in Hinesville, the local elected officials who brought this idea to our attention.

Secondly, I thank the Disabled American Veterans Southeast Georgia chapter, The American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the Georgia State Department of Veterans Affairs for their support as well.

Last, but not least, I thank the entire Georgia delegation, Republican and Democrat, the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, and all the staff involved for their diligent work in getting this bill to the floor.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I look forward to working with my friends in the Senate to bring this piece of legislation to passage and signed into law.

Mr. Speaker, last weekend we celebrated Veterans Day. These four weren't with us to celebrate Veterans Day, but what they did gave us the opportunity to celebrate Veterans Day. Let's at least do this for the family and for the memory of these four heroes who gave the ultimate sacrifice.