Baron P. Hill

Madam Speaker, on Wednesday, September 8, 2010, Southern Indiana lost another of its brave sons. Marine Corporal John Bishop was killed in Helmand Province, Afghanistan after sustaining wounds from enemy small arms fire. He was 25 years old, and born in Batesville, IN.

Cpl. Bishop wanted to be a Marine from a very young age. After graduating from Southwestern Shelby High School in 2003, he immediately enlisted in the Corps. After joining he and his brother, Tyson, also a Marine, would often taunt each other as to who was the ``tougher'' Marine.

It was in the Marines that John met his wife, Cristle. The two were recently married and expecting their first child together, a daughter, next month. After his tour in Afghanistan--his third combat tour already having served twice in Iraq--Bishop planned to separate from the Marines, go to college to become a conservation officer, and start a life with his new wife and daughter, and his son K-Sean. Bishop's mother described her son as being ecstatic about starting a new chapter in his life. Sadly, that dream was cut short.

Cpl. John Bishop is the epitome of a true American hero. He and his family's sacrifice deserve our most sincere and heartfelt gratitude. Though I did not have the pleasure of meeting Cpl. Bishop, I mourn his death. His loved ones are in my prayers.

Madam Speaker, on Thursday, August 19, 2010, our nation lost another brave hero. Army Ranger Specialist Christopher Shane Wright was killed in Pech, Afghanistan, from injuries sustained from enemy small arms fire. He was 23 years old. A Kentucky resident, Specialist Wright's mother currently lives in Jeffersonville, IN.

Specialist Wright was known as a man of courage beyond his years. He was deeply loyal and good-hearted. He had an intense love of his family and of his fellow soldiers. When told that his grandparents would pray for him, he asked that they also pray for the soldiers in his unit as well.

Wright joined the Army in 2005. Prior to his 18th birthday, Wright expressed a desire to enlist, and within days of turning 18, he did so. Wright was a veteran of two prior deployments--once to Iraq, and once to Afghanistan.

The loss of Specialist Wright is tragic. His deserves our most heartfelt gratitude and respect. Though I did not know him, I mourn his death and the loss to his family. He and his loved ones are in my prayers.

I have an amendment at the desk.

I want to thank Chairman Edwards for crafting this critically important bill for our Nation's veterans.

My amendment simply removes funding from the VA General Operating Expense Account and replaces it back in the very same account. My intent in doing this is to highlight an issue for my colleagues and for the VA.

I believe that the VA needs to examine its practice in how it accounts for returned post-9/11 GI benefit payments and that the VA should submit a report to Congress no later than January 1 of 2011 on changes they intend to make to ensure accurate, timely, and efficient accounting of any returned post-9/11 GI benefit payments.

I, along with many of my colleagues, enthusiastically supported the Post- 9/11 Veterans Education Assistance Act of 2008. This law provides qualified veterans with a full 4-year college scholarship, restoring a commitment our country made to our World War II-era veterans.

I believe that the Post-9/11 GI bill can spark another period of economic growth and prosperity for the current generation of veterans, much like the Montgomery GI bill did for the previous generation of veterans. That is why I believe it is so critical that this bill be implemented accurately.

I understand that the VA legitimately requires some payments to veterans and universities to be returned. There can be instances of a student taking fewer classes than what was originally thought, accidentally duplicating payments. This is reasonable to an extent. I believe that these funds need to be accounted for accurately; however, this is a two-way street. It has come to my attention that there has been some difficulty with the VA to properly and accurately account for returned payments from universities and veterans alike. In some instances, this has resulted in the VA withholding further Post-9/11 educational benefit payments to the student in question as they are credited with an outstanding debt despite having already paid back the necessary accounts. This is even after the returned checks have been cashed by the VA. This issue needs to be addressed in a timely manner.

I do not believe that the VA is acting with any malice in this measure, far from it. I applaud the work that the VA is doing to improve the lives of veterans. They deserve this benefit, but they deserve for it to work for them.

Madam Chair, I yield to the chairman, Mr. Edwards, for the purpose of a colloquy.

I thank the chairman for his support.

This issue was brought to my attention by Indiana University, which is a university that I represent back home in Indiana. I have also been working with a community college, Ivy Tech in Indiana, with the same problem.

I thank the chairman for his support for this amendment, and I encourage my colleagues to support it as well.

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