Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall 913, I was away from the Capitol due to prior commitments to my constituents. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall 917, I was away from the Capitol due to prior commitments to my constituents. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay.''

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall 918, I was away from the Capitol due to prior commitments to my constituents. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay.''

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall 919, I was away from the Capitol due to prior commitments to my constituents. Had I been present, I would have vote ``no.''

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall 920, I was away from the Capitol due to prior commitments to my constituents. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall 921, I was away from the Capitol due to prior commitments to my constituents. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall 922, I was away from the Capitol due to prior commitments to my constituents. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall 923, I was away from the Capitol due to prior commitments to my constituents. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.''

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall 924, I was away from the Capitol due to prior commitments to my constituents. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Mr. Chair, on rollcall 882, I was away from the Capitol due to prior commitments to my constituents. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

Amendment No. 3 Offered by Ms. Jackson Lee of Texas

Mr. Chair, on rollcall 883, I was away from the Capitol due to prior commitments to my constituents. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

Amendment No. 5 Offered by Mr. Connolly of Virginia

Mr. Chair, on rollcall 884, I was away from the Capitol due to prior commitments to my constituents. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

Stated against:

Mr. Chair, on rollcall No. 885, I was away from the Capitol due to prior commitments to my constituents. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

Amendment No. 7 Offered by Ms. Jackson Lee of Texas

Mr. Chair, on rollcall 886, I was away from the Capitol due to prior commitments to my constituents. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall 887, I was away from the Capitol due to prior commitments to my constituents. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall 888, I was away from the Capitol due to prior commitments to my constituents. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.''

Mr. Chair, on rollcall 874, I was away from the Capitol due to prior commitments to my constituents. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

Amendment No. 3 Offered by Mr. Cohen

Mr. Chair, on rollcall 875, I was away from the Capitol due to prior commitments to my constituents. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

Amendment No. 4 Offered by Mr. Peters

Mr. Chair, on rollcall 876, I was away from the Capitol due to prior commitments to my constituents. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

Amendment No. 5 Offered by Ms. Jackson Lee of Texas

Mr. Chair, on rollcall 877, I was away from the Capitol due to prior commitments to my constituents. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

Amendment No. 6 Offered by Mr. Johnson of Georgia

Mr. Chair, on rollcall 878, I was away from the Capitol due to prior commitments to my constituents. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall 879, I was away from the Capitol due to prior commitments to my constituents. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 880, I was away from the Capitol due to prior commitments to my constituents. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.''

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall 881, I was away from the Capitol due to prior commitments to my constituents. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

Madam Speaker, on rollcall 858, I was away from the Capitol due to prior commitments to my constituents. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay.''

Madam Speaker, on rollcall 859, I was away from the Capitol due to prior commitments to my constituents. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay.''

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall 857, I was away from the Capitol due to prior commitments to my constituents. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. Speaker, I have recently introduced a resolution that encourages every American to spend Veterans Day as a national day of listening to the experiences and stories of our nation's combat veterans, H. Res. 456.

With more than 1.7 million veterans who have served tours of duty in the most recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, a whole new generation of heroes has returned home from war and started the transition from military life to civilian life. These veterans have joined the ranks of the nearly 22 million military veterans in the United States.

These honorable men and women who have served in our armed forces have experienced unique and sometimes incomprehensible things while serving our country and as they have returned home. We owe them an immense debt of gratitude--and we can express our appreciation by asking about and listening to their experiences.

My resolution, H. Res. 456, calls upon all Americans to observe Veterans Day by offering to listen with respect and without judgment to the stories of combat veterans from all conflicts. Veterans often feel less isolated and suffer less when they are offered the chance to have ordinary, civilian citizens simply listen to them recount their experiences serving their country.

I invite my colleagues to join with me and encourage all citizens to honor the service of our nation's veterans this Veterans Day by listening to them share the stories of their military service.

Thank you, Mr. Levin, and I appreciate the time. And thank you, Mr. Herger, for bringing us this bill.

I rise in support of H.R. 674. Every day I get phone calls and letters from veterans telling me how rewarding their service was and what an invaluable experience they received in the military. But they are confused as to why potential employers don't value their time and service and why they get rejection letters for jobs they are qualified to perform.

These veterans are highly skilled individuals who are ready to make an immediate impact to any job. Veterans bring real-world experience to any company and, unfortunately, employers fail to see this value.

In August of this year, the President proposed a comprehensive plan to decrease the veteran unemployment rate. Part of his plan includes a tax credit for employers, and I'm happy to see that Senator Murray included this in H.R. 674. It would provide a tax credit for firms that hire certain unemployed veterans, and these tax credits are a win for veterans and a win for the companies. The credits will incentivize struggling businesses that need to increase their work force to hire veterans while getting a tax deduction.

The bill also provides veterans with training, mentoring, and placement services and allows for the appointment of honorably discharged veterans to the civil service. I'm happy to see H.R. 674 move forward because it will provide individualized assessments for servicemembers in the Transitional Assistance Program, increase access to apprenticeship programs for separating servicemembers, provide authority to the VA to provide services to servicemembers with severe injuries, and many other positive programs that will help veterans.

The President's message was clear. We must fight for our servicemembers and veterans by enacting legislation that will help veterans get jobs.

I hope that all of my colleagues will join me in supporting H.R. 674.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall 837, I was away from the Capitol due to prior commitments to my constituents. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''