November 11, 2022

Duckworth: Veterans Deserve More Than Just an Ovation on Veterans Day

 

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – To celebrate Veterans Day, combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), who served in the Reserve Forces for 23 years and is chair of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) Subcommittee on Airland, released the following statement in honor of our nation’s heroes, which can be viewed on video here.

“Veterans Day is a day of celebration—it’s a moment to recognize and honor the service of all of those who put on the uniform and sacrificed to keep our great nation safe. And when these heroes come home, they deserve more than just an ovation on Veterans Day. They deserve to be honored the other 364 days of the year too by making it easier to go back to school and find a good-paying job, putting more support into hunger prevention programs, expanding access to affordable housing, ensuring they can access the care and benefits they’ve earned through their service and more. I hope everyone will join me not only on this Veterans Day, but every day in continuing our efforts to do right by those who’ve done so much for the rest of us.”

Duckworth has been a fierce supporter of and an effective legislator for our Veterans. Recently, she joined U.S. Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Patty Murray (D-WA) to applaud the Biden Administration’s landmark decision to allow the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) to provide abortion care to Veterans and their eligible dependents to protect the health and life of the woman and in cases of rape or incest. Duckworth also helped pass the SFC Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act, historic legislation that was signed into law to overhaul the VA’s processes for toxic-exposed Veterans to include presumptions for several illnesses associated with burn pits and Agent Orange exposures to help deliver long-overdue VA healthcare and benefits across all generations of Veterans. Last year, her bipartisan Protecting Moms Who Served Act was signed into law to help address the maternal mortality crisis among women Veterans by helping improve care at VA facilities and shed light on the scope of this crisis, particularly among women of color. 

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