Bob Filner

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, this bill is named after Justin Bailey, who was a veteran of the Iraq War who died in a domiciliary facility of the Department of Veterans Affairs while receiving care for PTSD and a substance use disorder, a very tragic story but one that seems to be becoming all too familiar. We have seen in recent weeks internal communications between members of the VA staff who we rely on to treat soldiers like Justin Bailey who seem to not take the symptoms of PTSD or suicide very seriously. They try to manipulate the data so we don't know all the facts. They try to get cheaper treatment if a diagnosis other than PTSD is made, and we are not serving our veterans when this occurs. We must not take lightly the commitment of servicemembers like Justin Bailey who choose to defend the country and freedoms that we enjoy. We know the problems that veterans who have served in past wars face. We know about post-traumatic stress disorder. We know about the high reported incidence of substance abuse, and that it is what we call a common co-morbidity to mental health issues. And we, of course, unfortunately know about the high rate of homelessness. We know about these issues because we have seen entire generations of veterans tackle these problems, many without proper support from the VA and many who find themselves on the streets homeless or we see in statistics on suicide. We must commit ourselves that whatever is necessary to prevent the newest generation of veterans from Afghanistan and Iraq will be done so they do not experience these same devastating issues. There is growing concern about the reported effects of combat deployments on Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom servicemembers. The suicide rates are on the rise back to where they were in our Vietnam era. We know the rate of post-traumatic stress disorder among these veterans has been estimated at about a third. I think if you include hidden symptoms of traumatic brain injury we're up to probably double that or more. We know that the rate of homelessness amongst this group is growing. The same cycles that we saw with Vietnam are repeating themselves. We cannot as a Congress, as a Nation allow this to happen again. We must reinforce our commitment to take care of those who have served. This is a cost of war. We're spending $1 billion, Madam Speaker, on the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars every two days, $1 billion every 2 days. Shouldn't our servicemembers get all the treatment they need? We have the money. It's a question of our will and our priorities. So I urge you to support H.R. 5554. We would improve and expand the VA health care services available for veterans for substance use disorders, and require that all VA medical centers provide access to the full continuum of care for these disorders. We also want to make sure that the Secretary reaches out to our OIF/ OEF veterans with substance abuse disorders, and make sure that the funding is in place for the full continuum of care no matter where a veteran lives. We also ask for a complete report on the services furnished by the Department in the last fiscal year, and have a 2-year pilot program on providing assessment, education and treatment via the Internet to veterans with substance use disorders. And finally, we would require the VA to conduct a review and report on the residential mental health facilities within the system. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 5554. We will hear from Congressman Michaud from Maine, the chairman of our Health Subcommittee, who wrote this bill. And he will have a chance to really explain it better after we hear from our ranking member. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. FILNER. Thank you, Mr. Rodriguez, for your expertise. General Leave

Mr. FILNER. Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to a very active, aggressive member of our committee, who is always there when we need her, the gentlelady from Nevada (Ms. Berkley).

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I might consume. As I said earlier, amongst this package of bills are legislation from both sides of the aisle. This one comes to us from the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, Mr. Boozman, and I thank him for this important bill. What H.R. 3889 does is require the VA to conduct what is called a longitudinal study for at least 20 years of the veterans who began participating in the VA's Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Program. The bill requires annual reports to Congress to assist with better management of the program. It's an important step in ensuring that the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Program has services that are meeting the needs of our veterans as they seek to heal from their injuries and reenter civilian life. So I hope we all support H.R. 3889. Mr. Speaker, I would reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. This bill is called the Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act, which was introduced by myself and Mr. Rodriguez of Texas. And I want to thank our ranking member, Mr. Buyer, who, of course, supported this legislation and helped us to get here with unanimous support from our committee. The fact that we were able to get this bill to the floor only a month after its introduction shows the House leadership's commitment to our Nation's veterans and their survivors. Since 1976 Congress has passed a measure to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to increase the rates of basic compensation for disabled veterans and the rates of dependency and indemnity compensation, so-called DIC, to their survivors and dependents, along with other benefits, in order to keep pace with the rising cost of living. The disability COLA here would be effective on December 1 of this year and will be equal to that provided on an annual basis to Social Security recipients. Madam Speaker, this bill will provide over 3 million disabled veterans from the World War I era through the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan that VA estimates will be receiving disability compensation for the coming fiscal year. It will help over 300,000 of their survivors during the same period. Many of the nearly 3.5 million recipients of these benefits depend on these tax-free payments not only to provide for their own basic needs but those of their spouses, children, and parents as well. Without an annual COLA increase, these veterans and their families would see the value of their hard-earned benefits slowly erode. We would be derelict in our duty if we failed to guarantee that those who sacrifice so much for this country receive benefits and services that don't keep pace with their necessities. I know we have had some disagreement over the past weeks over what, and how, our priorities for veterans should be funded. But on this bill, there is no disagreement. The veterans compensation COLA is included in the CBO baseline. In layman's terms, that means we have already paid for this. Regardless of whether or not you agree or disagree with the funding of the war in Iraq, our young men and women who have served in our Armed Forces deserve to be adequately compensated for injuries due to their military service. We fund the war, we must fund the warrior, and their families and their survivors, by ensuring their benefits will keep pace with their living expenses. Let's ensure that these benefits make ends meet at the end of the month. Madam Speaker, as we approach our country's 140th Memorial Day commemoration, I ask all my colleagues to support this bill and send a clear message of support to our troops: You will be taken care of when you return, and we will not forget your sacrifice. No action by a Member of Congress is more irritating to many Americans than those who say they support the troops but then turn a cold shoulder when those same troops come home, become veterans, and need our help to become whole again. That costs money; money we should not hesitate to spend, just like our military men and women did not hesitate to offer to lay down their lives to defend our freedom and the way of life that we cherish. I ask my colleagues to consider these facts when voting on the full portfolio of veterans' legislation that is under consideration on the floor today, and of course to support passage of this bill, the Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2008. I would reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. I urge all my colleagues to support H.R. 3681 and yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. FILNER. I would yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, we are in the midst of a package of 10 separate pieces of legislation that honors our Nation's veterans, our Nation's most deserving citizens, appropriately enough, as we prepare to honor them on Memorial Day. As we honor our fallen heroes, we cannot forget those who need either health or other benefits from our Nation. That is what these bills do. They extend benefits in a whole range of areas: Health care, substance abuse and spina bifida, reimbursement for emergency treatment outside the VA facilities, construction of new facilities to serve these heroes. We also address our responsibility for oversight of the VA by mandating the revision and update of administrative policies so that the VA can better serve our veterans. As you know, Mr. Speaker, we have had many opportunities for oversight recently. We have had in a court case the discovery of e- mails which seem to indicate that our VA management was not being totally transparent on the number of suicides, for example, of our recent Iraqi veterans. Just last week, another e-mail was discovered that indicated that we should not adequately diagnose PTSD, post- traumatic stress disorder, and instead give these young men and women lesser kinds of diagnoses, which would cost us less. It is unacceptable to the Congress of the United States and to the American people that the administration set up to serve our veterans would be finding ways to save money and not treating the veterans for their needs. We intend to root that kind of attitude out of the VA and to make sure that all our veterans, whether they are just coming back from Iraq or Afghanistan, or those that served us earlier in Vietnam or World War II and Korea and the Persian Gulf War I, to make sure that all of their needs are met, and that is what we are committed to and that is what these bills on the floor today indicate. We also address the compensation cost-of-living adjustment that is so important to our veterans who base their income on the dependency and indemnity compensation. They need an annual increase to cover the cost of living, and this bill before us today will assure that. It is my hope that on this Memorial Day we, as a Nation, remember the words of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. A half century ago he said ``Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy forget in time that men,'' and he would say, I am sure today, women, ``have died to win them.'' President Washington, over 220 years ago, said, ``The best guarantee of the morale of our fighting troops is a sense of how they are going to be treated when they come home.'' So let us remember these words of Roosevelt, of Washington, as we prepare on Memorial Day to recognize and remember those heroes who have died in uniform. Our Nation has a proud legacy of appreciation and commitment, and we have to make sure that they know that we appreciate them and we know that our liberty, which we enjoy today, depended on them. The bills before us today have come from all of our legislative subcommittees. Members on both sides of the aisle and all the committee worked very hard. I want to thank Chairman Michaud of the Health Committee, with his Ranking Member Miller of Florida, I want to thank the chair and ranking member of the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, Ms. Herseth Sandlin of South Dakota, and Mr. Boozman of Arkansas, and also the chair and the ranking member of the Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs, the gentleman from New York, Mr. Hall, and the gentleman from Colorado, Mr. Lamborn. We are now looking at H.R. 3681, which would authorize the VA Secretary to purchase national media outlets to inform veterans of their benefits. You would think we would not have to do such legislation, Mr. Speaker, but apparently we do. Over the past 2 years, the Committee on Veterans' Affairs has conducted several hearings to determine how to improve the outreach to our veterans, and while various agencies have made tremendous improvement, more needs to be done to inform veterans of the entitlements they rightfully deserve and how to access those benefits. Providing our veterans the information they need on television is a crucial component that can affect the livelihood of our veterans and their dependents. So I ask all of you to join me in supporting H.R. 3681. I would reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to a very hard working new member of our committee, in fact, the highest enlisted man ever elected to the Congress of the United States, Command Sergeant Major Tim Walz of Minnesota.

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 3681, as amended.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. I thank the Speaker. This bill comes to us from a great new Member from the State of Ohio (Mr. Space), and I'm going to yield to him as much time as he may consume to explain the bill.

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

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, this is a perfect example of the way we do the best legislation. Mr. Space from Ohio encountered a problem in his district, looked into solving it. It turns out it's a problem in every district. So we thank Mr. Space for his work on this, for his recognizing the problem. It is an unacceptable position for a veteran to be in, that they're in never-neverland where they have been stabilized in a hospital but yet not accepted at a VA hospital and they are liable for the cost. What you have done is take that worry and that cost off of the veteran and allowed us to deal with him or her in a very respectful and clear way. So we thank Mr. Space for this legislation. I don't have any further speakers, and I would reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased, as a cosponsor of H. Res. 1054, to recognize the service and achievements of the women in the Armed Forces and the nation's women veterans. I thank my San Diego colleague, Congresswoman Susan Davis, for introducing this important resolution. These women have been the unsung heroes of every war since the Revolutionary War. So, as we approach Memorial Day, it is fitting that we sing their praises. They are playing an increasingly prominent and important role in our nation's military forces. 350,000 are now serving, making up 15 percent of active duty personnel, 15 percent of Reserves, and 17 percent of the National Guard. More than 185,000 have been deployed since 2001. Women veterans are second only to elderly veterans as the fastest growing segment of the veteran population. 255,000 women use VA health services today. There are 1.7 million women veterans, 7 percent of the total veteran population--expected to be 10 percent by 2020. As Chairman of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, I want to report that Congress has responded to the challenge of meeting the needs of women veterans. Today, there exist within the Department of Veterans Affairs, two main offices specifically focused on addressing the needs of women veterans, put into place by Congress. The 102nd Congress passed landmark legislation (P.L. 102-484) which authorized VA to provide gender-specific health care at VA medical facilities. The position of Director of Women's Health was also created by this law. This position has recently been elevated to the Chief Consultant on Women Veterans' Health, Strategic Health Care Group, reporting to the Undersecretary for Health (of the Veterans Health Administration). At each medical center, a Women Veterans Program Manager is ready to assist women veterans with their health care. More recently, Congress passed P.L. 108-422 to extend VA's authority to offer Military Sexual Trauma Counseling and Treatment to active duty service members. In addition, The Center for Women Veterans was established by the 103rd Congress in P.L. 103-446 to oversee the Department's programs for women veterans. The Center Director reports to and is an advisor to the VA Secretary on matters related to policies, legislation, programs, issues and initiatives affecting women veterans. To name a few of its activities: Perform outreach to minority women veterans, homeless women veterans with children, elderly women veterans, and women veterans living in rural areas. Monitor transition assistance program (TAP) briefings to ensure that the gender-specific information about benefits and services is provided to women service members. Monitor VA Office of Research and Development to ensure that VA research includes the issues of women veterans. Their goal is to identify any programs that are unresponsive or insensitive to women veterans and to address their deficiencies. The center is concerned with Department-wide legislative policies, within the VHA and VBA (Veterans Benefits Administration) and NCA (National Cemetery Administration), as well as the State offices. The center is holding the 4th National Summit on Women Veterans' Issues on June 20-22 in Washington, DC. H.R. 4107, the Women's Veterans Health Care Improvements Act, has been introduced by my colleague serving on the VA Committee, Stephanie Herseth Sandlin. This is one of a number of ways that we are currently working on behalf of women veterans. The House VA Committee continues to provide oversight to ensure that the laws we have passed are doing the job and that women veterans are receiving the information, benefits and care they deserve. In the light of these actions by Congress, it is my hope that all women veterans will receive the care and benefits they have earned through their service and accomplishments that we recognize here today.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. I hear my colleagues on the other side talking about political games and partisanship and process. The GI Bill of 1944 made the middle class of this Nation. Many of us are here today because of the GI Bill. My dad came back from World War II and was able to get some education, but he bought a house in Levittown, New York, for a couple grand, and we became part of the middle class for the first time in our history. It's time for a GI Bill for the 21st century, and that's what this supplemental has. It says to our young men and women who are fighting, We're going to pay for the full cost of college for 4 years when you get back; we're going to take care of some of the living expenses if you have a family, and we're going to put the National Guard and Reserve that are doing so much of the fighting in Iraq as eligible for most of the benefits for the GI Bill. That's what we need in the supplemental. We have a supplemental for the war. We need a supplemental for the warrior. The fact the first year, 2 years of this bill for the GI Bill was paid for, we spent the same amount in 2 days of the war in Iraq. This is a reasonable amount of money to spend on those who have given us so much. General Washington said over 220 years ago, The single most important factor in the morale of our fighting troops is a sense of how they're going to be treated when they come home. When they come home, many of them with amputations, many of them with psychological wounds, we want to say we're going to make sure we take care of you, we're going to make sure you get some college education, we're going to make sure that you can take a part of the American dream. That's what we owe our soldiers. That's what we owe our Reserve and National Guard, and that's what this supplemental has. I don't care. You can talk about partisanship and political games. We're talking about the welfare of these young men and women who have given so much. Let's give them a part of the American Dream.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall 305, I was unable to vote because of pressing business with my constituents in my home district. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.''

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall 304, I was unable to vote because of pressing business with my constituents in my home district. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.''

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Madam Speaker and colleagues, I rise today to speak about a resolution that I have just introduced that expresses the sense of the Congress that all American flags flown over Federal Government buildings and on federal property should be made in the United States. The U.S. Census bureau estimates that $5.3 million worth of American flags were imported from other countries in 2006, mostly from China. Even though U.S. law requires every flag be labeled with its ``country of origin,'' the figure of foreign-made American flags has steadily grown over the past few years. This is an absolute shame! The American flag is much more than our national symbol. It embodies our courage, liberty, and justice. The flag reminds us each and every day of the blood that was shed so that we may enjoy our freedoms. So as we proudly fly the Stars and Stripes, we must be sure that they are homespun in the United States! So as we approach the few months where we celebrate Memorial Day, Flag Day, and Independence Day, I invite my colleagues and fellow patriots to join with me in honoring our American flag every day! Please join me in supporting H. Res. 1182

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the survivors of the Armenian Genocide and their descendants. This year marks the 93rd anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. The genocide of the Armenian people by the Ottoman Empire during World War I represents a major tragedy of the modern age. Carried out between 1915 and 1923, the Armenian Genocide was a systematic and deliberate campaign by the Turkish Ottoman Empire to destroy its Armenian minority. While there is no consensus as to how many Armenians lost their lives, there is general agreement among western scholars that between 500,000 and 1,500,000 Armenians died and that nearly all Armenians were exiled from their homeland. The date of the onset of the genocide is conventionally held to be April 24, 1915, the day that Ottoman authorities arrested some 250 Armenian intellectuals and community leaders in Istanbul. These Armenian political, religious, educational, and intellectual leaders were arrested, deported, and mercilessly put to death. Over the next few years, many Armenians were murdered outright or were deported via forced marches under such agonizing conditions that they died from exhaustion or starvation before they reached their destination. At that time, the word ``genocide'' had not yet been coined. Nonetheless, many governments decried the mass murder of the Armenians as extermination of a people, a crime against humanity, and the murder of a nation. We must honor the truth of the past because denial makes it more likely that genocide will happen again. We must recognize and condemn the atrocities that took place against the Armenian people. The time has come to pass the Armenian Genocide Resolution. I urge my colleagues to support this important piece of legislation and give the Armenian people the respect and recognition they deserve.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 444) supporting the goals and ideals of National Aviation Maintenance Technician Day, honoring the invaluable contributions of Charles Edward Taylor, regarded as the father of aviation maintenance, and recognizing the essential role of aviation maintenance technicians in ensuring the safety and security of civil and military aircraft.

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I thank the Speaker and I thank our House Speaker for bringing this to the floor today, H. Res. 444, a resolution which supports the goals and ideals of National Aviation Maintenance Technician Day, honoring the invaluable contributions of Charles Edward Taylor, regarded as the father of aviation maintenance, and recognizing the essential role of aviation maintenance technicians in ensuring the safety and security of civil and military aircraft. With all the concerns, Mr. Speaker, today about safety and airlines, it is the men and women who actually do the maintenance that we depend on so greatly. It was Charles Edward Taylor who built and maintained the engine that was used to power the Wright brothers' first controlled aircraft, the Flyer, and he was born in 1868. He is widely regarded as the father of aviation maintenance, and was a vital contributor of mechanical skills in the building and maintaining of early Wright brothers engines and airplanes. Taylor also built the wind tunnel used by the Wrights to test their early designs. He became a leading mechanic in the Wright Aircraft Company when it was formed in 1909. In fact, when Calbraith Perry Rodgers made his famous cross-country trip in a Wright brothers aircraft, he paid Charles Edward Taylor $70 a week, a pretty large sum at the time, to be his mechanic. Taylor followed the flight by train, making required repairs and preparing the aircraft for the next day's flight throughout the cross-country trip from Long Island to California. Although Taylor was largely ignored by history, it is important to note that the Wright brothers were very close friends with him, and remained in close contact with him throughout their lives. Charles Edward Taylor saved enough money from his ventures to buy several hundred acres of farmland near the Salton Sea, which is located in my district. However, the economic climate of the time eventually brought him to poverty, and he died penniless in 1956 at the age of 87. He was buried at the Portal of Folded Wings Shrine to Aviation in Burbank, California. Mr. Speaker, the humble beginnings of the aviation maintenance profession belies the fact that all of us in the Congress and our constituents rely on the work that these technicians do every day. They play an invaluable role not only in ensuring the safety of commercial aircraft, but also ensuring that our men and women in uniform have safe, reliable planes and helicopters while in their combat and training. Thanks to these dedicated, well-trained professionals, the United States has by far the safest air transportation system in the world. We owe aircraft mechanics a debt of gratitude for their service to the flying public. We are hearing a lot today about consolidations in the airline industry, and some airlines have already been outsourcing aviation maintenance abroad to cut their costs. I urge everyone in this Chamber to remember how critical it is for our own safety to have a well- trained U.S.-based workforce to fix and maintain our aircraft. As the airline industry seeks to cut costs and merge, it is very important for all of us to keep a watchful eye on the impact of these consolidations on aviation maintenance technicians. We cannot afford to cut corners when it comes to safety. Mr. Speaker, 45 U.S. States have already declared May 24 to be Aviation Maintenance Technician Day within their jurisdictions. My resolution is intended to support these efforts and honor aviation maintenance technicians, including the first, Charles Edward Taylor. I urge all my colleagues to vote for H. Res. 444. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Let me focus, if I may, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, on the children. And children have to deal again with dad or mom away for extended periods. You mentioned the Lopez family. Or the problems may really begin when dad or mom come comes back, amputated legs, spinal cord injuries, posttraumatic stress disorder. Now, this is something that our VA or DOD or administration ought to be worried about, and yet it was left to the private sector to figure out, what do we tell our children? How do we answer something at an age-appropriate level? And I want to thank the Sesame Street Workshop who produces Sesame Street, the nonprofit educational organization, for its leadership. As you mentioned, there are hundreds and thousands of children of military families who are impacted every day by the deployment of one or both of their parents. They responded to this 2 years ago by making an outreach tool to help families and their young children cope with the challenges of deployment: A DVD featuring Elmo who struggles with military deployment of his father, and urges his viewers to share their emotions and fears directly with their parents. After watching this video together, families have found a new opportunity to talk with their children and communicate together as a family. Here is the first DVD that Sesame Street did under a Talk, Listen, and Connect series, Helping Families During Military Deployment; and also in Spanish, Partides Militares Bienvenidos Cambios. And that was distributed with the help of the military and the help of the VA to hundreds of thousands of young people. Just yesterday, Sesame Street launched a new DVD, a new series called Deployments, Homecoming, and Changes. And that addresses the level of anxiety children may experience after multiple deployments, as well as to help young children gain an age-appropriate understanding of a parent's combat-related health condition so the family can heal together. The DVD features again Elmo and Rosita, and intersperses the Muppets with real families like the Lopez family that you showed us earlier. They are meant for children, but spouses and friends and relatives facing a complicated transition of multiple deployments or the physical and psychological wounds. I invite, by the way, all Members of the House of Representatives to meet Elmo and the Cookie Monster next Wednesday on May 7, at 4:00, at HC-5. Sesame Street will bring Elmo and the Cookie Monster. You can take pictures with him or her, I am not sure, and pick up a copy of this DVD. It will be distributed free to military families all over the Nation. I hope every one of our colleagues picks up a copy, watches it, and helps distribute it in their own districts. This is an important tool that was produced for us by people who care about what is going on. And I will tell you, we are now in the Month of the Military Child. We want to honor the children of military families. But we have now a tool to reach children. This is aimed at very young children below the age of five. And if they watch what is going on, again, I have seen some of the previews. One of the children of a parent with a prosthetic leg was shown bringing the leg to dad to try to make that situation sort of natural and a part of life and not something to be ashamed of or to fear. And so Sesame Street uses the power of video to connect with soldiers and their families and of course the children. You can watch the video yourself. Go to sesameworkshop.org/tlc for Talk, Listen, and Connect; Hablen, Escuchen, Conecten, at sesameworkshop.org/tlc, and you can see that and watch it for yourself. I would just like to say to my colleague from San Antonio, who is a psychologist and has dealt with children in his professional life and is a great aid on our veterans committee for issues of mental health and the issues we are talking about today, we thank you for your leadership, Mr. Rodriguez. Mr. Speaker, let me also thank Ms. Wasserman Schultz for her steadfast support of America's children and her interest in the needs of veterans' families. Every day the men and women of our armed forces sacrifice to protect and preserve our way of life, whether by putting themselves in harm's way, or by enduring time away from their loved ones at home. I would like to recognize Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street, for its leadership in serving the most vulnerable population of the Armed Services--the thousands of young children in military families who are impacted every day by issues related to deployment. Sesame Workshop has responded to the needs of the 700,000 children under the age of 5 who have a parent in the military. In August 2006, Sesame Workshop launched a critically needed outreach tool to help families and their young children cope with the challenges of deployment. In this video, Elmo struggles with the military deployment of his father and urges his viewers to share their emotions and fears directly with their parents. After watching this video together, families have found a new opportunity to talk with their children and communicate together as a family. Just yesterday, Sesame Workshop launched its second phase of its Talk, Listen, Connect series of videos for military children. This newest resource kit is titled, ``Deployments, Homecomings, Changes'' and it addresses the level of anxiety children may experience after multiple deployments as well as help young children gain an age- appropriate understanding of a parent's combat-related health condition so the family can heal together. These new outreach materials are meant for spouses, friends, and relatives of military parents and children who are facing the complicated transitions of multiple deployments or who have returned home with combat-related health injuries, both physical and psychological. Elmo is again filling an unmet need for developmentally appropriate resources for young children. This project has garnered overwhelming support from the military community, with nearly 400,000 of the original kits requested from active duty, National Guard, and reserve families to help build a sense of stability and resiliency during times of separation and change. April is the ``Month of the Military Child.'' Today, we are taking the time to honor the children in military families and acknowledging the personal sacrifices they make and the challenges they overcome. I applaud the critical work of organizations like Sesame Workshop whose project, Talk, Listen, Connect, has the sole purpose of helping make the lives of these children and their families a little easier during some of the most difficult of times. I commend Sesame Workshop for its work to help empower children and adults alike, as well as help families overcome adversity together in order to bring hope for the future. Sesame Workshop uses the power of video to connect with soldiers and their families during these difficult times. The video honestly addresses the sadness, confusion and anxiety with sensitivity and clarity for the 700,000 pre-school kids in this country whose parents serve lengthy and frequent deployments. This video is available to watch on the internet. Just search for Sesame Workshop and TLC. You can also order a kit on the web site--for your neighbor, your co- worker, or even your own child--that might be struggling with the extended deployment of a parent, or adapting to a parent that has returned home but is suffering from visible or invisible wounds. As a Nation, we must do more than simply say we support our service members and their families. We must follow through with true deeds and bold action that will ultimately assist our military families as they make the transition into civilian life. I urge you to learn more about Sesame Workshop and share these extraordinary resources with military families you know. This video will begin to build a dialogue between children and parents, as well as this country and our Nation's military families. America cares for our military families and this Sesame Workshop film shares this message of support. We need to make sure the fabric of our society is strong enough to ensure the well-being of the military family and I want to thank Sesame Workshop and the many organizations that contributed to this project. Again, my thanks to Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz for your leadership on this issue.

Mr. FILNER. I thank the gentlewoman for her leadership on many issues, especially in these special orders, and tonight a very important one, the effect of deployment on our families, our military families. You know, this is a war that has gone on the second longest in our history. There are over 4,000 young men and women who have been killed. There have been at least 30,000 casualties that we account for of Americans, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis. That 30,000 official figure, by the way, compare that with the following statistic: Over 800,000 veterans have already returned from this war in Iraq. Over 300,000 of them have filed claims for injuries, whether physical or psychological, while in battle, 300,000. Compare that with the official figure of 30,000. It is a factor of ten. Something is not being told to the American people here. But then, think of all the families involved of those who have been killed, the best and brightest of our young men and women, the casualties that we admit, the hundreds of thousands of casualties when they come home. Not only do they have to deal with fatality or grave injury, they have to deal with income problems. A spouse may have to take care of her husband and lose two incomes. What about the children? Over 1 million children of those deployed or were deployed or will be deployed, how do they take daddy coming home, or not coming home, dealing with violence that is a symptom of PTSD, posttraumatic stress disorder, dealing with an amputated father or mother, dealing with brain injuries? This is something that we as a society have got to deal with. It is part of the cost of war, and the cost of war that we have been asked to take on doesn't cover this. We have to fight for every penny for veterans and their families. The President says support our troops, support our troops, support our troops. But when they come home, who supports the troops, and who is looking after the families? And that is what we are dealing with tonight.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Chairman, on rollcall No, 201, I was unavoidably detained with urgeant constiuent business. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Madam Speaker and colleagues, I rise today to honor a great friend and outstanding contributor to the robust life and rich culture of my 51st Congressional District, Eloisa Carrasco Baca. Eloisa passed away on April 2, 2008. Eloisa was born on May 16. 1916 in the little farming community of Los Lentes, New Mexico. She had one brother Nicolas (deceased), and was the eldest child of Thomas and Rosalia (Montoya) Carrasco. In 1941, Eloisa married her husband of 57 years, Nicolas Baca. Shortly after marriage, husband Nick began serving a very distinguished military tour in World War II, and as a Ranger scout with the Second Ranger Battalion, scaled the cliffs of Pointe du Hoc on the Normandy coast of France to destroy enemy hunkers in June of 1944. He also served honorably at the historic ``Battle of the Bulge'' where after being taken a prisoner of war behind enemy lines, he escaped, finished his service to his Country, and triumphantly returned back home to his beloved Eloisa. Nick and Eloisa moved to California in 1952 and resided in National City, California for 53 years. Eloisa led a wonderful life and contributed fully to her family and community. She was the loving mother of 6 children, Tommy, George, Jose, Robert, Rosalie, and Herman. In fact her son, Herman Baca, is a very prominent Mexican-American activist in San Diego County. She was also the proud grandmother of 19 grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren, and 1 great-great grandchild. In a lasting tribute to Eloisa, her son Herman stated on behalf of family and friends. ``Your children, grandchildren, family and many friends thank God for granting you 91 years of life, and blessing all of us with your presence and love.'' Eloisa Carrasco Baca will be truly missed by all who were touched by her spirit, her energy and love for life. Descanse en paz.