VETERANS DAY 2006

Statement of Rep. Lane Evans (D-IL)

As many of you know, I am retiring at the end of the 109th Congress.  I do so with mixed emotions and fond memories.  I am humbled by the outpouring of good wishes from my colleagues, constituents, veterans and friends around the country.  I am proud of my efforts on behalf of servicemembers, veterans and military families.  However, I fully recognize that any accomplishments were only possible due to the support I received from my brothers and sisters in the veterans’ community; for this, I am eternally grateful.  These friendships, and the encouragement and the strength that came with them, have carried me through significant challenges, both legislative and personal, buoying my spirits and intensifying my resolve to fight for veterans’ rights and protections.

I am proud of what we have done together and I look forward to what awaits fruition, including what I believe is the most critical issue affecting veterans -- reforming the budget process and providing guaranteed, on-time annual funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs.  I strongly believe that the foundation we have laid on this and dozens of other issues will empower those who come after us to carry on the fight to improve the lives of all veterans and their families and make every day, Veterans Day.  

At the eleventh hour, on the eleventh day, of the eleventh month in 1918, the guns fell silent, ending World War I.  It was the origin of a sacred ritual wherein the Nation would annually come together to mourn, honor and commemorate the lives lost in battle and the service of all who wear the uniform.  The Nation will again gather on November 11 to honor the men and women who have sacrificed so greatly to protect us and secure our precious freedoms.  How appropriate that we exercise one of the most precious, electing our leaders, in the same week we honor those who presented that gift to us. 
 

Many challenges lie ahead of us as a nation.  None is so great that it should displace the high obligation of taking care of our warriors and their families.  We must prepare to care for the new generation of veterans who are engaged in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, too many of whom are suffering traumatic physical and mental injury.  We must continue to address the needs of the veterans who served before as well, our contemporaries who, with age, increasingly need long-term care.  And we must not fail those who have fallen into the shadows of life, without shelter or a place to turn on the streets of America.  Done right, the system we have established for our veterans -- the Department of Veterans Affairs and associated government programs, as well as the involvement of every citizen -- will assure that no veteran is ignored, overlooked or slighted, whether he or she seeks medical treatment, a place to live, an opportunity to stay productive or an honored place of final rest.

These and other challenges will still be present when the sun sets on this Veterans Day.  We must resolve to face them with action, with innovation, with persistence, and with the insistence that they never be subjected to the whims of politics or partisan gain.  We must leave no veteran behind.  When we do, we are all diminished.  While I will not be with you in this cause in the position I have held here in the Congress for 24 years, I will always stand for veterans in the capacities that my health allows.

To my fellow veterans, thank you for your sacrifices.  I am honored to have had the opportunity to help give a voice to your concerns in these halls.  Be assured you will always hold a place in my heart and memories; know I will continue to carry your message.  I am privileged to have served with you and for you, and am proud to call you friends.

Semper Fi.

LANE EVANS