Veterans

“With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow, and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”

President Abraham Lincoln
Second Inaugural Address
March 4, 1865

Honoring and caring for our veterans is a sacred duty. When we remember the blanket of liberty and freedom they put their lives on the line to provide for America and her allies, we must never forget what each and every veteran has sacrificed.

Meeting the needs of our nation’s veterans will continue to be a major focus and priority of mine in Congress.  Because I believe that serving our country in uniform is an extremely noble undertaking, I am committed to working hard for the veterans in the 19th District of Texas. I strongly believe that we must keep the promises we have made to our nation’s veterans.

It is no surprise that many of the colleges in the 19th Congressional District were named “Military Friendly Schools” in 2012 by G.I. Jobs, a premiere publication for military transitioners.  Abilene Christian University, Angelo State University, Lubbock Christian University, Texas Tech University and Texas Tech Health Sciences Center, Wayland Baptist University and have all been recognized as “Military Friendly Schools.”

The “Military Friendly Schools” list honors the top 15 percent of colleges, universities and trade schools that are doing the most to embrace America’s veterans as students.  The common bond is their shared priority of recruiting students with military experience.

I also am committed to ensuring that the Big Spring VA Hospital continues to provide quality health care to veterans throughout West Texas, as it has for over 60 years.  At the request of many who reside in Big Spring and West Texas, I introduced H.R. 558 to rename the Big Spring VA Hospital in honor of the late George H. O’Brien, a Medal of Honor recipient from Big Spring.  On October 5, 2011, President Obama signed the legislation into law, officially renaming the VA Hospital the “George H. O’Brien, Jr., Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center.”  It will honor a great American who represented his community and nation with the utmost courage and valor.

Additionally, I was proud to help honor the sacrifice of Sgt. Chris Davis, who was killed in combat on June 23, 2007 in Baghdad.  His name will be permanently memorialized at the Post Office on Gary Avenue so that we will remember his service, and never forget that freedom is not free. Naming this post office represents our thanks and gratitude, and I want Sgt. Davis’s family and friends to know that his sacrifice does not go unnoticed or unappreciated.

I remain committed to working with local leaders to search for new opportunities to make life easier for those who have sacrificed for this nation.  Because the American flag represents the values that veterans have fought for, I will continue to support legislation that bans the physical desecration of the Flag of the United States. In the 112th Congress, I have cosponsored H.J.Res. 13, which would create a Constitutional amendment granting Congress the power to prohibit the physical desecration of the Flag.