BOEHNER COLUMN: Seek Opportunities to Honor Our Veterans Every Day of the Year

Our veterans have given all a person can give – so that we may live free – and we owe them a great debt of gratitude.

So as we pause to pay tribute on Veterans Day, let’s not forget that honoring our men and women in uniform should be a daily honor – all part of a broader pledge to live up to the promises that our nation has made to them and their families.

While saying, “Thank you,” is crucially important, there’s always more that can be done, of course.  We must do everything we can to look out for the families of the fallen, ensure our veterans have the 21^st-century health care system they deserve, and make it easier for our heroes to find work.

Every day offers new opportunities to uphold our pledge.

This time of year, dozens of memorial services are held throughout our area.  Many local businesses  offercareer-building workshops, jobs fairs, and special events.  Communities come together to honor our hometown heroes – such as Piqua’s own William H. Pitsenbarger – for acts of bravery that will take your breath away.

But for every new opportunity, there are veterans who have escaped our attention for far too long.  Sergeant Maurice Miller’s story comes to mind.  Forty-six years after being shot in the head during a battle on the Mekong Delta, my office was able to help Sergeant Miller, a Vietnam Veteran who lives in Preble County, obtain a recognition that was terribly overdue – a Purple Heart for his valor and sacrifice.

Without a doubt, cleaning up the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and transforming it into a first-rate, 21^st-century model of service is another example.  While Congress recently acted to provide the VA with additional resources and the authority to hold senior officials accountable in the wake of the VA scandal, those steps are just the beginning.  Our veterans were neglected, and their families were deceived – as I’ve said all along, we can’t rest until the issues at the VA are finally resolved.  It’s a big job, and it’s going to take all of us to hold Washington accountable.

And with the unemployment rate among veterans still sitting at an unacceptable level, we must work hard encourage employers to hire – that’s why my colleagues and I are committed to advancing the Hire More Heroes Act, a bill that makes it easier to hire veterans by exempting those who already have health insurance from being counted as full-time employees under the president’s health care law.  If employers can hire veterans without worrying about triggering ObamaCare penalties, they can better focus on hiring more heroes.

Perhaps one of the most important things we can do, though, is pray.  Pray for the safe return of those currently serving in our armed forces – so that they, too, may be honored on this day.  However you choose to uphold the pledge to our nation’s veterans, it’s my hope that you’ll seek opportunities – both new and old – every single day of the year.  It truly is the least we can do.