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HR0123 |
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LRB095 06833 DRJ 26951 r |
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, On June 22, 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt |
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| signed the "Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944", better |
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| known as the "GI Bill of Rights"; and
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| WHEREAS, The bill at first was the subject of intense |
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| debate and parliamentary maneuvering, but has since been |
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| recognized as one of Congress' most important acts; and
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| WHEREAS, During the past five decades, the law has made |
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| possible the investment of billions of dollars in education and |
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| training for millions of veterans, and the nation has in return |
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| earned many times that investment in increased taxes and a |
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| dramatically changed society; and
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| WHEREAS, The law also made possible the loan of billions of |
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| dollars to purchase homes for millions of veterans and helped |
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| to transform the majority of
Americans from renters to |
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| homeowners; and
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| WHEREAS, The 1944 GI Bill provided six benefits: education |
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| and training; loan guarantees for a home, farm, or business; |
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| unemployment pay; job-finding assistance; top priority for |
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| building materials for VA hospitals; and military review of |
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| dishonorable discharges; the home loan program is the only |
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HR0123 |
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LRB095 06833 DRJ 26951 r |
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| feature of the original bill that is still in force; and
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| WHEREAS, The original GI Bill ended in 1956, but subsequent |
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| GI Bills have continued the original bill's education and |
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| training benefits; the bill currently in effect is the |
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| Montgomery GI Bill, which provides benefits for veterans who |
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| served after July 1, 1985, and for military reservists; and
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| WHEREAS, In signing the original GI Bill, President |
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| Roosevelt stated that the Bill "gives emphatic notice to the |
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| men and women in our armed forces that the American people do |
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| not intend to let them down"; and
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| WHEREAS, Our servicemen and women have sacrificed much for |
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| our country, and continued funding of GI Bill benefits is |
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| imperative to ensure that they are treated with the respect |
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| they deserve; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE |
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| NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we |
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| urge the federal government to meet all of the financial |
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| obligations of the GI Bill; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be sent to |
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| President George W. Bush, federal Secretary of Veterans Affairs |
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| Jim Nicholson, each member of the Illinois Congressional |