Monday is Veteran's Day in the United States. Senator Patty Murray (above) is the former Chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee -- she continues to serve on the Committee and she's now the Chair of the Senate Budget Committee. Her late father, David L. Johns, was a Purple Heart recipient (World War II). Her office issued the following:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Murray Press Office
Friday, November 08, 2013 (202) 224-2834
Senator Murray’s Veterans Day Statement
(Washington, D.C.) – Today,
U.S. Senator Patty Murray, senior member of the Senate Veterans’
Affairs Committee, released the following statement as the nation
prepares to observe Veterans Day:
“On Veterans Day, we honor and
celebrate the courage and commitment of our nation’s heroes, both past
and present. When these brave men and women signed up to serve our
country, we agreed to take care of them. They kept their end of the
bargain and we must keep ours.
“Our veterans have leadership ability, discipline, and technical skills to not only find work but to excel in a 21st Century workforce. But despite these facts, veterans across the country continue to struggle as they try to find work.
“For too long we have invested
billions of dollars in training our young men and women with skills to
protect our nation, only to ignore them once they leave the military.
For too long, at the end of their career, we patted our veterans on the
back for their service and then pushed them out into the job market
alone. Thankfully, we have been able to take real, concrete steps toward
putting our veterans back to work with new laws like my “VOW to Hire
Heroes Act” and other legislative efforts.
“We
have also worked to build partnerships with private sector businesses
in order to tap into the tremendous amount of goodwill that companies
have toward our returning heroes. In fact, just this week, our own
Microsoft and Starbucks launched major, nation-wide initiatives to put
our men and women in uniform back to work.
“This
is the legacy of opportunity we have to live up to for our nation’s
veterans. This is the responsibility we all have on our shoulders. It
doesn’t end on the battlefield. It doesn’t end after the parades Monday.
In fact, it never ends.
“Our
veterans don’t ask for a lot and too often they are coming home and
facing unnecessary stresses and struggles. On this Veterans Day we need
to redouble our efforts – government, businesses, and citizens - to
guarantee our veterans get a fair shot and to guarantee them that they
are not measured by fear or stigma, but what they can do, what they have
done, and what they will do.”
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Meghan Roh
Press Secretary | New Media Director
Office of U.S. Senator Patty Murray
Mobile: (202) 365-1235
Office: (202) 224-2834