Memorial Day is an opportunity for the nation to honor our fallen heroes for their sacrifice and thank America ’s veterans for their service.  It is a day to pause and reflect on the courage of our brave men and women in uniform.  At a time of war, it’s especially important that we remember the families of the 90 Tennesseans who have given their lives for us in Iraq and Afghanistan .  All of us should do everything we can to support our troops and pray for their safe and speedy return.

One of my goals in Congress is to be sure we reach a successful and honorable conclusion to our engagements in the Middle East as soon as possible.  We should also improve educational opportunities for veterans and active duty personnel so they have every available opportunity to succeed.  I’m working to better provide for these men and women by updating one of the most successful pieces of legislation that Congress has ever passed: the Montgomery GI Bill.  Through the GI Bill, millions of our Greatest Generation’s veterans received an education that improved their lives and helped unite and strengthen our country.  Our current veterans need a GI Bill that meets their generation’s needs.

I’m committed first and foremost to our Tennessee vets and service members and am working to pass a bill that provides the same benefits for Tennesseans as for service members from other states.  The McCain GI Bill treats military personnel in all states equally, allows the transfer of benefits to family members, and addresses military retention and that’s why I believe this legislation is the best bill for our state.  Senator Jim Webb of Virginia has also put forth a bill to help our troops, and I applaud his commitment to improving the lives of veterans and our active duty military, Reserve units and the National Guard.  Under Senator Webb’s proposal a veteran’s tuition benefit would be based on the veteran’s homestate public university costs.  This means that a Tennessean would receive $5,932 in educational benefits while a veteran or service member from Illinois or a Maryland would be eligible for more than $11,000 in tuition benefits.  This inequity puts our veterans and service members at a disadvantage, and that’s why I’m urging Congress to instead pass Senator McCain’s GI Bill reform.

So, on this Memorial Day weekend, we should honor the memory of those who lost their lives in service to our country.   We should thank those currently serving, and recommit the nation to supporting the military and better providing for our veterans and service members.