On Veterans Day, Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard thanks area veterans for their honorable service to our country at a ceremony held at Veterans Memorial Park in Commerce. Organized by the city and the American Legion Post 320, this year's ceremony included a processional march, the raising of the flag, presentation tributes to all branches of the armed forces, a musical concert and luncheon. The congresswoman’s remarks appear below:

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“Good morning. It is truly a pleasure to join you in paying tribute to the brave man and women who have honorably served in our armed forces and laid down their lives in defense of freedom.

I thank Mayor Fierro and the city council for inviting me to be a part of the city’s Veteran’s Day commemoration.

And I commend the American Legion Post #320 for their work and dedication in helping to organize this special event.

Today we gather to honor the men and women who have worn our nation's uniform and to thank them for their service and their devotion to duty.

Whether they served in time of war or peace, America's veterans share a common bond: their unwavering love of country. And we are the beneficiaries of their courage, sacrifice and vigilance.

The debt we owe America’s 24 million veterans and the nearly one million brave Americans who made the ultimate sacrifice in combat or combat related events is immeasurable.

As we continue to be engaged in hostilities abroad we are also reminded of those who are serving our country in places such as Iraq and Afghanistan.

And we are constantly reminded of their sacrifice as the numbers of fatalities rise and thousands come home injured or maimed in the line of duty.

Their stories are the stories of our nation’s history because America rose to greatness on their shoulders.

It is to our Veterans and men and women in uniform that we owe our freedom to live, work and raise our families as we please.

While it is more than fitting that each year we pause to honor their sacrifices, we must also fulfill our moral obligation to ensure we meet their needs when they come home.

In honoring all of America’s veterans, this Congress, under its new leadership has made it a priority to fulfill our nation’s promises to those who have served.

For example Congress is on course to passing a veterans bill with the largest increase for veterans’ health care in the 77-year history of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

The increase in funding will improve veterans’ access to quality medical care by enabling the VA to hire more doctors and nurses and more than 1100 new claims processors to reduce 400,000 backlogged claims for disability and other needed benefits. The bill will also enable the VA to make needed repairs and upgrades to its facilities.
This historic investment follows a $5.2 billion health care increase for more than five million veterans, including funds to treat veterans suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain injury.
In addition we are upholding our pledge to support our troops and their families.

In the bipartisan Defense bill that hopefully will become law soon, Congress has increased military pay by 35 percent and is making progress towards ending the Military Families Tax on Survivor benefits and the Disabled Veterans Tax on Retirement benefits for combat-related military disabled retirees.

While I am proud to have been a part of a Congress that is moving to make sure we keep our promises to our nation’s veterans, our work is far from over.

We must continue to work to uphold our sacred commitment to our veterans and their families that is demonstrative of our gratitude for their service and sacrifice on behalf of our country and our way of life.

On this Veterans Day, I salute our brave veterans and men and women in uniform and I thank them and their families on behalf of a grateful nation.”

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