Restoring
Honor
to
Veterans
Senator
Schatz
joined
U.S.
Senator
Kirsten
Gillibrand
(D-N.Y.)
and
U.S.
Representative
Mark
Pocan
(D-Wis.)
to
reintroduce
the
Restore
Honor
to
Service
Members
Act.
“With
this
bill,
Congress
has
the
opportunity
to
honor
our
commitment
to
all
Americans
who
serve
in
our
nation’s
military
and
right
the
wrong
of
past
discrimination,” said
Senator
Schatz. “It
puts
into
law
the
steps
the
Department
of
Defense
has
taken
to
restore
the
dignity
of
gay
and
lesbian
veterans
who
were
unjustly
discharged
from
our
armed
forces
and
give
them
access
to
the
benefits
and
honorable
service
records
that
are
rightfully
theirs.”
Since
World
War
II,
more
than
100,000
Americans
are
estimated
to
have
been
discharged
from
the
military
because
of
their
sexual
orientation. Those
forced
out
of
the
military
may
have
left
with
discharge
statuses
of
“other
than
honorable,”
“general
discharge”
or
“dishonorable,”
depending
on
the
circumstances. As
a
consequence,
many
of
these
service
members
may
be
disqualified
from
accessing
certain
benefits
that
they
earned
and
are
entitled
to,
and
may
not
be
able
to
claim
veteran
status. The
consequences
of
a
negative
discharge
also
include
preventing
some
veterans
from
voting
or
making
it
more
difficult
for
them
to
acquire
civilian
employment.
Senator
Schatz
gives
remarks
at
the
Honolulu
Equality
March
earlier
this
month.
Protecting
Our
Health
Care
Senator
Schatz
led
a
group
of
Senate
Democrats
in
holding
the
Senate
floor
to
urge
Senate
Republicans
to
abandon
their
closed
door
approach
in
drafting
Trumpcare
and
show
the
American
people
their
bill.
“We
haven’t
held
a
single
hearing
on
Trumpcare.
No
one
who
knows
anything
about
health
care
is
allowed
to
say
anything
about
this
bill.
They
are
not
allowed
to
even
see
it.
This
is
a
violation
of
the
way
democracy
should
work,” said
Senator
Schatz
in
his
remarks
on
the
Senate
floor.
“It
is
bad
enough
that
they
are
trying
to
take
healthcare
away
from
23
million
people--from
nursing
home
patients
and
their
families,
from
women
who
are
pregnant
or
fighting
breast
cancer,
from
sons
and
daughters
and
moms
and
dads
who
struggle
with
opioids.
But
to
add
insult
to
injury,
they
are
going
to
jam
it
down
your
throat.
You
don't
get
to
read
what
it
is
about
before
it
passes
or
hear
from
doctors
or
nurses
or
experts
about
how
it
will
affect
you.”
To
watch
Senator
Schatz's
speech,
click here.
Working
to
Secure
Funding
for
Native
Hawaiian
Housing
Last week,
the
Senate
Indian
Affairs
Committee
held
a
hearing
on
the
Bringing
Useful
Initiatives
for
Indian
Land
Development
(BUILD)
Act
of
2017.
This
legislation
would
exclude
Native
Hawaiians
from
the
reauthorization
of
funding
for
native
housing
programs.
To
watch
Senator
Schatz's
statement
denouncing
this
break
from
the
bipartisanship
tradition
of
the
Indian
Affairs
committee,
click here.
Bringing
the
Aloha
Spirit
to
Washington
Senator
Schatz
with
this
year's
KIUC
Youth
Tour
delegates.
To
respond
to
this
message,
please
click
here.
This
link
will
take
you
to
a
webpage
where
you
can
reply
to
messages
that
you
receive
from
Senator
Schatz's
office. |