November 11th has been a special day for me and my fellow Veterans for decades, as America officially pauses to honor us with the Veterans' Day national holiday each year. But one day, or even one month, does little to show our appreciation to the brave men and women who have sacrificed to keep America free for more than 200 years. From the Revolutionary War to the current War on Terrorism, hundreds of thousands of our sons and daughters have volunteered life and limb to make our Country the greatest nation in the history of the World.

In his proclamation declaring the first Veterans Day in 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower asked our country to, "pay appropriate homage to the veterans of all its wars who have contributed so much to the preservation of the Nation". I could not agree more. And I believe it is Congress' moral obligation as America's legislative body to do everything we can to honor our 25 million veterans not just in words and memorials, but also with actions that directly improve their lives. And that is exactly what we've done over the past few years.

Funding for veterans health care has risen to historic levels over the past three years, and Congress is actively working to increase this year's budget by over $3 billion. The House also approved legislation to invest $1.4 billion over the next three years in new health care facilities across the country to bring VA health care to where veterans live. These actions have made, and will continue to make, it possible for veterans to receive the comprehensive health care services they need, in a timely manner and at convenient locations. Recent reports indicate that the number of veterans experiencing long waiting times for health care has dropped from 300,000 a year ago to less than 60,000 today.

With the final phase-in of the Veterans Education and Benefits Expansion Act of 2001, the total lifetime educational benefit for qualified veterans has risen from $24,192 to $35,460 - an increase of $11,268 going towards education and job training of veterans. And in early November, the House approved a truly historic change on behalf of disabled military retirees.

For more than a century, military retirees with service-connected disabilities have had the amount of their monthly disability compensation deducted from their retirement pension. The concurrent receipt agreement makes historic progress toward ensuring that military retirees who are injured in service to our country receive fair and equitable compensation. Over the next ten years this will result in more than $22 billion going directly into the pockets of over 250,000 military retirees who were injured or taken ill as a result of their service.

So as we pause once again to honor America's veterans, we can take great pride in knowing our government is doing its part to make sure the gratitude is extended for years to come.