Date: 2008-04-30
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. we appreciate the opportunity tonight in the 30Something Working Group to talk about an item that is extremely important to America and particularly important to Americas military families. and that is the effects of troop deployment on the children. families and communities of military personnel. Speaker PELOSI has been so supportive of the notion that we need to mdke sure that we shape our policy. particularly around our Nations veterans. in support of our military families. The extended troop deployments. the tour after tour of duty. I know that so many of us as Members have met with soldiers families and met with individual troops who have said they are on their third and fourth tour of duty. that they are having extended deployments. that they are having a much shorter than they are supposed to time between deployments. Normally they are supposed to go through about 365 days letween deployments. Those times have not been respected and they have been sent back much sooner. Since October 2001. approximately 1.6 million U.S. troops have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Deployed family members are leaving behind parents. children and spouses to provide a selfless patriotic service to our country. However. families are also asked to make great sacrifices when dealing with the stress and anxiety of multiple deployments. limited and infrequent communications. and the separation of a family member. In this Month of the Military Child. we thought it was only appropriate that we show our support for those that themselves provide so much support to our soldiers and discuss the consequences of these prolonged separations. I would like to begin. Mr. Speaker. with a story of the Lopez.family. The Lopez family is right here. They were profiled in the Sesame Workshop Talk. .Listen. Connect Series. Tenyearold Ernesto. who is the little boy right here. and 6yearold Jennifer. live with their mother and baby brother on Fort Bragg in North Carolina. which is home of the Airborne and Special Operations Forces and one of the largest military bases in the world. Their dad. Staff Sergeant Ernesto Lopez. is in Iraq on his third tour of duty. Look how little these children are. The daughter is 6 years old. If he is on his third tour of duty. and most of these tours of dilty. Mr. Speaker. are. as you know. about a year each. that means that he has missed half of Jennifers life already. Half. It is just unbelievable. Jennifer keeps a special calendar in her room to mark the days until her dad comes home. Ernesto sleeps with a duplicate of the small ball that his father carries. a soft army ball with a molded helmet and a soldiers face. onto which Ernesto drew a heart that means "we love each other." in his words. Even baby Elan. who was born 2 days before his father was deployed. has a softsided photo album filled with pictures of his dad that his mother hopes will ease his recognition when he returns. Imagine. It is going to be incredibly difficult for this family to go through the restoration of bonding that military families inevitably go through. I cant imagine having just given birth and having to leave to go across the world and not know whether or if I would see my family again. That is what our men and women that are fighting for us in Iraq are going through every single day. And as Ernesto. Jennifer. Elan and Mrs. Lopez know so well. when a parent is deployed. the entire family is deployed. The Lopez children are an example of the 1.2 million children under the age of 10 who have a parent or parents on active military duty or in the Reserves. which is more than at any other time since World War H. Tonight. Mr. Speaker. we are going to be discussing the burdens of deployment on the children. families and communities of the brave men and women that serve us in uniform. Families and communities of military personnel are making huge sacrifices every day for the protection of this country. and we must be prepared as a Nation to ensure the wellbeing of military families. welcome home our brave soldiers at the end of their tours. and provide for their safe reintegration into their communities. At this time. I would like to recognize the gentleman who suggested that the 30Something Working Group take up this subject during our weekly hour. He is a tremendous leader when it comes to the issues important to veterans and military families. Chairman BOB FILNER. the gentleman from California.