Ensuring that All Veterans and Their Spouses Have Access to Earned Benefits

Floor Speech

(Ms. TITUS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute.)

Ms. TITUS. Mr. Speaker, last week, during the VA approps debate, I spoke about Madelynn Taylor, a veteran being denied the right to be interred with her spouse, Jean, in the Idaho State Veterans Cemetery because they are lesbians.

Idaho does not recognize their marriage and is denying the couple the honor and dignity earned through Madelynn's service in the U.S. Navy. Clearly, LGBT veterans continue to face discrimination.

Nearly a year after the landmark decision striking down DOMA, the VA still does not have a clear policy to ensure all veterans and their spouses have access to their earned benefits.

In response to the situation, Idaho resident and 27-year Army veteran, Colonel Barry Johnson, offered Madelynn and Jean his plot at the State cemetery stating:

Madelynn loves her country. She wants her partner by her side, and she wants to eternally rest among veterans in the State she made home.

She deserves that. We need more people like the colonel here in Congress, willing to speak up on behalf of all our veterans and their families who deserve to receive the benefits that they have earned.

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