WASHINGTON (March 1, 2006) – The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. will honor Florida Rep. C.W. “Bill” Young and his wife, Beverly, next week for their efforts to improve the lives of military veterans, servicemembers, and their families.
The congressman will be presented the VFW Congressional Award for his outstanding service to the nation and its 25 million veterans — 85,000 of whom reside within his 10th Congressional District — as the former chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, and as the current chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense and member of the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee.
His wife will be presented the VFW Gold Medal and Citation for being the driving force behind recent legislation to improve the lives of wounded troops recuperating in our military hospitals — specifically, eliminating the meal charge that wounded servicemen and women were having to pay as they recuperated in military hospitals, and removing the dollar restriction on private gifts to the wounded.
According to VFW Commander-in-Chief Jim Mueller, this could be the first time in the modern history of his 107-year-old organization that it has honored a congressional couple at the same time.
“It is widely known that there are those in Congress who support veterans and the military because they have to in order to win more elections,” said Mueller, a Vietnam veteran from O’Fallon, Mo. “The Youngs support the troops because they want to — and they do it without fanfare — and I am proud to recognize them both for caring enough to make a difference in the lives of our servicemembers and their families.”
The first VFW Congressional Award was presented in 1964 to Sen. Carl Hayden of Arizona. The award alternates between the House and Senate each year to one member who makes the most impact on the lives of veterans. Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska received last year’s award.
The presentations will start at 9:30 a.m., Monday, at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in northwest Washington as part of the three-day VFW Legislative and Community Service Conference. More than 1,000 senior VFW leaders will be in town to meet with their respective congressional members and to attend Mueller’s testimony before the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee at 10 a.m., Tuesday.