Pat Harrigan

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Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, what does it say about our priorities if North Carolina has the land to train our soldiers for war but not the space to care for them when they grow old? That is the problem H.R. 10159 helps solve, and it is why I am proud to cosponsor this bill. North Carolina is home to more than 600,000 veterans, but today the 150-bed Fayetteville State Veterans Home is closed after serious structural problems forced every resident out. The building has closed. The need that it served has not changed. Just a few miles away at Fort Bragg, there are approximately 20 acres that can give that new home a place to be built. I know Fort Bragg well. I trained there as a Green Beret and deployed from there to Afghanistan. The men I served alongside are veterans now. So am I. The 20-year-old soldier eventually becomes the 70-year-old veteran. The country that needed him at 20 still has a responsibility to him at 70. Fort Bragg has spent generations preparing Americans for service. Now, we have an opportunity to use a small part of it to care for them after that service is over. Give North Carolina the land. Let us build the home, and let us take care of the people who spent their lives taking care of our country. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.