Volunteer State. For Tennesseans, these two words are more than a nickname. They reflect our cherished value that there is no greater honor than serving your community, your state, and your country. And there are few better representatives of this Volunteer Spirit than the men and women who have raised their hands and taken the oath to defend our nation.
This Veterans Day, we honor the more than 400,000 veterans who call our state home. They are leaders, public servants, and warriors who represent the very best our country has to offer. And they are part of a heritage of military service that stretches to our nation’s earliest years.
During the Revolutionary War, John Sevier—Tennessee’s founding father and future first governor—raised 240 volunteers from Washington and Sullivan counties to fight loyalist forces at the Battle of Kings Mountain. Despite attacking from lower ground, the Americans forced the loyalists to surrender and turned the tide of the war against the British. Three decades later, thousands of Tennesseans, including Davy Crockett and Sam Houston, answered the call to defeat the British once again during the War of 1812. And when President Polk requested 2,800 volunteers from our state to fight in the Mexican-American War in 1846, 30,000 Tennesseans stepped forward.
Today, this tradition of selfless service is carried on by our state’s incredible military community. In Tullahoma, Arnold Air Force Base leads the nation in aerospace testing, contributing to the development of ICBMs, the space shuttle, and military aircraft from the B-2 Spirit to the F-22 Raptor. Fort Campbell supports more than 60,000 soldiers and their family members, making it one of the largest military installations in America. Millington is home to Naval Support Activity Mid-South, and our National Guard facilities stretch from Memphis to Bristol.
It is my honor to represent these patriots and all the veterans who call our state home. As a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, it has been a top priority of mine to ensure that they receive the benefits and timely access to quality care that they earned and deserve.
Alongside Senator Rosen (D-Nev.), I recently introduced the Veteran Education Empowerment Act to reauthorize and improve a grant program that helps fund student veterans centers at colleges and universities. These centers support nearly one million vets as they navigate higher education and pursue career opportunities, and this bill would help ensure that they have every chance to succeed.
We also introduced the Veteran Technology Employment Success Act to improve the VET TEC High Technology program, which funds short-term, high-tech training for veterans and servicemembers to start careers in the tech industry—helping ensure that our vets are best prepared to thrive in the 21st-century economy.
My Veterans Health Care Freedom Act would place veterans, not bureaucrats, at the center of the community care referral process, empowering them to seek care from providers in their communities rather than relying solely on VA facilities. This flexibility is especially important in Tennessee, where 78 of our 95 counties are considered rural and many vets face hourslong drives to VA medical centers. Earlier this year, I also introduced the Veterans’ Bill of Rights Act, which would ensure veterans are clearly informed of their existing rights regarding VA health care, benefits, and services. Too often, these resources are buried in complex statutes, regulations, and internal policies that leave vets in the dark. This legislation would ensure that they make the most of the benefits and care that they have earned.
While our nation can never repay the sacrifices made by our veterans, we can make certain that they receive the respect, honor, and care that they deserve. By passing these bills, Congress can help ensure that happens.
