In Chicago, Duckworth Honors Veterans and Celebrates Veterans Day
[CHICAGO, IL] — Combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), who served in the Reserve Forces for 23 years before retiring at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, today celebrated Veterans Day with local Veterans throughout Chicagoland. Duckworth also met with LGBTQ+ Veterans to hear how the Trump Administration’s actions have hurt them and their and access to benefits. Photos from today’s events are available on the Senator’s website.
“Veterans Day is a day of celebration, it’s a moment for all of us to take time to recognize and honor the service of everyone willing to put on the uniform and sacrifice to keep our great nation safe,” Duckworth said. “Our heroes deserve much more than just an ovation on Veterans Day itself—they deserve to be honored the other 364 days of the year through access to good-paying jobs, high-quality, accessible health care, affordable housing and much more. Yet Donald Trump’s all-out assault on the VA—and his firing of more Veterans than any other President in recent history—is a slap in the face to the brave servicemembers and families who’ve sacrificed so much for our nation.”
Duckworth began the day joining a fireside chat with AAR Corp to honor and highlight support for Veterans in the aviation and workforce industry. She also joined the University of Chicago Institute of Politics to meet with military-affiliated students and student Veterans, followed by a discussion on Veterans, Donald Trump’s impacts on the Department of Defense as well as our Veterans and the importance of military service. Photos from the AAR Corp and University of Chicago Institute of Politics fireside chats are available on the Senator’s website.
Additionally, Duckworth spoke at a memorial tribute ceremony honoring the life of U.S. Veteran Miguel Perez Jr. She worked closely with Perez and his family in her advocacy to support deported Veterans. Photos from the memorial ceremony are available on the Senator’s website.
Duckworth has been a fierce leader and advocate for improving our Veterans’ and servicemembers’ access to the care they need—and she’s long been active in protecting Veterans from deportation and helping those deported gain citizenship and access to VA services.
Yesterday, Duckworth announced the reintroduction a package of bills—the Veterans Visa and Protection Act, HOPE Act and I-VETS Act—that would prohibit the deportation of immigrant Veterans who are not violent offenders, provide these Veterans with a pathway to citizenship through their military service and help ensure those who have already been deported can access the VA healthcare services they are entitled to.
In September, she reintroduced legislation that would improve Veterans’ access to contraception and increase efficiency and cost-effectiveness for contraceptive products at the VA. A few weeks prior, Duckworth sent a letter to VA Secretary Collins demanding he block ICE from stealing VA resources at Hines VA Hospital in Chicago. Duckworth also joined U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) in reintroducing legislation to help make it easier for our Veterans who struggle with infertility to build their families. Earlier this year, Duckworth railed against the Trump Administration for indiscriminately firing Veterans Crisis Line workers and introduced her Protect Veteran Jobs Act with U.S. Senator Andy Kim (D-NJ) to reinstate the thousands of Veterans who were fired in Trump’s mass layoffs—an effort Republicans shamefully blocked in March.
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