This Memorial Day, even more than in years past, I find myself reflecting on the courage and sacrifice of our nation’s service members. Known and unknown, they have given their lives for us and for the principles and institutions we are now fighting to preserve. These heroes have long served as the bedrock for our highest ideals of freedom and self-governance.

Now, again, we face a grave threat to our nation and its people. Memorial Day gives us space to reflect and revisit the incredible devotion of those who put service to others and love of country above all else. We mourn their absence and through that find humility, courage and resilience in their example.

Since the start of this pandemic, my colleagues in the House and I have worked long hours to deliver relief and resources that people need to weather the current storm. This includes legislation that put money in the hands of workers and families, opened doors to healthcare facilities and laid the groundwork for a national testing and tracing plan.

Honoring our fallen heroes means more than offering messages of tribute. We have a duty to look out for those who have served this country and need our help now more than ever. The Heroes Act, advanced out of the House last week, made key investments for our veterans and service members including:

• Ensuring veterans will not have copays or cost-sharing for preventative treatment or services related to COVID-19 and streamlining VA’s payment process for emergency care claims to community providers;
• Temporarily suspending VA’s debt collection activities and extending the deadlines to file claims and appeals for VA benefits, including disability compensation, during the public health emergency;
• Expanding emergency assistance for homeless veterans;
• Providing VA doctors, nurses and health professionals access to hazard pay and paid sick leave if exposed or diagnosed with coronavirus, and workers compensation if they fall ill; and
• Alleviating unfair financial penalties for servicemembers and families of the fallen impacted by ‘stop movement’ orders.
  

These are small but vital measures Congress must take to support our service members and their families. We owe our way of life to these men and women, and to all who have served. We honor their sacrifice when we work to serve others and make our communities and country better each and every day.

As we reflect on the gravity of this national holiday of Memorial Day, I am reminded of the challenge President Abraham Lincoln put before us more than 150 years ago in his Gettysburg Address. At that painful site, our nation as divided as it has ever been, President Lincoln set out to remind us that the sacrifice of our soldiers calls upon us to do more than simply mourn—but also to unite. He said, in part:

 From these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

As we face this new global threat, let us be guided by the memory of their service, honor their sacrifice and draw lessons from their bravery. They epitomize the spirit of our nation, uphold its ideals and deliver us hope. They remind us that we, as Americans, can overcome any challenge when we come together in faith and in unity.

To those who have lost friends, family members or other cherished love ones, please know that America is with you, today and always. No words can express the gratitude we feel for their sacrifice for our country, and no thanks is enough to repay the debt that we owe.