COCHRAN JOINS SALUTE TO MILITARY FAMILIES
 
Senate Resolution Recognizes November as “National Military Families Month”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) today reported Senate passage of a resolution he cosponsored recognizing November as “National Military Families Month,” a time to honor those who most closely support American men and women in uniform.

Cochran was the primary Republican cosponsor of S.Res.336, which was introduced by U.S. Senator Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii).  In pronouncing the designation of National Military Families Month, the resolution also calls on the public to observe the month by honoring military families.

“Our men and women in uniform, not just today but since the inception of this nation, have always relied on the support and prayers of the parents, spouses, children and other relatives they left behind to serve their nation,” Cochran said.  “This resolution also recognizes that military service is not only a sacrifice for those in uniform, but also for their families.”

“As we prepare to salute our veterans this Veterans’ Day, it is also appropriate that we remember the military families on whom the members of our Armed Forces rely,” he said.

Inouye this year asked Cochran to be his lead Republican cosponsor on the annual military families’ resolution, following the retirement of his previous primary cosponsor, former Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel.

The resolution states that, “Whereas military families, through their sacrifices and their dedication to the United States and its values, represent the bedrock upon which the United States was founded and upon which the country continues to rely in these perilous and challenging times.”

Inouye and Cochran are the chairman and vice chairman, respectively, on the Senate Appropriations Committee, as well as the Subcommittee on Defense.  As such they have both played important roles in providing funding for the Department of Defense and its military family advocacy and support programs.

Last week, Cochran also cosponsored a resolution introduced by U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas in response to the shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, on Nov. 5.  The resolution expressed the Senate’s “deepest and most sincere condolences to the families, friends, and loved ones” of the victims, in addition to honoring the soldiers, first responders and medical personnel who aided the victims.