(Continued from page 12)

our veterans succeed. 
• For Congress' part, my colleagues in the House and I have passed a number of bills over the past year that would improve benefits to those who have served in our military.  I'm proud that even as the purse strings tighten, the House is focused on finding a way to give a cost of living adjustment to veterans in 2014. 
• I am also working to shrink the Veterans Administration backlog.  It is unacceptable for our veterans to be waiting for months and sometimes years for their healthcare benefit claims to be processed.  I will continue to demand that the promises we've made are promises we keep.
• I am proud of South Dakota's great tradition of military service.  Ten Medal of Honor recipients and some of the greatest pilots in history hail from our state.  Please join me this week and every week in remembering our veterans, their families, and the reason for which we are fighting today.  Remember that while we live in liberty, it is the soldier who earned it on our behalf.