Washington, D.C. - Congressman Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) was honored by the Blinded American Veterans Foundation (BAVF) at its 20th annual Congressional Awards Ceremony. Van Hollen received the Foundation's George "Buck" Gillispie Award for Meritorious Service.
“I am proud to have received this honor from a group that has fought so valiantly for the freedom of our nation,” said Van Hollen. “I will continue to fight for our veterans because I believe that our troops should be taken care of when we send them into battle and that our veterans should be given our respect when we bring them home.”
“This award is given in appreciation of Congressman Van Hollen’s outstanding service to American veterans, especially those with sensory disabilities,” said John Fales, Jr., President, Blinded American Veterans Foundation.
Van Hollen has fought hard to ensure that our nation provides its veterans and military retirees with the retirement benefits they earned serving our country. In 2003 and again this year, he introduced the Keep Our Promises to America’s Military Retirees Act, a bill to restore earned and promised health care coverage to retired members of the uniformed services. He also is working to end the unfair Disabled Veterans Tax and enact a retirement plan for veterans that would authorize full payment of both retirement pay and disability compensation to the 400,000 disabled military retirees.
This Annual Congressional Award for Meritorious Service is presented to Members of Congress who have made significant contributions toward furthering the Foundation’s efforts on behalf of sensory disabled American veterans. The award was named in honor of George "Buck” Gillispie, in recognition of his tireless efforts for the sensory disabled.
The Blinded American Veterans Foundation assists blinded and sensory-disabled veterans in attaining their full potential through research, rehabilitation, and re-employment. The Foundation was launched in 1985 by three American veterans who lost their sight during service in Korea and Vietnam – John Fales (USMC), Don Garner (USN) and Dennis Wyant (USN).