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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, Women have served in all of America's major
3 conflicts, beginning with the American Revolution when some
4 women disguised themselves as men to join the Continental Army;
5 and
 
6     WHEREAS, Women were hired in medical service in the wars of
7 the 18th and 19th centuries and, during the Civil War, were
8 also hired as cooks, seamstresses, saboteurs, scouts,
9 couriers, and foragers for supplies; and
 
10     WHEREAS, In the Spanish-American War, a typhoid fever
11 emergency forced the United States Army to recruit 1,500 women
12 under a civilian contract, which is considered the event that
13 established women as a formal part of the military; and
 
14     WHEREAS, In spite of the secondary status of women in the
15 military at the time, more than 35,000 women served in roles
16 ranging from nurses to telephone operators to clerks in World
17 War I, which was the first war in which American women served
18 overseas; and
 
19     WHEREAS, More than 350,000 women served in World War II,
20 including the first female officers, who responded to an
21 all-out mobilization because of a desperate need for personnel;
22 and
 
23     WHEREAS, During the Vietnam War, the military opened up
24 many other positions to women as a result of not only personnel
25 shortages but also general societal changes in the role of
26 women; and
 
27     WHEREAS, Between 1990 and 2000, the female veterans'
28 population in the United States increased by 33.3% from 1.2
29 million to 1.6 million, representing approximately 7% of the

 

 

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1 total veteran population; and
 
2     WHEREAS, In fiscal year 2001, approximately 203,000 women
3 were serving in the United States military and made up 15% of
4 the active duty force and about 23% of the reserve force; and
 
5     WHEREAS, By the year 2010, it is projected that female
6 veterans will comprise well over 10% of the veteran population;
7 and
 
8     WHEREAS, Female service members are currently stationed
9 throughout the world and are proudly serving their country in
10 many operations including Operation Enduring Freedom and
11 Operation Iraqi Freedom; and
 
12     WHEREAS, Veteran services and health systems should
13 reflect the increasing population change of women in military
14 service; and
 
15     WHEREAS, There are only 8 Women Veterans' Comprehensive
16 Health Centers in the federal Veterans' Affairs system that
17 serve as health care centers for female veterans and develop
18 new and enhanced programs focusing on the unique health care
19 needs of female veterans, including research on medical and
20 psychosocial issues of female veterans; and
 
21     WHEREAS, These services should be expanded to all veteran
22 health care systems, including the Veterans' Affairs Illiana
23 Heath Care System in Danville, Illinois, which provides care to
24 approximately 150,000 veterans primarily residing in central
25 Illinois and west central Indiana; therefore, be it
 
26     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
27 NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
28 we urge the United States Department of Veterans' Affairs to
29 consider the increasing needs of female veterans and to expand

 

 

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1 services to women throughout the Veterans' Health
2 Administration, especially at the Veterans' Affairs Illiana
3 Heath Care System in Danville, Illinois; and be it further
 
4     RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
5 delivered to the Secretary of the United States Department of
6 Veterans' Affairs and to all of the members of the Illinois
7 Congressional delegation.