Washington, DC - United States Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) led a bipartisan group of 21 senators today and introduced a resolution designating April 18, 2019 as "Military Retiree Appreciation Day" to commemorate the life-long service of military retirees. The resolution encourages Americans to honor the past and continued service of the approximately 2 million retired service members across the United States.

The week of April 7-13, 2019 is designated as National Volunteer Week and many of the military retirees continue their lifelong service as dedicated volunteers in their local communities. This week offers an opportunity to pay tribute to retirees' continued dedicated service. 

"I am honored to be the sister of three military veterans and to introduce bipartisan legislation that honors the men and women in uniform who made sacrifices to protect our country," Senator Warren said. "This bill will ensure that our veterans and service members continue to be commemorated for their life-long and continued dedicated service."

"The selfless service of our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coastguardsmen has secured America's place in the world as a beacon of freedom," Senator Cruz said. "Our servicemen and women dedicate their lives to the advancement of freedom and protection of the homeland. This commitment often continues after their time in uniform. In honor of their lifetime of service, I'm glad to once again join with Sen. Warren to set aside this day in honor of our retired servicemen and women."

Original co-sponsors include Senators Doug Jones (D-Ala.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), David Perdue (R-Ga.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska).

Both senators introduced and passed an identical resolution last year that garnered 21 additional bipartisan cosponsors.

###