The American Dream I believe in is one that provides anyone willing to work hard enough with the opportunity to succeed.
Tammy Duckworth
I know from personal experience that engaging with your community and helping others helps foster a sense of shared sacrifice and - at a time when our politics seem more focused on tearing us apart than bringing us together - that shared sacrifice will help us rekindle the national unity that has made us the strongest nation in the world.
We must be an inclusive nation that respects and supports all of its citizens: a nation that doesn't give up on anyone who hasn't given up on themselves.
Sometimes it takes dealing with a disability - the trauma, the relearning, the months of rehabilitation therapy - to uncover our true abilities and how we can put them to work for us in ways we may have never imagined.
I get up every single day trying to repay a debt that I can never repay. Never. And I will work hard. Because I don't know why I was saved. I don't know.
The ADA is the living testament to our Nation's commitment that we will always stand up for our neighbors' right to live fulfilling lives.
It's really hard to use a laptop when you only have half a lap.
I shouldn't even be here, so if I'm here, I better do something good.
Nobody wants to be on food stamps, but when my family lost everything, we were grateful for it. I was grateful the program was there so I could concentrate on my schoolwork and not on my empty belly. We were grateful that we had the support we needed to roll up our sleeves and rebuild our lives.
When I joined the U.S. Army Reserve in 1992, there were no female four-star generals. I still remember the day in 2008 when a woman first achieved that rank.
The ADA is essential in helping me overcome the obstacles I face as a Wounded Warrior and empowers me to assist other veterans. It allows me to be physically active, have my pilot's license, and serve in Congress.
The contributions of African Americans, Native Americans, and immigrants throughout our nation's history are undeniable, but the tendency to overlook their gallant efforts is pervasive and persistent.
We owe it to all our veterans to make sure they have a chance to achieve the American Dream, just like the rest of us.
I'd do anything to help veterans.
As Assistant Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, a constant concern for me is having our veterans dragged into partisan politics.
In the military, a combatant command is the ultimate job. It's the pointy tip of the spear, overseeing the people carrying the rifles and flying the aircraft.
I think back to the 1990s, when I joined the Army, and all those peacetime years that we had, thinking, 'Will we ever go into combat?'
If you come from a military culture, and you go into see the general or the commander, and he talks to you very calmly and says, 'I'm very disappointed in you,' that's devastating.
Life isn't fair, and it isn't government's job to make life fair. But if you're not willing to give up on yourself, then we shouldn't give up on you, either.
It was the combination of hard work and a hand up that allowed me to become one of the first women to fly in combat missions and achieve my American Dream.
I am just one of the overwhelming majority of Americans who is responsible and hard-working and at one point in their life benefited greatly from government programs such as student loans, Medicare, and Social Security.
I believe accurately remembering - and honoring - our whole past is the first step in governing in a way that effectively represents the whole America.
When you're a member of Congress, you can become an expert in a couple of subjects. For example, I've worked on federal procurement reform, the Armed Services Committee, manufacturing, and women's health care.
Veterans Day is a time to celebrate the men and women who have worn this nation's uniform and to honor their service.
Female service members are so integrated into the military, so critical and vital to all functions of the military, from combat service support to combat support, to direct combat, that we could not go to war as a nation - we could not defend America - without our women.
I was born in Bangkok in 1968 and grew up in Southeast Asia with my Thai mom and my American father, who first came to the region to fight in Vietnam and stayed to work assisting refugees.
As a nation, we need to do everything we can to make sure those who have served have the tools they need to succeed in civilian life.
The military is a place of discipline, technical proficiency, and personal sacrifice for the greater good.
The power of the ADA is that it ended up changing my life long before I ever imagined it would.
Barack Obama will never ignore our troops.
The lessons I learned as an officer, the challenges I've faced, and the camaraderie I've experienced are at the core of who I am.
One of the good things about losing your feet is I can wear all the pointy shoes I want, and it doesn't hurt anymore. I can wear shoes just for fashion now.
My therapist would be so happy to know I'm doing all this walking. They've done a great job of putting me back together, haven't they?
I remember my mother taking me as a very little kid to the roof of our home in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to look at the bombs exploding in the distance. She didn't want us to be scared by the booms and the strange flashes of light. It was her way of helping us to understand what was happening.
The women putting their lives at risk for our country deserve better than to be treated as second-class citizens.
I don't know why I survived Iraq and I don't know why I made it home, but I do know that this is my second chance at life and I can do whatever I want now.
Like many moms in this country, I work to provide my child the best life she can have. It's tough. It's hard to take care of a sick baby all night, wake up tired, and have to go to work when all I want to do is spend time holding her.
We must recognize and keep in the public consciousness the significant contributions and sacrifices Americans of every community have made that have helped forge the greatest country our world has ever known.
I'm going to find solutions wherever I can. I think it's all a priority. You can't just say, 'OK, I'm going to work on this but not that.' You have to work on all of it.
I actually lost both my legs. I can walk because I got really good health care.
Student loans, Social Security, and Medicare make a difference in the lives of working families every day, and the conversation that should be taking place is how we can save these programs, not weaken them.
I had been pursuing a Ph.D. in political science when my National Guard unit was sent to Iraq. Eight months into our deployment, in November 2004, a rocket-propelled grenade fired by Iraqi insurgents tore through the pilot's side of the Blackhawk helicopter I was flying.
My strength is in finding ways to make the government work for the people: finding waste, or money that is not being properly used... or finding opportunities that are out there and making them work for the community.
I had 12 years in the Army before I ever faced combat.
I was in Congress for six months, and they put me on blood pressure medication. I flew helicopters in combat and I was fine, and I survived 13 months in recovery in the hospital... I got to Congress, and six months later I'm on blood pressure medication. Fourteen months later, they doubled the dosage!
If I still had my legs, I would be in line for a battalion command, and instead, I'm flying a desk.
As I recovered at Walter Reed, I worried about the soldiers who pulled me out of my helicopter that Friday afternoon. Would they make it back okay? And what about all the other soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen who were also putting their lives on the line every day?
Veterans are my life's work. From the day my buddies saved my life in Iraq, I've woken up every single day dedicated to taking care of veterans and doing my best for veterans.
I almost can't believe this even needs to be said, but it's not unwarranted to burden retirement advisers with a requirement that they act in their clients' best interest.
Southeast Asia was home for much of my childhood, but I moved to Hawaii when I was in high school.
