Senators Hagel and Reed visit
Manila American Cemetery and Memorial
United
States Senators Chuck Hagel R-Nebraska (second, left), and Jack
Reed (D-Rhode Island) (second, right), accompanied by U.S. Ambassador
Francis Ricciardone (left) and Manila American Cemetery and Memorial
superintendent Daniel Reese ((right), stand at attention as the
U.S. National Anthem is played during their visit to the cemetery
on May 30, 2003 to pay homage to U.S. servicemen interred there.
The two senators were in Manila on May 29-30 as part of a recent
visit to the region, and met with President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
and senior Philippine government officials. Senator Hagel, Nebraska’s
senior senator, is a member of the Senate Committee on Foreign
Relations and Select Committee on Intelligence. Senator Reed,
who previously served as a member of the House of Representatives,
is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Health,
Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Both senators are members
of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee.
Biodata of Senators Hagel and Reed
“We’re very impressed with the grasp of the President
of all these issues,” Senator Hagel (right) said of their
meeting earlier in the day with President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
to follow up on a number of bilateral issues related to her May
19, 2003 State Visit to Washington. On the proposed U.S. Veterans
Equity Act pending with the U.S. Congress, Senator Reed (right),
commented to the media that U.S. legislators have been busy deliberating
on domestic tax policies, and the delay in congressional action
on the proposed veterans bill has been mainly due to schedules
“more than to any position, for or against, the proposed
legislation.”
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The senators get a closer look at the graves
of U.S. servicemen (left photo) and view the memorial’s
mural of major U.S. military operations in the Pacific during
World War II (photo below). Senator Hagel told the media that
American businessmen have “tremendous interest”
in the Philippines because they have always had “a very
clear recognition that our two countries are closely linked,
and have been for over a hundred years, and that translates
into…strong economic connections.” |
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