{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://franken.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=3590", "In Senate Speech, Sen. Franken Honors Veteran, Author, and Advocate Luis Montalvan", "2016-12-12", "2016", "2016-12", "Democrat", "House", "MN", "Al Franken", "F000457", "franken.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "In a speech delivered on the Senate floor\u00a0Friday\u00a0night, U.S. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) honored Luis Montalvan, a veteran, author, and advocate who served in Iraq and inspired Sen. Franken's very first piece of legislation seven years ago. That bill\u2014the Service Dogs for Veterans Act\u2014aimed to increase the number of service dogs for veterans like Luis and was quickly passed into law. Montalvan tragically passed away earlier this month at the age of 43.\"Luis deserves to be honored because he dedicated his life to helping other veterans cope with the same struggles he faced after returning from war,\"\u00a0said Sen. Franken.\u00a0\"Luis turned his story into a book entitled\u00a0Until\u00a0Tuesday\u00a0that chronicled his journey after returning from Iraq. It was a candid and really deeply moving account of his struggle. I've always admired the bravery that it took for Luis to share it.Sen. Franken continued,\u00a0\"I'm so proud of you for giving hope to other veterans who faced the same struggles you did. Your book still sits on my desk in the Senate. And it'll stay there as a reminder of the man I'm so proud to have called my friend.\"\nYou can watch Sen. Franken's speech here\u00a0and read the remarks as prepared for delivery\u00a0here or below.\nFloor Statement Honoring Luis MontalvanSenator Al Franken(As prepared for delivery)\nM.\u00a0 President, I rise today to honor a very special man, and one of my personal heroes, Captain Luis Montalvan.\u00a0\u00a0On Monday\u00a0I received the news that Luis had died last Friday.\u00a0 This has been a difficult week, M.\u00a0 President, and I am grieving his death.\u00a0 But Luis deserves to be honored because he dedicated his life to helping other veterans cope with the same struggles he faced after returning from war.\u00a0 So I hope to do him justice because his story deserves to be told.\u00a0I was so inspired by meeting Luis and\u00a0Tuesday\u00a0that while I was waiting for my election to the Senate to be resolved in 2009, I spent a lot of time researching service dogs and the benefits they bring.\u00a0 And when I got into the Senate, the first piece of legislation I introduced - which was quickly passed into law - was a bill designed to increase the number of service dogs for veterans.In 2011, after graduating from journalism school, Luis turned his story into a book entitled Until Tuesday\u00a0that chronicled his journey after returning from Iraq.\u00a0 It was a candid and really deeply moving account of his struggle.\u00a0 I've always admired the bravery that it took for Luis to share it.\u00a0 In the years since the book first came out, he'd been traveling the country, sharing his story with lots of people and giving speeches and interviews about his experience.\u00a0 He even got the chance to appear on David Letterman's show along with\u00a0Tuesday, something I know that he loved doing.\u00a0 Luis wrote 2 children's books about\u00a0Tuesday.\u00a0 His book Tuesday Takes Me There\u00a0is one of my grandson Joe's favorite books.\u00a0 Luis wrote these children's books so kids could learn about how\u00a0Tuesday\u00a0changed his life by helping him through his daily activities.   \nThis had been a tough year for Luis however.\u00a0 Despite\u00a0Tuesday's\u00a0steadying presence, Luis was still feeling pain in his leg when he walked, sometimes making it difficult to get around.\u00a0 To ease the pain, he had his leg amputated a few months ago, and was in an intensive therapy program to relearn how to walk with a prosthetic.He had other physical difficulties though.\u00a0 I talked to Luis' parents this week to tell them how sorry I was for their profound loss. They told me that Luis had health difficulties, including suffering from severe heart problems.\u00a0 He was going through a very difficult period.But M.\u00a0 President, I want to celebrate the legacy he leaves behind of helping veterans cope with life after combat.\u00a0 Because of Luis, more\u00a0veterans are now able to access service dogs.\u00a0 So let me tell you a little about these amazing dogs.\u00a0 Obviously service dogs can't do everything, but they do\u00a0a lot\u00a0to help.\u00a0 Service dogs raise their masters' sense of well-being. They help reduce depression, ward off panic attacks, assist when their owner needs help standing back up after falling, and do so many other things.\u00a0 For veterans living with service-related injuries, these dogs can mean the difference between a decent life and a very difficult one. \u00a0My bill was a step in the direction to make sure that all veterans who need a service dog are able to get one.Still, we must recognize that so many of our veterans still struggle mightily, sometimes years and decades after they come home.\nAnd the hard truth is that in many ways, we are failing our vets.\u00a0\u00a0The VA estimates that upwards of 20 percent of veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan suffer from PTSD.\u00a0 12 percent of Gulf War veterans, and 30 percent of Vietnam Veterans have suffered PTSD during their lifetime.\u00a0\nM. President, these statistics should serve as a sobering reminder of the pain that so many veterans are forced to live with. And it should remind us that unless you yourself have seen combat, there's really no way to ever fully understand what they've gone through. I know certainly that I don't.\u00a0 But I do know that these men and women put themselves in harm's way in service to our country, and it is our obligation to do everything we can to help them when they come back. And as members of Congress, it is our responsibility-more than anyone else in this country-to do right by them. I don't have all the answers, but I do know that we can do better.\nLuis was my friend.\u00a0 He was a good man who loved his country and wanted nothing more than to help ease the pain that so many of his fellow veterans experienced.\u00a0 I don't have the words to describe the sadness I feel knowing that he's gone.\nThere's a lot to learn from Luis' book about what these men and women endure when they come back from war.\u00a0 But learning about the relationship between Luis and\u00a0Tuesday\u00a0is really my favorite part.\u00a0 Here is one of my favorite passages. And remember that one of the things\u00a0Tuesday\u00a0could do for Luis is anticipate panic attacks. So here is the quote:\n\"...Tuesday\u00a0quietly crossed our apartment as I read a book and, after a nudge against my arm, put his head on my lap.\u00a0 As always, I immediately checked my mental state, trying to assess what was wrong.\u00a0 I knew a change in my biorhythms had brought\u00a0Tuesday\u00a0over, because he was always monitoring me, but I couldn't figure out what it was.\u00a0 Breathing? Okay.\u00a0 Pulse? Normal.\u00a0 Was I glazed or distracted? Was I lost in Iraq? Was a dark period descending? I didn't think so, but I knew something must be wrong, and I was starting to worry...until I looked into\u00a0Tuesday's\u00a0eyes.\u00a0 They were staring at me softly from under those big eyebrows, and there was nothing in them but love.\"\nLuis, I want you to know that while you're not with us anymore, I'm so proud of you.\u00a0 I'm so proud that you were brave enough to serve your country for 17 years, and then brave enough to share the story of the hardship you faced afterwards.\u00a0 I'm so proud of you for giving hope to other veterans who faced the same struggles you did.\u00a0 Your book still sits on my desk in the Senate.\u00a0 And it'll stay there as a reminder of the man I'm so proud to have called my friend.\nThank you, M. President.\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://franken.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=3590"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7716980762779713, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}