[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 205 (Friday, December 4, 2020)] [House] [Page H6818] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] RETIREMENT BENEFITS FOR AIR AMERICA PILOTS (Mr. GROTHMAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute.) Mr. GROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, I think, without question, one of the parts of our history that has been underreported is that of the great wars against communism, one of which was the Vietnam war. One part of the Vietnam war that hasn't been discussed enough is that of Air America. It was a CIA-run operation in which they would take airlines, scrub off the markings related to the U.S. Air Force, and then fly over Laos maybe to drop off supplies, maybe to do rescue missions, both with regard to American troops and our Hmong allies. I have the honor to introduce, together along with Congresswoman Maloney, the bipartisan Air America Act, which will give those people who risked their lives, and many of them have died, the same retirement benefits as other people who fought for the military in the Vietnam war. But today I would just like to salute those veterans of Air America, many of whom are still alive, some in my district, and hope that we act quickly to give them the retirement benefits that they should have had many years ago. ____________________