CAPITOL HILL REPORTCAPITOL HILL REPORTBy Congressman Bill Delahunt
I have been hearing from many constituents and others around the country complaining about the deplorable conditions that were found at Walter Reed Medical Center. Like them, I am deeply troubled by the neglect our wounded soldiers are facing.
On February 18, the Washington Post reported and brought to national attention the sub-standard health care our veterans are receiving at Walter Reed Medical Center. To say that the news was a shock is simply an understatement. Now that some time has passed since the initial news reports, I wanted to bring you up to date on what Congress is doing to improve the delivery of health care to our veterans at Walter Reed.
First, it is important to point out that the soldiers at Walter Reed are in need of the most urgent and highly skilled care. They suffer from brain injuries, missing limbs, significant internal organ damage and post-traumatic stress. In the past, an average soldier's stay had been 10 months. Now, however, Walter Reed has become a medical holding cell, while some are released untreated and left on their own to sort through mountains of bureaucratic red tape.
The perception has always been that Walter Reed offers some of the best medical care in the world. However, ever since the Bush Administration proposed closing the facility, the conditions there have continued to deteriorate. Today, our wounded find themselves "recovering" in an overcrowded, moldy, decrepit building, infested with mice and cockroaches. The current situation is intolerable and the need for change is urgent.
That's why I'm a proud cosponsor of HR 1538, "Wounded Warrior Assistance Act of 2007." Introduced by the House of Representatives on March 15, this legislation passed the House Armed Services Committee one day later by an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote of 59-0.
The bill requires the creation of an Oversight Board for the Wounded—composed of veterans who have received treatment at a military medical facility for injuries suffered in hostilities before and during Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. The board is charged with advising and consulting Congress and the Department of Defense (DOD) regarding conditions at all armed forces medical facilities.
In my view, passage of this legislation is the only real way we can ensure that all veterans are treated with respect they deserve.
HR 1538 provides recovering soldiers with a reduction of paperwork and bureaucracy. It also mandates an assessment of the current ratio of supervisors and case workers to recovering service members so as to eliminate the current backlog of 600,000 cases. The Veterans Affairs' (VA) system for handling disability claims is broken and the Bush administration's current plan to relieve these backlogs won't be enough to serve the added claims of veterans now returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
On average, the VA takes between 127-177 days to process an initial claim, and 657 days to process an appeal. This is completely unacceptable.
Furthermore, this bill requires DOD to notify appropriate members of Congress when a combat wounded service member is hospitalized; improves training for caseworkers, health care professionals and service member advocates; provides annual medical facility inspection reports; establishes a Medical Support Fund to support members of the Armed Forces returning to military or civilian life; a toll-free hot line for reporting deficiencies in medical-related facilities, with an expedited response; and improves medical and dental care for all Armed Forces assigned to hospitals in an outpatient status.
As I write this, HR1538 is pending before the House Armed Services Committee and has attracted wide support from my House colleagues. It is my hope that the widespread outrage over the conditions at Walter Reed will provide the needed momentum to expedite its passage.
In addition, I am a long-time supporter of mandatory funding for veterans health care programs. In the 109th Congress (2005-06) I cosponsored HR 515, the "Assured Funding for Veterans Health Care Act" while in the 108th Congress (2003-04), I was an original cosponsor of HR 2318, "the Assured Funding for Veterans Health Care Act of 2003. This legislation, supported by the major veterans services organizations in the country, would ensure that the VA's Health Care system is funded based on the number of enrollees using the system and the consumer price index for hospital and medical services instead of relying on the year to year appropriations process.
Although the Republican House leadership refused to consider the bill for a vote, the legislation attracted the public support of 144 of my House colleagues and was the subject of a discharge petition in 2005. With a new Congress and Democrats now in the majority, it's my hope that mandatory funding will be passed—which is why I am a proud cosponsor of HR 1041, the "Veterans Health Care Full Funding Act."
Those serving in our military, who have placed themselves in harm's way and who have put their lives on the line in service to our country deserve better. Many who agreed to serve were promised access to health care. This is a solemn promise that should never be broken in the name of bureaucratic or budgetary efficiency.