Walter Reed Medical Center
Floor Speech
WALTER REED MEDICAL CENTER -- (House of Representatives - March 07, 2007)
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to stand in the well of the House tonight and address conditions at Walter Reed Medical Center, as well as other military medical hospitals, and I would also like to, in doing this, talk about why our soldiers and our veterans are so important to us.
I want to start by saying if we are truly concerned, if we are truly concerned about national security, then we have to be concerned about those who secure national security. We have got to be concerned about our soldiers. We have to be concerned about our veterans. Because, in fact, they make it possible for us to have these liberties that we have come to know and to love.
Tonight, as I start this explanation, I would like to first use the words of another, Major General John H. Bailey II, and I want to bring his words to our attention, because he has written an ode that really explains why the American soldier, the American veteran, is so important to this Nation and to the well-being of this country. His ode is styled from Boston to Baghdad, and his words capture the essence, the spirit of what the American soldier is all about, what the American soldier has done for this great country.
His words are:
I am the American veteran. I was born in battle on April 19, 1775. I am the total sum of my country's ethnic and cultural diversity. I am loyal, dependable and patriotic. My motto is, ``Duty, Honor and Country,'' and my battle cry is, ``Don't Tread on Me.'' The tracks of my tears and the stains of my blood can be traced from Boston to Baghdad.
I was there at Lexington when the shot heard around the world was fired, saw the whites of their eyes, was battle-tested at Bunker Hill, Valley Forge and Yorktown, and won my country's independence.
I earned worldwide respect during the Spanish-American War while helping our friends in Cuba gain their independence. Names like Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders and the 9th and 10th Cavalry became household words. I saw action at San Juan Hill, Guantanamo Bay, and the Philippines. A young Lieutenant John Pershing was heard to have seen ``white and black regiment fighters shoulder to shoulder unmindful of color in combat.''
I was there at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, in the year of our Lord 1918. I was crowned in glory at the conclusion of World War II, the war to end all wars and the birth of Veterans' Day.
During World War II, in response to the attack on Pearl Harbor, the pearl of the Pacific, I rallied a nation, shouldered the weight of the world, defeating the Axis powers, preserving democracy around the world and preventing the annihilation of a race of people who called Germany home. In this country, we call these exceptional citizens Jewish people, and we know them as the Jewish community.
No words can better describe the effects of our entry into World War II than those of Admiral Hirohito when told by an aide, ``Sir, we have scored a great victory,'' and he replied, ``I'm afraid we have awakened a sleeping giant.''
Thank you, World War II veterans. You are the greatest generation. Never before have so few given so much for so many.
In support of our friends in South Korea, I saw action at Bloody Ridge, Pork Chop Hill and Heartbreak Ridge, while introducing the helicopter and jet aircraft as battlefield tactics, actions which changed the course of military history.
I went to Vietnam to help the people of South Vietnam maintain the right to choose their own destiny. There I fought at Hue Dong Hai and Hamburger Hill. I refused to fall at the hands of a well-equipped and determined enemy during the 1968 Tet Offensive.
During Desert Storm, I engaged Saddam Hussein in his mother of all battles. I destroyed his will to resist.
And then there was 9/11, a day which must never be forgotten, a day which must never be repeated. It tested the soul of our Nation in a way not witnessed since December 7, 1941. And due to the atmosphere it created, I was again sent to Iraq as a part of the global war on terror. I am still there today participating in peacekeeping and nation building. My rewards are found in the eyes of children and old people who now have hope.
I am the American veteran. I am from New York City, the countryside of Philadelphia, Washington, D.C. I've come from sea to shining sea. As a participating citizen, I shall continue to fulfill my forefathers' dreams of a more perfect union and open my arms and say to the world, send me your tired, your huddled masses, because I know it is that diversity that makes us who we are.
In closing, he adds, I leave you with the words of a young John F. Kennedy in his inaugural address, who said, ``We will bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and success of liberty.'' This pretty much describes the spirit of the American soldier and the American veteran.
Mr. Speaker, I share these words because it is important for us to understand the sacrifices not only made by this generation of veterans but the sacrifices made by veterans since the country was founded, since the genesis of this country, if you will. And because our veterans have been so important to us, because they have been there for us, we must be there for them.
I regret to say, Mr. Speaker, that we have not been there for them when it comes to military hospitals and facilities and the delivery of health care through the military facilities. We have not been there because recent events have shown us, in transpicuously clear, empirical data, that hospitals are substandard, that some of the treatment received has not been delivered in the kind of fashion and manner that we would have those persons who have given us liberty and justice for all, those persons who have made real the ideals in the Constitution of the people, by the people, for the people, those persons who have given us this opportunity to stand here tonight, we have not made the delivery of health care services as effective and efficient as they should be.
So I am here tonight with a colleague, and we are going to talk about not only the problems at Walter Reed but the problems in health care delivery in military facilities, generally speaking; and we are going to also continue to be grateful for the service that our American veterans have rendered to make this country the great country that it is.
At this time, I will yield such time as she may consume to the honorable lady from the District of Columbia, a student of jurisprudence par excellence, I might add, one who is a part of the conscience of the Congress and certainly the conscience of Washington, D.C., who has fought for statehood and continues to fight for the American veteran. She speaks, and when she speaks, others listen. I am honored to share time with the honorable ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Thank you.
You have mentioned Walter Reed several times and conditions at other facilities as well. I have information from the Washington Post that I would like to share to substantiate much of what you have just said, and I think that it bears reading because I want to make sure that I quote the Washington Post accurately. This is from February 18, 2007:
``Behind the door of Army Specialist Jeremy Duncan's room, part of the wall is torn and hangs in the air, weighted down by''--what the gentlelady called to our attention just a moment ago--``black mold.'' Black mold weighing the door down to the extent that it is being pulled apart from the wall.
``When the wounded combat engineer,'' it goes on to read, ``stands in his shower and looks up, he can see the bathtub on the floor above through a rotted hole.''
Now, this is hardly what we would expect to find in a hospital.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. The point is that, on the facility that Walter Reed claims as a part of it, building 18, the infamous building 18, we have these substandard conditions. These conditions are conditions that we would hardly expect to find at a facility that is treating wounded persons, patients, persons who, quite frankly, can become ill because of the conditions that they have to exist in while they are recuperating from their war injuries. These are the kinds of conditions I think the Washington Post, and I thank the Washington Post for doing this, but I think that the Washington Post has done our country a great service by calling them to our attention.
I would also mention this, if I may, before I yield back. My heart was really torn when I saw persons giving their testimony at the various hearings that took place. I was very much hurt and had tears literally well in my eyes when I saw one of the family members testifying about how a relative was treated. And then to hear soldiers talk about what they had to go through, the enormous amount of red tape, before they could be served.
These kinds of conditions in the hospital as well as the conditions that are a prelude to entry into the hospital make it very difficult for our soldiers to appreciate the promise that we made to them, the promise to provide for them if they provided for us. If they made it possible for us to be secure, we made a promise to them to provide for them. It was very heart-wrenching to see the kinds of conditions, to hear the kinds of conditions, if you will, talked about with reference to our soldiers.
I am hopeful that these conditions will change. They have got to change. And they have got to change right away. I know that the gentlelady has other conditions that she would like to talk about, and I have other charts that I will be sharing as well.
I will yield to the gentlelady.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. And I would gladly support the gentlewoman's legislation.
I will tell you, I talked earlier about the shot heard around the world. When it was stated that Walter Reed would be closed, that was the shock heard around the world. I think that that, probably of all of the closures that were to take place and are to take place, I think that one probably penetrated to the very heart and core of what a military service for veterans is all about.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Absolutely. And the bipartisan support for this is manifesting itself. I have noticed that partisanship, while it still exists, partisanship is not hopefully going to stand in the way of taking care of our veterans.
It is my hope that, as we look at these conditions and we recognize what is happening to our veterans as a result of being in these horrendous conditions, to be quite candid, that we will put aside the partisanship and we will do what we need to do to rebuild, reconstruct Walter Reed.
You mentioned the closure of it at an inopportune time. Clearly, while we are in a war, when our military hospitals and centers are most needed, we should not, we should not close the crown jewel. That sends a bad signal to people around the world as well when they hear that what is considered to be our top military medical facility is going to close. So I am completely with the lady; I support what she proposes to do.
And I would also add this. We are about to spend in Baghdad to construct a facility there, which is beyond the reach of this country in the sense that most Americans will never use it, and we are going to spend millions, untold millions there because we have cost overruns. We just don't know what we are running into as we are doing this, it seems. And it would seem to me that we can direct some of these dollars, make sure these dollars are used prudently and judicially. But there can be dollars spent here for our veterans who are returning home who are going to need the best medical attention that the world can provide.
And as further evidence, if I may, of what is happening at Walter Reed as the gentlewoman has explained in terms that are quite clear, in the infamous building 18, which is a part of the complex, a part of the complex. I have another quote here from the Washington Post, and this one speaks of life in building 18. It talks about how it is the bleakest homecoming for men and women whose government promised them, and we made a promise to our soldiers; we promised them, we committed to them that: If you go and defend the country, you go to war, put yourself in harm's way; if you will put yourself in harm's way and defend this country, we will take care of you when you return.
And this is from February 18, 2007. According to the Washington Post, this promise of good care in return for their sacrifices, they returned home to the bleakest home coming that the government could have provided given that this promise was made.
I am going to yield to another colleague who has joined us. But it also goes on to say that, and this is a quote: ``I hate it,'' said a soldier, who stays in his room all day. ``There are cockroaches.'' This is for our veterans. ``Cockroaches. The elevator doesn't work. The garage door doesn't work. Sometimes there is no heat and no water.'' No heat and no water in a facility for our veterans.
I think it is appropriate to get a response from the gentleman from Wisconsin, Mr. STEVE KAGEN, if he would care to add to this discussion.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. And I might add also, in terms of covering their backs when they come home, that these medical facilities, not just Walter Reed but others, are experiencing some concerns that we have to talk about as well, which can be a great segue into this Washington Post comment from March 5 of 2007.
This one reads that ``the mold, mice and rot of Walter Reed's Building 18 compose a familiar scenario of many soldiers back from Iraq or Afghanistan. Soldiers and veterans at other facilities report bureaucratic disarray similar to Walter Reed's indifferent, untrained staff, lost paperwork, medical appointments that drop from the computers, and long waits for consultations.''
Now that kind of treatment is something that cannot continue. The bricks and mortar, we have to deal with, and I believe we can deal with that. But we also have to make sure that the computers work. We have got to make sure that persons have adequate staffing available to them at hospitals so that they can receive the kind of attention that they merit and deserve.
This problem is systemic, as the gentlelady explained, and I think that we have to take a systemic approach to dealing with it. If we only focus on Walter Reed, then I think we miss something important, an opportunity to look at the entirety of what we are confronting and to take corrective action, not for one circumstance but for all circumstances that we find ourselves confronting at this time.
Let's not let any aspect of this escape. While we are dealing with it, let's deal with it in its entirety.
And I would yield to the gentlelady.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. If I could, before you yield to the gentleman, let me just say this. We have had another person to join us, and I think it appropriate that we announce the presence of the subcommittee Chair on Oversight and Investigations, and I am confident that he will have much that he is going to share with us.
I just want the Members to know that he is with us tonight, and that would be the Honorable Harry Mitchell, who is from the great State of Arizona. And because he is the Chair of the subcommittee, I feel it my duty to yield to him at this time, after which we will continue. Mr. Chairman.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his observations.
And I think that we are very fortunate that your State of Wisconsin has sent you here with the vision that you have. And I believe that you are going to be a very valuable Member of this House. The contributions that you have already made have made a difference, and we thank you for your presence.
I will now yield again to the gentlewoman because I know that, given she is from the District of Columbia and Walter Reed is in her district, that she has some additional points to make.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Absolutely. And such that they can see it immediately, if not sooner, because you really don't need a commission to kill roaches. You really don't need a commission to go over and take care of a mold problem. You don't need a commission to repair doors, to make sure that the water runs and that it is hot. You don't need a commission to do the little things that make a big difference in the life of a patient in a hospital.
So it would seem to me, and I commend the President for appointing the commission, that while commissions have their role, there are things that can be done immediately that they can see such that they will have confidence that the committee is going to do its work because right now there probably is a failure of confidence in what the commission may ultimately conclude because we live in a world where it is not enough for things to be right; they must also look right. And it doesn't look right to have a commission studying a problem when roaches are running across the floor. So we ought to get in there as quickly as possible and allow the people who can do these little things that make a big difference in a person's life, give them the opportunity to make some change, immediate change, that the patient can see.
I think that this infamous building 18 is one that can receive the kind of attention that these soldiers, these veterans, will appreciate immediately. They shouldn't have to look through walls and see bathtubs above them. They shouldn't have to cope with the conditions of mold that can, in and of itself, become another problem for them. So I am hopeful that we will see some immediate change right away.
And I believe that the chairman is still with us, and I would like to have the chair give his response to what we are talking about with reference to immediate change.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlelady for her vision as well.
Let me close by saying this to my colleagues and friends: we are not talking about what we call a Third World country when we talk about Walter Reed and the facilities. We are talking about the richest country in the world, a country where we can spend $177 million per day on the war, and that was prior to January of this year. Now we spend over $200 million, not per year, not per month, not per week, but per day on the war. A country where one out of every 110 persons is a millionaire.
In this, the richest country in the world, where our soldiers and our veterans have made it possible for us to have these riches, these liberties, I think that we have to provide better services for them before, during, and after any injury that they may receive.
So I am honored that we had the time tonight. I want to thank the Speaker for allowing us to have this time tonight.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source