DeLauro Praises Historic Increases for our Veterans in FY'08 Military Construction & Veterans Appropriations Bill

Press Release

DeLauro Praises Historic Increases for our Veterans in FY'08 Military Construction & Veterans Appropriations Bill

Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (Conn.-3) applauded the historic commitment of resources to strengthen our military and provide for our veterans, as well as the focus on addressing veterans' mental health issues, in the recently passed Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations bill. The legislation was approved by an overwhelming bipartisan majority and includes record level-funding for veterans' health care, support for military facilities and new measures to help the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) better care for the brave men and women who so proudly served our country.

"As we saw with the revelations of the poor conditions at the Walter Reed Medical Center , our troops are not receiving the care they deserve. To fully honor their service and their heroism, we must renew our commitment to caring for our troops when they return to our shores," said DeLauro.

The 2008 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations bill includes the largest single funding increase in the 77 year history of the Veterans Administration -$6.7 billion above the 2007 level and $3.8 billion above the president's request. And, for the first time, the total budget for the VA medical account exceeds the Independent Budget prepared by veterans' service organizations.

In referencing the long-overdue resources for mental health, DeLauro added, "We must also ensure that not only the physical needs, but also the psychological needs of these brave men and women serving our country are met. Perhaps as many as one quarter of our troops return home from Afghanistan and Iraq with psychological issues, I am therefore proud that we passed a Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations bill that directs unprecedented levels of funding toward this critical issue."

This bill not only directs much needed funding toward veterans' mental health issues it also takes steps to improve coordination between the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs as called for in DeLauro's legislation, the "Sgt. Jonathan Schulze Military Mental Health Services Improvement Act of 2007." Below are key provisions from the appropriations bill related to veterans' mental health issues:

* Provides $600 million more than the president's request for mental health, PTSD and Traumatic Brain Injury and makes five Polytrauma Centers and three Centers of Excellence for Mental Health and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) fully operational this year. The centers will care for those returning from Iraq and Afghanistan .

* Allows the VA to transfer a minimum of $15 million to a joint program with the Department of Defense to improve the coordination of care for service members with mental health issues.

* Encourages the VA to ensure mental health parity by contracting for care and developing internet-based services to aid veterans with mental health issues living in remote areas. Sgt. Jonathan Schulze, whom DeLauro's mental health bill is named after, lived 75 miles away from the closest VA Medical Center in St. Cloud , MN and committed suicide shortly after he found out he was 26th on a waiting list for one of the ward's 12 beds.

* Directs funds toward the Substance Abuse Program and encourages the VA to examine dual substance abuse-PTSD diagnosis treatment programs. According to the National Center for PTSD, 58% of veterans with Substance Abuse Disorder also have PTSD and drug use disorders are three times more likely to occur in veterans with PTSD.

* Encourages the VA to consider additional research in the areas of mental health-especially the causes, prevention, mitigation and treatment of PTSD-providing $480 million for the Department's Medical and Prosthetic Research program.

The legislation has won widespread support and praise from America 's leading veterans' organizations including the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Military Officers Association of America, Paralyzed Veterans of America, AmVets, National Association for Uniformed Services and Disabled American Veterans.

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