Department of Defense Appropriations Act--Conference Report --

Floor Speech

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS ACT--CONFERENCE REPORT -- (Senate - December 14, 2007)

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Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I thank the Senator from Michigan and the Senator from Virginia for their tremendous work on this legislation.

I am glad we are considering this bill. And I have come to the floor today to highlight a section of this legislation that's especially important to me because it will make a huge difference in the lives of our servicemembers and veterans--the Wounded Warriors Act.

The Wounded Warriors Act has already passed the Senate once on its own. To ensure it passed Congress this year, it was added to this Defense bill, too. It is taken longer than I had hoped to get to this point. But today, I'm optimistic that we can pass this bill, and get these much-needed improvements to our troops and our veterans soon. This is a major step toward real change.

I want to talk about how we got to this point, and why this bill is so necessary. This February, the Washington Post stunned us all with a series of articles on the squalid conditions some of our servicemembers were living in at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

The articles described infestations of mice and cockroaches in some Walter Reed facilities. They described moldy walls, and broken ceilings in the rooms servicemembers were living in while they waited to get care. And the articles described how many of our servicemembers and their families feel trapped in a bureaucratic ``Catch-22,'' while they try for months to work out their disability ratings.

I am proud that Democrats led a bipartisan effort in the Senate to address these problems aggressively. The Wounded Warriors legislation we have now is the result of a historic partnership between two of our committees--the Veterans' Affairs Committee, Chaired by Senator AKAKA, and the Armed Services Committee, chaired by Senator LEVIN. I want to thank both Senators for their leadership on this.

Together, we convened hearings, reached across the aisle, and crafted legislation that will make sure that the men and women who have served our country so honorably get the care they deserve when they come home.

The more we dug for information, the more we learned about the huge problems we need to address. Last winter, when I visited Walter Reed with our majority leader and other members of the Leadership team, the servicemembers we talked to weren't just frustrated with their living conditions. They had reached the end of their patience trying to navigate a disability system, which made absolutely no sense to them--or to us.

And the problem was not limited to servicemembers at Walter Reed. I went home and met with servicemembers in medical hold in Washington State--more than 200 people showed up. They, too, were angry and frustrated with their situation. They told me story after story about how they had to struggle to get their disability ratings and fight for the care they needed.

It was clear from these meetings that the Defense Department and the VA don't have a joint strategy for caring for servicemembers and veterans, and that they use inconsistent ratings for disabilities. Their paperwork doesn't even match. How you're rated as disabled by the military is completely different than how you're rated by the VA.

The result is that our servicemembers get caught in the middle. They get lost in the bureaucracy, while trying to get the treatment they need to recover. Too often, our injured servicemembers are the ones trying to figure out how to work out the transition. It's frustrating, and it's completely unacceptable.

Other servicemembers told us that they have had to struggle to get the right diagnosis for their injuries. Our military has long known about the mental wounds that can be caused by war. But many servicemembers still said they got little or no help to cope with mental illness.

I talked to men and women who said they knew something was wrong. They felt different. And they forgot little things--basic things. They described not being able to find their keys after they put them down. They couldn't remember their kids' birthdays. They couldn't even remember what they'd done the year--or even the day--before.

One young man from a rural community in my home State of Washington said he came home and felt isolated, unable to talk to his childhood friends. He was 22, but he couldn't remember what he'd learned in school just a few years ago. He said he didn't know who he was any more, and he eventually tried to take his own life.

That young man had a traumatic brain injury. He had been around not one--not five--not 20--but more than 100 explosions while he was on the ground in Iraq. Even so, he wasn't screened for TBI when he was discharged. No one asked how he was doing. And no one followed up when he got home to ask how he was adjusting to civilian life.

This should not happen to any of our servicemembers who have served us honorably. Yet that young man's experience is all too common.

As a result of our investigation, Democrats said, ``No more.'' It's simply unacceptable that after fighting for our country, our servicemembers have had to return and fight against our government for the care they deserve.

By passing the Wounded Warriors Act, we are moving aggressively to make sure that these men and women are treated well when they come home. The Wounded Warriors Act lays out a clear path directing the Defense Department and the VA to address shortfalls in the care of our wounded warriors.

It requires the Defense Department and VA to work together to develop a comprehensive plan to prevent, treat and diagnose TBI and PTSD. It creates DOD centers of excellence for TBI and PTSD to improve our understanding of these devastating injuries. If directs the two agencies to develop a joint electronic health record so that critical medical files aren't lost as our wounded troops move from battlefield doctors, to medicals holds, and on to the VA.

The act requires the military and the VA to work together on disability ratings. This is the first step toward bridging the gap between the VA and the Defense Department. And it requires the military to adopt the VA presumption that a disease or an injury is service-connected when our heroes--who were healthy prior to service--have spent 6 months or more on active duty.

The bill also addresses many of the horrifying conditions that our troops found themselves in at Walter Reed and other facilities. It ensures our servicemembers get adequate severance pay. And it can provide medical care for the families of recovering servicemembers.

In addition to the Wounded Warriors Act, the Defense Authorization bill includes important provisions passed by the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee aimed at improving care for servicemembers once they reach the VA system.

As you know, my colleagues on the Committee and I have worked hard to get these improvements in place, so I want to take a moment to mention them as well.

Under this bill we will require that an initial mental health evaluation be-provided to veterans or returning servicemembers no more than 30 days after they ask for one. We will extend the period of eligibility for VA health care for combat veterans of the Persian Gulf War and future conflicts. That time period will increase from 2 years to 5 years after discharge or release. And we'll ensure improvements to the quality of care for veterans with TBI by requiring age-appropriate nursing care, and plans to help servicemembers recover and transition back into civilian life.

While this bill is an important step toward providing our wounded warriors with the level of care they deserve and have earned, it's by no means the last step. Much work remains to be done by the DOD and the VA. We in Congress will have to keep a close watch to make sure the Defense Department and the VA are meeting the goals we've set out here.

And as a member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee and the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, I can assure you that I will be doing just that.

I voted against going to war in Iraq. But I've said consistently that no matter how you feel about the war, we have an obligation as leaders to make sure that our men and women who fight for us get the care they deserve. I'm particularly proud of the way Democrats moved to address the problems facing our returning servicemembers, which clearly wasn't a priority for the Bush Administration.

Democrats said: ``Not on our watch. Not any more.''

The Wounded Warrior bill provides real solutions for our troops and veterans from the battlefield to the VA and everywhere in between. Our servicemembers have always answered the call of duty, but for too long, our Government has not answered theirs. I'm proud to say those days are over. This bill is part of that commitment. Let's pass it today, so we can get started on these improvements and provide the kind of care our servicemembers and veterans deserve. As I said at the beginning of this speech, this is a major step toward real change for our troops.

NOMINATION OF GENERAL JAMES PEAKE

While I have the floor, Madam President, I also want to take a minute to say a few words about the nomination of GEN James Peake to be the next Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

On Thursday, I joined with my colleagues on the committee and voted in favor of his nomination. As we all know, there has been a vacuum at the head of the VA for years now, and for the reasons I have already laid out today, we need someone strong to lead this agency as we work to change course there. I do not think we ought to dwell on the mistakes of the past. I believe we do have to learn from them.

At his confirmation hearing, General Peake pledged to stand up and put the needs of veterans above the political needs of the White House. He can guarantee that I am going to hold him to his word because we owe our troops nothing less.

After fighting for their country, too many have had to fight against their Government to get the care and benefits they have earned. They have had to contend with bureaucratic ineptitude, a massive claims backlog, and wait times--just to name a few of the many problems at the VA.

While I believe we shouldn't dwell on the mistakes of the past, I believe we must learn from them. And I expect General Peake to learn from the VA's past failures.

The veterans of this country deserve a Secretary who is an honest and independent advocate for them--not an apologist for failed administration policies. Yet one of the biggest mistakes made by General Peake's predecessor was his blind political allegiance to the President--at the expense of the veterans he was supposed to serve.

In his confirmation hearing, General Peake pledged to stand up for the needs of veterans above the political needs of the White House. As a senior member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee and the MilCon-VA Appropriations Subcommittee, he can guarantee that I will hold him to his word.

General Peake will be taking the reins at a critical time in the agency's history. Many challenges lie in his path--from the enormous task of streamlining and improving the military and veterans disability systems, to implementing a joint electronic medical record; and from reducing wait times for benefits, to caring for the large number of returning veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.

These challenges require innovative solutions. They require a Secretary who will roll up his sleeves and get to work. And they require strong leadership. It will require action. And it will require results. General Peake promised to do just that. We must all hold him accountable--I know I will. If he fails to change the direction of this agency, he will have to answer for it.

But I also pledge to work with him to get this right and put our veterans first. We have a true opportunity to change course at the VA. But the clock is ticking. With our troops fighting overseas and older veterans accessing the VA in greater numbers, we are facing unprecedented challenges.

As they say at the VA in my home State, ``business as usual'' isn't an option. And I am hopeful that General Peake won't accept ``business as usual'' either. I am hopeful that he will make sure we keep our promises to the heroes who risked everything for our safety because we owe them nothing less.

Madam President, I again thank the Senator from Michigan and the Senator from Virginia for their tremendous leadership in making sure our troops get all they need and, in particular, for the Wounded Warriors Act, which will be historic when it gets passed and signed into law and we can turn around to the men and women who served us so well and say: We are working with you, not against you.

Madam President, I yield the floor.

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