Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2005

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2005 -- (Extensions of Remarks - June 24, 2004)

SPEECH OF HON. ROSA L. DeLAURO OF CONNECTICUT
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
TUESDAY, JUNE 22, 2004

The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 4613) making appropriations for the Department of Defense for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2005, and for other purposes:

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to thank the Chairmen and Ranking Members of the Subcommittee and the Committee for their excellent work in crafting a bipartisan bill that will provide our troops with the tools they need to continue their outstanding service to our country.

Our troops have done an amazing job under very difficult circumstances in Iraq and Afghanistan. I fear that their job will only get tougher in the weeks and months ahead, but this bill will help ensure that our troops will be prepared for whatever they may face in Iraq and in the war on terror.

I am especially grateful to my colleagues Mr. MURTHA and Mr. LEWIS for including in the report accompanying this bill important language that calls for a comprehensive study of mental health services available to service members and their families both during and after deployment to combat theaters.

Despite a growing awareness of the importance of mental health issues, there remains too much of a stigma associated with mental health care. The fact is that the pressures of war and lengthy separation from friends and family can take their toll on our soldiers, and we ought to do more to help our brave soldiers and their families.

Mr. Speaker, I have seen this first-hand. The 439th Quartermaster Company is an Army reserve unit based in New Haven. They have performed admirably well in setting up fuel depots in southern Iraq on the road from Kuwait to Baghdad. But they have been in the Iraqi theater for 14 months now, and will be there for at least a few months more. I have been working with Yale University's Child Study Center to make sure the families of this great unit have access to mental health services. But the military ought to do more to help.

I might add that our commitment to our troops should not stop when they return from the field. Experience has taught us that for service members and their families, the difficulties associated with deployment do not always cease when the service member returns. In the case of Reserve and National Guard troops, who often live far from a military installation, it is especially important that top-quality mental health services are available to them to ease the transition from deployment to civilian life.

This benchmark study will give us some indications about how we can overcome barriers to care, and how we can do better by our soldiers, sailors and marines. It is my hope that the Congress will use this study as a starting point to better fund mental health services for military personnel and their families, and I look forward to working with my colleagues on this issue.

So again I thank Chairman YOUNG, Chairman LEWIS, Mr. OBEY and Mr. MURTHA for taking this issue so seriously and including my amendment.