Senate Republicans Lead Effort to Deny Help for Veterans Affected by Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
SENATE REPUBLICANS LEAD EFFORT TO DENY HELP FOR VETERANS AFFECTED BY POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER
Durbin-Murray Amendment to Aid Troops Returning From War Fails In Senate
An amendment sponsored by U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Patty Murray (D-WA) to improve health care in the U.S. Veterans Administration -- including improved treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) for troops returning from combat - failed to pass the Senate today in a 46-54 vote. Sixty votes were necessary to overturn a budget point of order raised against the Murray-Durbin amendment. All Democrats voted in favor of the funding, and were joined by a single Republican senator, Arlen Specter (R-PA).
"Earlier this month, I traveled across Illinois and met combat veterans who have recently returned home from tours in Iraq and Afghanistan," said Durbin. "Many soldiers come home from war with wounds you can't see, but that are just as real and just as disabling as physical injuries. Unfortunately, the VA is ill-prepared to deal with the increasing number of soldiers who will require PTSD treatment. Today, I joined with Senator Murray and other Senate Democrats to add funding to the VA system so that returning soldiers don't have to wait six months to a year for the treatment they need to resume their normal lives."
Durbin noted that a study published last July by the New England Journal of Medicine reported that as many as one in five veterans will return from the war in Iraq with PTSD or related mental health conditions. According to a report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the VA's plan and procedures for dealing with PTSD are so lacking that the VA doesn't even know how many veterans are currently being treated for PTSD - estimates range from 87,000 to 244,000 veterans.
PTSD experts agree that, if treatment starts within the first few weeks and months after symptoms start, the severity of PTSD can be drastically reduced. But if left untreated, PTSD can cause severe problems for veterans including substance abuse, unemployment, homelessness, episodes of family or workplace violence, and suicide.
Durbin noted that since 2000, the VA's Special Committee on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder has made 37 recommendations for action to improve PTSD treatment. GAO's study reviewed the VA's progress on 24 of these recommendations and found that as of this year, not one has been fully implemented, further increasing the wait time between diagnosis and treatment for many vets and potentially worsening their PTSD symptoms.
The Murray-Durbin amendment would have added nearly $2 billion to the fiscal year 2005 Supplemental Appropriations bill for the U.S Veterans Health Administration Medical Services. Of this amount, $525 million would be available for mental health services, and would significantly enhance PTSD services for veterans and their families. The amendment would provide funding to implement several of the recommendations of the VA Special Committee on PTSD, including funding PTSD Clinical Teams, placing certified family therapists at veterans' centers, and PTSD regional coordinators.
"The costs of war are not just limited to funding military operations," Durbin said. "We must also do everything necessary to care for our soldiers when they return from battle. I am disappointed that so many of my colleagues voted to block this important funding for the brave service men and women returning from battle."
Durbin will introduce a bill in the coming weeks to require the Department of Veterans Affairs to immediately strengthen its Post Traumatic Stress Disorder services for veterans and their families.
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