[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 38 (Wednesday, April 10, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E491-E492]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                COMMENDING PARALYZED VETERANS OF AMERICA

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 10, 2002

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, as Chairman of the House 
Committee on Veterans' Affairs, I rise today to recognize and commend 
Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA), an organization that has dedicated 
itself to the well being of some of America's most catastrophically 
disabled veterans for over 50 years.
  PVA traces its origins back to February 1947, when delegates from 
seven groups of paralyzed veterans from around the country met at the 
Hines VA Hospital in Chicago, Illinois, to form a national organization 
to address the inadequacy of veterans health care, specifically for 
severely disabled veterans. At this meeting they immediately set some 
very specific goals, including increasing funding for the needs of 
spinal cord injured veterans and establishing a grant program to 
provide specially-adapted housing so that paralyzed veterans could 
leave the hospital and live more independent lives at home.
  PVA was Congressionally chartered as a veterans' service organization 
on August 11, 1971 and since that time has continued to develop a 
unique expertise on a wide variety of issues involving the special 
needs of its members--veterans of the armed forces who have experienced 
spinal cord injury or dysfunction. PVA has more than 40 chapters and 
sub-chapters nationwide and nearly 20,000 members. In addition to its 
Washington, D.C. headquarters, PVA operates 58 service offices around 
the country to serve the needs of all veterans seeking Department of 
Veterans Affairs' claims and benefits.
  PVA has used its expertise to become a leading advocate for quality 
health care not only for spinal cord injured veterans, but for all 
other veterans as well. They continue to press for research and 
education addressing spinal cord injury and dysfunction. They also 
assist veterans who apply to receive benefits that are available as a 
result of military service.
  Mr. Speaker, for 16 years, PVA has co-authored The Independent 
Budget: A Comprehensive Policy Document Created by Veterans for 
Veterans, in cooperation with the Disabled American Veterans (DAV), 
AMVETS, and The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW). The Independent Budget 
takes a comprehensive look at the current and future needs of veterans 
and the Department of Veterans Affairs, and makes specific 
recommendations for federal funding. As Chairman of the Committee on 
Veterans' Affairs, I have found The Independent Budget to be a very 
useful tool in developing our Committee's recommendations for veterans 
funding. I wholeheartedly recommend that all Members of the House, if 
they have not already done so, obtain a copy and read it.
  PVA created the Technology and Research Foundation in 1975, now named 
the Spinal Cord Research Foundation (SCRF), to support research to 
alleviate, and ultimately end, medical and functional consequences of 
paralysis. In 1980, PVA endowed $1 million for a Professorship in SCI 
Medicine at Stanford University. PVA also created the Spinal Cord 
Injury Education and Training Foundation (ETF) in 1987 to support 
innovative education and training programs designed to assist 
individuals with spinal cord injury or dysfunction, their families, and 
doctors who provide direct care. In 1988, the PVA-EPVA Center for 
Neuroscience and Regeneration Research at Yale University was founded 
in order to focus the energies and talents of some of the world's 
leading scientists in the development of new treatments, and ultimately 
a cure, for spinal cord injury and related disorders. It is a model of 
inter-institutional cooperation, that brings together the strengths of 
Paralyzed Veterans of America, the Eastern Paralyzed Veterans 
Association, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and Yale University, 
all with the singular goal of restoration of function in people with 
spinal cord dysfunction.
  PVA also coordinates the activities of two coalitions of 
professional, payer, and consumer groups that develop clinical practice 
guidelines (CPGs) defining standards of care for people with spinal 
cord injury and multiple sclerosis. The Consortium for Spinal Cord 
Medicine, composed of 19 organizations, has published six professional 
guidelines and three consumer guides to date. The Multiple Sclerosis 
Council, made up of 23 organizations, has likewise published CPGs.
  PVA's Government Relations staff is well-known here on Capitol Hill 
and has been especially helpful to our Committee as we have developed 
and moved legislation to improve the delivery of services and benefits 
to America's 25 million veterans. Its Advocacy Program is a leading 
advocate for civil rights and opportunities that maximize independence 
of individuals who have experienced spinal cord injury or disease, or 
other severe disabilities and PVA played an important role in the 
passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). It continues its 
advocacy as an active member of the Consortium for Citizens With 
Disabilities.
  Likewise, PVA's Architecture Program has played an important role in 
the lives of severely disabled veterans. It assists the private sector 
and government at all levels with quality accessible design and 
construction of VA facilities, affordable and accessible housing, and 
adoption of appropriate and uniform accessibility standards and codes. 
PVA's Health Analysis Program keeps a constant eye on the performance 
of the VA health care system as well as other health care systems in 
the public and private sector.
  PVA also runs a Sports and Recreation Program dedicated to promoting 
a range of activities for its members and other people with 
disabilities, with special emphasis on activities

[[Page E492]]

that enhance lifetime health and fitness. The organization sponsors the 
PVA National Bass Trail which is officially sanctioned by the Bass 
Anglers Sportsman Society (B.A.S.S.). Likewise, PVA created the 
National Trapshoot Circuit to give individuals with disabilities a 
chance to participate in the recreational and competitive sport of 
trapshooting. Most notably, PVA co-sponsors the National Veterans 
Wheelchair Games and other wheelchair sports programs along with the 
Department of Veterans Affairs. The Games encourage veterans to become 
aware of their abilities and potential, as well as wheelchair sports 
that are available, while promoting a spirit of healthy activity and 
fellowship.
  Mr. Speaker, those of us who work with PVA on a regular basis, we 
have come to rely on the dedication and expertise that this 
organization brings to Capitol Hill. I want to recognize the hard work 
and sacrifice that all of their officers, members and volunteers have 
made in order to improve the lives of their fellow veterans and fellow 
Americans.
  Mr. Speaker, as America continues our war on terrorism, like the wars 
of the last century against fascism, nazism and communism, the brunt of 
the battles will be borne by our men and women in uniform. Our nation 
has a sacred obligation, as President Abraham Lincoln said so 
eloquently, ``to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for 
his widow and his orphan.'' And we especially have an obligation to 
care for those who have suffered the most to protect our freedoms, such 
as paralyzed veterans.
  As Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, it is an 
honor to work hand-in-hand with Paralyzed Veterans of America, and the 
other veterans service organizations as we seek to improve the lives of 
paralyzed veterans and all of America's veterans and their families.

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