[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 128 (Wednesday, September 17, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1827-E1828]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    HEALTH CARE FOR VETERANS OF PROJECT 112/PROJECT SHAD ACT OF 2003

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. STEPHEN F. LYNCH

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 10, 2003

  Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2433, the Health 
Care for Veterans of Project 112/Project SHAD Act of 2003. From the 
year 1962 until 1973, the Department of Defense conducted various 
biological and chemical warfare tests, which involved several armed 
forces participants. These veterans were susceptible to the harmful 
effects of those biological and chemical agents, resulting in various 
illnesses that have been detrimental to their health and to their 
general welfare. The fact that these brave veterans have not been 
ensured essential medical services, hospital care, and nursing home 
care is a shameful one indeed.
  Experimental warfare testing has had notoriously degenerative effects 
upon its participants. The consequences of Vietnam-era toxins, for 
example, are still being researched to better understand just how 
damaging the exposure has been. Another instance, Gulf War Syndrome, 
has been attributed to numerous military endeavors, such as petroleum-
related hazards to the depleted uranium shells of the M1-A1 Abrams 
battle tank. These unintentional, unfortunate side effects of warfare 
must not go unheeded.
  The noble service and duty of our proud veterans deserves gracious 
recognition and appropriate compensation on the part of the federal 
government. We cannot shun the treatment of unnecessary and preventable 
illnesses, nor can we rest idly while our nation's defenders succumb to 
such illnesses. There should be no requirement for proof of service-
connection for the veterans who participated in the 1962 to 1973 
testing. With their health care guaranteed by the federal government, 
we are rightly paying them back and providing the treatment that they 
need.
  In addition, the VA medical workforce is in need of a significant 
improvement of healthcare facilities. Working against the VA are the 
fluctating staff levels of the medical staff who form the backbone of 
the facility workforce. Their weekend pay is also subject to confusing 
advantages and disadvantages, depending on one's position. Current 
standards of promoting nurses do not take into account experience, but 
rather favor those with a Bachelor's degree in Nursing Science. These 
issues further complicate and hamper the efforts of honest, hardworking 
healthcare employees to administer proper care and treatment to 
patients.
  We must develop innovative methods of attracting medical personnel 
into the veterans' healthcare field, especially given the flight of 
skilled workers and patients to hospitals in the

[[Page E1828]]

private sector. Through fair labor negotiations between the VA and 
medical staffs, adequate staff levels and the means for the delivery of 
patient care can be properly outlined. Without sufficient communication 
and coordination on the parts of both the VA and its medical workers, 
everyone will ultimately suffer, and no one more than our veterans. The 
physical and emotional well being of our veterans should not be 
marginalized and this legislation is one step towards ensuring that 
they receive the proper high-quality care that they deserve.

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