[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 160 (Thursday, November 6, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2271]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  INADEQUATE TREATMENT OUR TROOPS AND VETERANS ARE RECEIVING FROM THE 
                             ADMINISTRATION

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                               speech of

                           HON. JULIA CARSON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 5, 2003

  Ms. CARSON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, this past week we sent the 
largest supplemental appropriations bill ever written to the President. 
The majority of the money is to be used for the men and women serving 
in Iraq.
  A total of $64.7 billion in military funding was included 1n the 
bill. This includes:
  A total of $64.7 billion for military activities in support of 
military operations mainly in Iraq and Afghanistan.
  $39.2 billion for activities related to military operations in Iraq 
and Afghanistan, including: $24.0 billion for the Army, $2.0 billion 
for the Navy, $1.2 billion for the Marine Corps, and $5.4 billion for 
the Air Force. The total includes an extra $100 million to find and 
destroy conventional munitions in Iraq.
  The agreement appropriates $17.8 billion for military personnel, 
including: $12.9 billion for the Army, $816 million for the Navy, $753 
million for the Marine Corps and $3.4 billion for Air Force personnel 
costs.
  The funds are meant to cover the costs associated with the 
mobilization to active duty of reserve and National Guard personnel, 
including pay, travel, per diem, and health care and personnel 
necessary to maintain critical manning at authorized levels.
  Extends TRICARE--the military's health care system--health coverage 
system to National Guard members and reservists and their families who 
lack health insurance and do not have access to employer-provided 
plans.
  The measure authorizes continued payment of per diem for travel of 
family members of military personnel who are ill or injured as a result 
of active duty service, and continues the increased monthly rate of 
Imminent Danger Pay and Family Separation Allowances through Sept. 30, 
2004.
  The agreement includes $55 million for travel costs of troops on rest 
and recuperation leave, including the cost of travel home from 
disembarkation points in the United States.
  The measure provides $32 million for family counseling, domestic 
violence prevention, and readjustment counseling and $10 million for 
similar programs specifically for the National Guard.
  Finally, the measure retroactively and permanently exempts 
servicemembers with combat-related injuries from the requirement of 
paying for subsistence meal charges while hospitalized.
  The agreement appropriates $5.5 billion to replenish equipment and 
munitions expended during military operations in Iraq and in the global 
war on terrorism. The total includes: $142 million to repair or replace 
Bradley fighting vehicles, M1 Abrams tanks and other related equipment 
used in Iraq and Afghanistan; $239 million for more armored High 
Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled vehicles, or HUMVEEs; $300 million to 
purchase additional body armor suits and modern flak jackets and to 
clear unexploded ordnance; and $46 million for radio jammers to disrupt 
attempts by Iraqi dissidents to explode remote controlled bombs and 
mines.
  The measure also directs the Defense Department to increase the 
availability of modern hydration systems to soldiers in Iraq and to 
provide quarterly reports to Congress on department efforts to address 
equipment shortages.
  The agreement provides $525 million for military construction funds--
$112 million more than requested.
  Most of the funds will go to construct new Air Force and Army 
facilities in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, and other 
facilities providing support for operations in the Middle East and the 
global war on terrorism.

  Defense Health Program--Provides $658 million for military health 
care costs.
  When these young men and women return from the Gulf, they are going 
to leave the service in droves. Morale is low, and these people cannot 
get home quick enough.
  At the same time, the Republican leadership refused to include $1.3 
billion dollars in emergency veterans health funding, claiming that it 
will be included in the regular VA-HUD appropriations bill.
  This severe funding shortfalls has resulted in health-care rationing 
among our veterans.
  Over 200,000 are currently waiting 6 months or longer for initial and 
follow-up medical appointments; many are reporting that they are 
waiting 1 to 2 years.
  The Veterans Administration, in order to meet this crisis, has taken 
steps to stop veterans from seeking care. The VA refuses to enroll any 
new Category 8 veterans.
  Funding shortfalls are putting veteran safety and the quality of 
their care at ever greater risk. An April 2001 study sponsored by four 
Health and Human Services agencies confirmed that inadequate direct-
care nurse staffing increases risks of urinary tract infections, 
pneumonia, shock, intestinal bleeding, and lengthy hospital stays.
  Doctors and nurses under greater stress risk injury, too, as their 
increased workloads cause slower mental processing, diminished memory, 
and improper responses to patients.

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