[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 89 (Thursday, June 24, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1223]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2005

                                 ______
                                 

                               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.

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