[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 45 (Friday, April 15, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E671-E672]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  MILITARY MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ROSA L. DeLAURO

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 14, 2005

  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce legislation which 
will improve the lives of thousands of our troops and their families. 
As our troops serve us so well in Iraq, the war on terrorism and on 
countless other missions around the world, we honor their service. At 
the same time, however, we should do more to help our troops and their 
families handle the emotional toll that service can take.
  The Military Mental Health Services Improvement Act, which I am 
introducing with 18 of my colleagues, will improve the ability of 
servicemembers and their families to access mental health care and 
overcome the stigma that is too often associated with mental health 
services. I am especially pleased that the National Military Families 
Association has lent its support to this important legislation.
  Since the beginning of the Iraq War, more than 900 servicemembers 
have been evacuated from Iraq due to mental health concerns, and a new 
study by the New England Journal of Medicine confirms that more than 
one-quarter of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom 
veterans seeking care at Veterans hospitals are doing so for mental 
health treatment. While we have made good progress since the Vietnam 
era in diagnosing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and other forms of 
combat stress, much more remains to be done.
  Specifically, my bill will: Ensure that troops deploying to combat 
theaters get the mental health screening they need before and after 
deployment. The bill requires that military mental health screenings be 
done in person. The 1997 Defense Authorization Act required pre- and 
post-deployment screenings, but the Defense Department elected to use 
paper self-evaluation forms which are widely viewed as insufficient to 
identify possible combat-stress cases.
  Create a new program designed to alert dependents of servicemembers 
about the options for and availability of mental health treatment 
services. The bill requires the DOD to operate a web site and toll-free 
number that servicemembers and families can use to get information 
about the availability of mental health services. Many military 
families complain of being unable to determine where to go for mental 
health services. This problem is particularly acute for Guardsmen and 
Reservists, whose families may not live close to a military 
installation and thus do not have easy access to a military health care 
facility.
  Reduce the stigma associated with mental health treatment. According 
to a 2004 New England Journal of Medicine study of troops returning 
from Iraq, fear of stigmatization was ``disproportionately greatest 
among those most in need of help from mental health services.''
  Improve coordination between DOD and the Department of Veterans 
Affairs in treating mental health cases. As the youngest veterans, OIF/
OEF veterans will be long-term users of VA health services, and so 
proper diagnosis and treatment are important to reduce their long-term 
mental health services needs.

  Allow recently-deactivated Guard and Reserve members and their 
families to obtain mental health services through TRICARE for up to 24 
months after the servicemember returns. This is a priority for the 
National Military Families Association, and 24 months was selected 
because that is the time-frame in which PTSD usually presents itself.
  Allow colleges, universities and community hospitals to play a 
constructive role in helping to diagnose and treat combat stress in our 
servicemembers by permitting the Defense Department to partner with 
these organizations to carry out the programs prescribed in the bill.
  Mr. Speaker, we owe a debt of gratitude to our troops and their 
families. Part of this debt can be paid by giving them the resources 
they need to get through deployment, including combat and long 
stretches away from loved ones. Supporting this legislation will be a 
good step in that direction.
  I have long been interested in the issue of mental health among our 
men and women in uniform and their families, but it was brought home 
for me last year, during the deployment to Iraq of the 439th 
Quartermaster Company, an Army Reserve unit headquartered in New Haven, 
Connecticut. Over the course of that deployment, I saw a group of 
families overwhelmed by the stress and uncertainty caused by the 
deployment of their loved ones. These families did not know where to 
turn for help. The situation, unfortunately, did not improve when the 
soldiers returned from their 19 months on active duty, 14 of which were 
spent in the Middle East. I would like to read into the Record the 
speech given Monday by the leader of the 439th family support 
organization, Kelly Beckwith. Kelly's words speak volumes about the 
emotional toll of deployment on families. I hope my colleagues will 
take the time to read them:

 Speech by Kelly Beckwith at the American Legion Post 89, East Haven, 
    Conn. on the Introduction of the DeLauro Military Mental Health 
                    Services Improvement Act of 2005

       ``Hello. Thank you for allowing me this opportunity to 
     speak with you today. My name is Kelly Beckwith. I am the 
     wife of an OEF/OIF Veteran and mother to four young children. 
     My husband, Sgt. Chris Beckwith, served on active duty with 
     the 439th Quartermaster Company from New Haven for over 19 
     months. I served ``unofficially'' as the 439th Family 
     Readiness Coordinator during the last few months of their 
     deployment.
       ``Deployment is an extremely difficult time for our 
     soldiers and their families. While there is a sense of pride 
     in serving your country, the stress of separation can be 
     devastating, even more so when there is no structuralized, 
     formal support system. Reserve support relies heavily upon 
     volunteers, most of which are struggling with the deployment 
     of a loved one themselves. Soldiers are not the only ones 
     making sacrifices. . . .
       ``If you will allow me to paint you a picture . . . Close 
     your eyes . . .
       ``Imagine four young, bright-eyed children. Christopher is 
     eight years old and in the third grade. He likes to play with 
     trucks and cars, and loves to build with his legos. Julia is 
     five and just started kindergarten in the fall. She loves to 
     draw and tell stories. Shaun is three years old and very shy 
     and quiet. He just started learning to use the potty. He is 
     loving and holds tightly onto his mom and admires his dad. He 
     wants to be a fireman when he grows up. Olivia just turned 
     two and is eager to learn all that she can and cause mischief 
     of one kind or another.
       ``Now picture soldiers, dressed in BDUs, filing onto the 
     busses. Picture those same bright-eyed children standing at 
     the gate, with tears in their eyes, hoping to have one last 
     chance to wave goodbye to their Daddy.
       ``Imagine being the mother of those children, seeing the 
     fear and confusion in their eyes as they know their father 
     has to go away, but they do not understand why or know for 
     how long.
       ``Imagine losing that one person you had to hold you, to 
     comfort you, to talk to in the middle of the night. Imagine 
     the overwhelming stress as the burden of the household 
     quickly falls on those left behind. Imagine being that wife 
     and realizing that you will now be raising four children on 
     your own. Imagine watching helplessly as the terror of what 
     your loved one is enduring unfolds right before your eyes on 
     the television . . . the sudden onset of anxiety attacks as 
     you wait endlessly for the phone to ring, hoping to hear from 
     him, and dreading when the phone does ring, fearing the 
     worst. Imagine the wife . . . holding tightly onto herself to 
     ease her fears as she cries herself to sleep.
       ``Those bright-eyed children have all had to grow up 
     entirely too fast.
       ``The oldest boy, Christopher, assumes the role as father 
     figure to his younger siblings. He no longer wants to go to a 
     friend's house to play. Instead, he prefers to stay home, in 
     case his mother ``needs'' him. Five year old, Julia, is now 
     six and in the first grade. She pours herself into schoolwork 
     and immerses herself into books. She continues to draw and 
     write. She now keeps a journal in which she writes, ``Why 
     can't my Daddy come home?''
       ``Quiet and shy Shaun, who was once so loveable, is now so 
     full of anger and hate. Because he does not know what words 
     to use to express his feelings, he starts lashing out. He 
     bites, hits, kicks, screams, and breaks anything that catches 
     his eye--three windows, four figurines, and a bed within one 
     week's time. Shaun blames his mother for his father's 
     extended absence and shouts to her ``I hate you!'' at least 
     three times a day. Then cries, ``Mommy, please let my Daddy 
     come home.''
       ``Little Olivia now only knows her father through 
     photographs. When other fathers pick up their children at 
     preschool, Olivia asks, `` When is my Daddy coming to get 
     me?''
       ``Now, if you will, flash forward to over a year and a half 
     later.
       * Christopher is now ten years old and is in the fifth 
     grade.
       * Julia is seven and in second grade.
       * Shaun, who had just started learning to use potty at the 
     beginning of deployment, is now five and in kindergarten.

[[Page E672]]

       * Little Olivia is four years old and is one of the ``big 
     kids'' at her preschool.
       * Mom has finally started to sleep at night.
       ``After all this time, Daddy finally comes home, only to 
     hear his youngest child ask, `Are you my Daddy?'
       ``For many families, reintegration is harder than the 
     actual deployment itself. Sadly, many families fall apart 
     during the deployment, and far too many soldiers return home 
     divorced. For those families that have endured the trials and 
     tribulations of separation, the arduous journey has just 
     begun.
       ``Soldiers have witnessed and endured unspeakable 
     cruelties. Their everyday life had become a series of safety 
     checks and ``trust no ones.'' Yet within a week of leaving 
     the combat zone, the soldiers are back with their families 
     with nothing more than a slap on the back and a `thank you, 
     buddy.'
       ``At first, everything is wonderful--the ``honeymoon 
     stage.'' You're just so grateful to have him back home, to 
     have your family together again. Then comes the transition. 
     People change over time, especially more so during a 
     traumatic experience such as deployment. Soldiers come home 
     to someone they feel is completely different from who they 
     left behind. Often times, families do not recognize the 
     person coming home to them. We have to learn how to live with 
     another person again. In truth, it's almost as if you're 
     learning to live with a stranger, only his face is so 
     familiar. You have to learn to share the bed again. Even the 
     simplest things, such as emptying the trash or remembering to 
     put the toilet seat down can cause such a large, deep rift. 
     The smallest misunderstandings can, and do, spiral into large 
     disagreements and screaming matches.
       ``Unfortunately there are several factors hindering 
     soldiers and families from seeking the help they so 
     desperately need. Some do not know what options are available 
     to them, others do not know where to go or whom to call. Some 
     are too stubborn to realize they need help, thinking if they 
     got through the deployment, they can get through anything.
       ``For those soldiers who do come forward to seek help, 
     there is a good chance it will be held against them in their 
     future military career. Even something as simple as going to 
     marital counseling will be taken into consideration for 
     security clearance. Sometimes more drastic measures, such as 
     pushing the soldier out of military service, are taken.
       ``This is no way to thank our soldiers for defending and 
     protecting our freedoms. It is time we do right by our 
     soldiers and their families. There is no choice but to offer 
     them the support they need not only to serve this country, 
     but to reintegrate into their families as well.
       ``This is a matter of the utmost urgency, and we'd all be 
     fools if we failed to do something about it. If we fail just 
     one, then we have failed them all.
       ``It's time to do right by our soldiers . . . And that time 
     is now.''

                          ____________________