[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 39 (Wednesday, March 7, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H2279-H2285]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       WALTER REED MEDICAL CENTER

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Matheson). Under the Speaker's announced 
policy of January 18, 2007, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Al Green) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to stand in the well 
of the House tonight and address conditions at Walter Reed Medical 
Center, as well as other military medical hospitals, and I would also 
like to, in doing this, talk about why our soldiers and our veterans 
are so important to us.
  I want to start by saying if we are truly concerned, if we are truly 
concerned about national security, then we have to be concerned about 
those who secure national security. We have got to be concerned about 
our soldiers. We have to be concerned about our veterans. Because, in 
fact, they make it possible for us to have these liberties that we have 
come to know and to love.
  Tonight, as I start this explanation, I would like to first use the 
words of another, Major General John H. Bailey II, and I want to bring 
his words to our attention, because he has written an ode that really 
explains why the American soldier, the American veteran, is so 
important to this Nation and to the well-being of this country. His ode 
is styled from Boston to Baghdad, and his words capture the essence, 
the spirit of what the American soldier is all about, what the American 
soldier has done for this great country.
  His words are:
  I am the American veteran. I was born in battle on April 19, 1775. I 
am the total sum of my country's ethnic and cultural diversity. I am 
loyal, dependable and patriotic. My motto is, ``Duty, Honor and 
Country,'' and my battle cry is, ``Don't Tread on Me.'' The tracks of 
my tears and the stains of my blood can be traced from Boston to 
Baghdad.
  I was there at Lexington when the shot heard around the world was 
fired, saw the whites of their eyes, was battle-tested at Bunker Hill, 
Valley Forge and Yorktown, and won my country's independence.

                              {time}  1920

  I earned worldwide respect during the Spanish-American War while 
helping our friends in Cuba gain their independence. Names like Teddy 
Roosevelt's Rough Riders and the 9th and 10th Cavalry became household 
words. I saw action at San Juan Hill, Guantanamo Bay, and the 
Philippines. A young Lieutenant John Pershing was heard to have seen 
``white and black regiment fighters shoulder to shoulder unmindful of 
color in combat.''
  I was there at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, in 
the year of our Lord 1918. I was crowned in glory at the conclusion of 
World War II, the war to end all wars and the birth of Veterans' Day.
  During World War II, in response to the attack on Pearl Harbor, the 
pearl of the Pacific, I rallied a nation, shouldered the weight of the 
world, defeating the Axis powers, preserving democracy around the world 
and preventing the annihilation of a race of people who called Germany 
home. In this country, we call these exceptional citizens Jewish 
people, and we know them as the Jewish community.
  No words can better describe the effects of our entry into World War 
II than those of Admiral Hirohito when told by an aide, ``Sir, we have 
scored a great victory,'' and he replied, ``I'm afraid we have awakened 
a sleeping giant.''
  Thank you, World War II veterans. You are the greatest generation. 
Never before have so few given so much for so many.
  In support of our friends in South Korea, I saw action at Bloody 
Ridge, Pork Chop Hill and Heartbreak Ridge, while introducing the 
helicopter and jet aircraft as battlefield tactics, actions which 
changed the course of military history.
  I went to Vietnam to help the people of South Vietnam maintain the 
right to choose their own destiny. There I fought at Hue Dong Hai and 
Hamburger Hill. I refused to fall at the hands of a well-equipped and 
determined enemy during the 1968 Tet Offensive.
  During Desert Storm, I engaged Saddam Hussein in his mother of all 
battles. I destroyed his will to resist.
  And then there was 9/11, a day which must never be forgotten, a day 
which must never be repeated. It tested the soul of our Nation in a way 
not witnessed since December 7, 1941. And due to the atmosphere it 
created, I was again sent to Iraq as a part of the global war on 
terror. I am still there today

[[Page H2280]]

participating in peacekeeping and nation building. My rewards are found 
in the eyes of children and old people who now have hope.
  I am the American veteran. I am from New York City, the countryside 
of Philadelphia, Washington, D.C. I've come from sea to shining sea. As 
a participating citizen, I shall continue to fulfill my forefathers' 
dreams of a more perfect union and open my arms and say to the world, 
send me your tired, your huddled masses, because I know it is that 
diversity that makes us who we are.
  In closing, he adds, I leave you with the words of a young John F. 
Kennedy in his inaugural address, who said, ``We will bear any burden, 
meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the 
survival and success of liberty.'' This pretty much describes the 
spirit of the American soldier and the American veteran.
  Mr. Speaker, I share these words because it is important for us to 
understand the sacrifices not only made by this generation of veterans 
but the sacrifices made by veterans since the country was founded, 
since the genesis of this country, if you will. And because our 
veterans have been so important to us, because they have been there for 
us, we must be there for them.
  I regret to say, Mr. Speaker, that we have not been there for them 
when it comes to military hospitals and facilities and the delivery of 
health care through the military facilities. We have not been there 
because recent events have shown us, in transpicuously clear, empirical 
data, that hospitals are substandard, that some of the treatment 
received has not been delivered in the kind of fashion and manner that 
we would have those persons who have given us liberty and justice for 
all, those persons who have made real the ideals in the Constitution of 
the people, by the people, for the people, those persons who have given 
us this opportunity to stand here tonight, we have not made the 
delivery of health care services as effective and efficient as they 
should be.
  So I am here tonight with a colleague, and we are going to talk about 
not only the problems at Walter Reed but the problems in health care 
delivery in military facilities, generally speaking; and we are going 
to also continue to be grateful for the service that our American 
veterans have rendered to make this country the great country that it 
is.
  At this time, I will yield such time as she may consume to the 
honorable lady from the District of Columbia, a student of 
jurisprudence par excellence, I might add, one who is a part of the 
conscience of the Congress and certainly the conscience of Washington, 
D.C., who has fought for statehood and continues to fight for the 
American veteran. She speaks, and when she speaks, others listen. I am 
honored to share time with the honorable Eleanor Holmes Norton.
  Ms. NORTON. I thank you, Representative Green. I particularly thank 
you for opening up this special hour in a way that offers perspective, 
historical perspective about why the treatment of our solders and 
veterans mean so much to us.
  What you have done is to take us through the highlights of their 
history, which is our history, so that I think we come to grips with 
why the urgency that has been revealed at Walter Reed and now 
increasingly at other veterans hospitals and military hospitals must be 
addressed right away.
  Mr. Green, to my left there is a rendition of remarks among hundreds 
of thousands now sent to the Washington Post and to Members of Congress 
once the Walter Reed revelations came forward in the Washington Post. 
And what is important about the remarks to my left is the way that they 
summarize the systemic nature of this problem.
  Yes, we are focusing on Walter Reed. It happens to be in my district. 
Would that we could fix the problems that have come to light by dealing 
with this one great hospital; and this is far and away the greatest 
military hospital in the United States, most would say in the country. 
It is where we send our most injured soldiers. If you have been very 
seriously injured, you go to Walter Reed. It is considered the crown 
jewel of military hospitals.
  Why, then, are we hearing from Fort Campbell, Kentucky? In a moment I 
want to know about your district, Mr. Green, but why are we hearing 
from Fort Campbell, Kentucky, words that also put us to shame? And the 
words are right there for you to say. We are quoting the words that 
have come forward, this time to the Washington Post. There were yellow 
signs on the door stating, ``Our barracks had asbestos.'' How would you 
feel if you came home from Iraq or Afghanistan to find that kind of 
sign on the barracks to which you had been committed after leaving the 
hospital?
  Mr. Green made a point about in-hospital care. So far as we have been 
able to tell, at least in the military hospitals, a standard. You will 
have to speak to the veterans hospitals. But nobody doubts that there 
is no better place for our soldiers to be, particularly if you are 
seriously wounded, than Walter Reed Hospital.

                              {time}  1930

  But you get out of Walter Reed and you find the functional equivalent 
of what we learned about Fort Campbell, Kentucky. There may not be a 
sign on the door, but the signs were everywhere to see. They were there 
in the now notorious building 18 where the whole roof now has to be 
changed, the mold and the rats and the roaches. What those are signs 
are, are of neglect of these soldiers once they left the hospital.
  But in a real sense, I think my good colleagues and brother will 
agree with me that it is when you get out of the hospital that you may 
be most depressed. You may have lost an arm or a leg or an eye, or you 
have lost part of your mental capacity. Now you have to come to grips 
with the real world. It is in those barracks, barracks like those 
described at Fort Campbell that soldiers have lost their way because we 
have lost ours.
  Or let's take Fort Irwin in California. Here I am quoting again the 
Washington Post, March 5 of this year:
  ``Most of us,'' writes this soldier, ``have had to sign waivers where 
we understand that the housing we were in failed to meet government 
standards.''
  My colleague will, I think, agree with me that our soldiers expected 
to be in substandard tents in Iraq and Afghanistan but not in the 
United States of America after being wounded and being sent back home.
  Even though we had hearings in the Government Reform Committee 2 
years ago speaking to the outpatient care and were assured by some of 
the same brass that appeared before us at the Walter Reed Hospital 
hearing just a couple of days ago, we find, courtesy of the Washington 
Post no less, not a hearing, but a real expose that things are as bad 
or worse than we expected.
  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Would the lady yield for just a moment?
  Ms. NORTON. I would be pleased to yield to the gentleman.
  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Thank you.
  You have mentioned Walter Reed several times and conditions at other 
facilities as well. I have information from the Washington Post that I 
would like to share to substantiate much of what you have just said, 
and I think that it bears reading because I want to make sure that I 
quote the Washington Post accurately. This is from February 18, 2007:
  ``Behind the door of Army Specialist Jeremy Duncan's room, part of 
the wall is torn and hangs in the air, weighted down by''--what the 
gentlelady called to our attention just a moment ago--``black mold.'' 
Black mold weighing the door down to the extent that it is being pulled 
apart from the wall.
  ``When the wounded combat engineer,'' it goes on to read, ``stands in 
his shower and looks up, he can see the bathtub on the floor above 
through a rotted hole.''
  Now, this is hardly what we would expect to find in a hospital.
  Ms. NORTON. This is the outpatient housing, normally. Unless that 
says it's a hospital.
  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. This is at Walter Reed Hospital, itself.
  Ms. NORTON. I do want to make that distinction. Walter Reed Hospital, 
the Washington Post, I believe, did not find conditions to be 
substandard and drew the contrast between the hospital and building 18. 
I don't think the hospital has been the source of the problem. But they 
have put these soldiers in aftercare kind of apartments, in facilities 
like building 18. Unnamed, by the

[[Page H2281]]

way. It could have been named after somebody. They said they are going 
to name it, give it some honorific name.
  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. If I may, I agree with the gentlelady. What I 
am saying, I suppose, is the Walter Reed complex; building 18 is a part 
of the hospital complex.
  Ms. NORTON. The base, yes.
  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. The point is that, on the facility that Walter 
Reed claims as a part of it, building 18, the infamous building 18, we 
have these substandard conditions. These conditions are conditions that 
we would hardly expect to find at a facility that is treating wounded 
persons, patients, persons who, quite frankly, can become ill because 
of the conditions that they have to exist in while they are 
recuperating from their war injuries. These are the kinds of conditions 
I think the Washington Post, and I thank the Washington Post for doing 
this, but I think that the Washington Post has done our country a great 
service by calling them to our attention.
  I would also mention this, if I may, before I yield back. My heart 
was really torn when I saw persons giving their testimony at the 
various hearings that took place. I was very much hurt and had tears 
literally well in my eyes when I saw one of the family members 
testifying about how a relative was treated. And then to hear soldiers 
talk about what they had to go through, the enormous amount of red 
tape, before they could be served. These kinds of conditions in the 
hospital as well as the conditions that are a prelude to entry into the 
hospital make it very difficult for our soldiers to appreciate the 
promise that we made to them, the promise to provide for them if they 
provided for us. If they made it possible for us to be secure, we made 
a promise to them to provide for them. It was very heart-wrenching to 
see the kinds of conditions, to hear the kinds of conditions, if you 
will, talked about with reference to our soldiers.

  I am hopeful that these conditions will change. They have got to 
change. And they have got to change right away. I know that the 
gentlelady has other conditions that she would like to talk about, and 
I have other charts that I will be sharing as well.
  I will yield to the gentlelady.
  Ms. NORTON. I thank the gentleman for those observations, indeed. 
Your notion that they have got to change and they have got to change 
now is where we ought to be focused. You spoke about the heart-
wrenching testimony, by the way, testimonies under oath. Just like the 
brass was under oath, so was the wife. She left her home, gave up her 
job to come be with her husband, has been there for months, lost in the 
Never Never Land of, is he going to go out on disability? Will he be 
returned to his company? The man had been in the National Guard for 16 
years, for goodness sake.
  If you are not going to tell him one way or the other what he is 
going to do, you're disrupting his life, you're disrupting his entire 
family's life, and time after time, that was the story we heard.
  I want the gentleman to know, we had all the brass before us as well. 
You have never seen so much brass, the Secretary of the Army. We had 
the former commander at Walter Reed, Kevin Kiley, who has been now 
kicked upstairs. He is the U.S. Army surgeon general. It actually was 
on his watch that most of these problems emerged. We had the major 
general, George Weightman, who was recently fired. He had only been 
there 6 months, so he was the fall guy it looks like. We had the Vice 
Chief of Staff of the Army. They all came. And, by the way, when they 
heard the testimony you just spoke of, they harbored their apologies to 
the families sitting in back of them. That's the least they could have 
done.
  I do want you to know, I say to my good friend, that when it came 
time for me to ask questions, I focused on something I happened to know 
well, that Walter Reed in the middle of a war was put on the base 
realignment closing list. Think about this: Walter Reed is on the list 
of military installations to be closed in the middle of the war on 
terrorism and the Iraq war. We tried to keep that from happening.
  Something very important has happened as a result of the testimony. I 
asked the generals, on second thought, don't you think it would have 
been best to postpone any notion that Walter Reed would be closed, 
because that sends a signal to staff, clinical staff, staff of all 
kinds, that if you value your careers, this is not the place to come?

                              {time}  1940

  And yet this is where you need the best personnel in the world. And 
to the man, each said, that should be rethought. And I want to say this 
evening to my good colleague and friend that I will be introducing 
tomorrow a quite unusual bill to repeal the decision to close Walter 
Reed in order to stabilize staff there, as a first step to say to 
Walter Reed: We hear you. At least we are not going to send the message 
to your best personnel, leave this place as soon as you can.
  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. And I would gladly support the gentlewoman's 
legislation.
  I will tell you, I talked earlier about the shot heard around the 
world. When it was stated that Walter Reed would be closed, that was 
the shock heard around the world. I think that that, probably of all of 
the closures that were to take place and are to take place, I think 
that one probably penetrated to the very heart and core of what a 
military service for veterans is all about.
  Ms. NORTON. If the gentleman will yield. The Army, of course, said 
what it was going to do was to rebuild this massive new hospital in 
Bethesda. The problem with that is that it is going to take $3 billion. 
The gentleman and I, who serve in this House, know good and well that 
this House is not going to put $3 billion into bricks and mortar at a 
time when we have come to the floor to talk about neglect of soldiers 
and veterans.
  So why leave it on the base closing list? Maybe it was a pipe dream 
that somebody had as long as they were doing BRAC last year. Now has 
come the time to revisit that decision, and I am very pleased to say to 
the gentleman that I have noted, reported in the press that Members in 
a position to turn around that decision, our good friend who is chair 
of the Defense Appropriation Committee, Mr. Murtha; his ranking member, 
Mr. Young; Mr. Waxman, chair of Government Reform, where these hearings 
were held; his ranking member, Mr. Davis; had all said, had all said in 
a bipartisan matter, it is not the time to close Walter Reed.
  So here we are coming together at least with something to do now to 
stop the bleeding. Then, there are a number of other things we have to 
do, but that it seems to me is the minimum we can do. And there is a 
developing consensus; we hear the same things in the Senate today at 
their hearings: At least let's put, as we say in the law, an injunction 
on closing this hospital.
  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Absolutely. And the bipartisan support for 
this is manifesting itself. I have noticed that partisanship, while it 
still exists, partisanship is not hopefully going to stand in the way 
of taking care of our veterans.
  It is my hope that, as we look at these conditions and we recognize 
what is happening to our veterans as a result of being in these 
horrendous conditions, to be quite candid, that we will put aside the 
partisanship and we will do what we need to do to rebuild, reconstruct 
Walter Reed.
  You mentioned the closure of it at an inopportune time. Clearly, 
while we are in a war, when our military hospitals and centers are most 
needed, we should not, we should not close the crown jewel. That sends 
a bad signal to people around the world as well when they hear that 
what is considered to be our top military medical facility is going to 
close. So I am completely with the lady; I support what she proposes to 
do.
  And I would also add this. We are about to spend in Baghdad to 
construct a facility there, which is beyond the reach of this country 
in the sense that most Americans will never use it, and we are going to 
spend millions, untold millions there because we have cost overruns. We 
just don't know what we are running into as we are doing this, it 
seems. And it would seem to me that we can direct some of these 
dollars, make sure these dollars are used prudently and judicially. But 
there can be dollars spent here for our veterans who are returning home 
who are going to need the best medical attention that the world can 
provide.

[[Page H2282]]

  And as further evidence, if I may, of what is happening at Walter 
Reed as the gentlewoman has explained in terms that are quite clear, in 
the infamous building 18, which is a part of the complex, a part of the 
complex. I have another quote here from the Washington Post, and this 
one speaks of life in building 18. It talks about how it is the 
bleakest homecoming for men and women whose government promised them, 
and we made a promise to our soldiers; we promised them, we committed 
to them that: If you go and defend the country, you go to war, put 
yourself in harm's way; if you will put yourself in harm's way and 
defend this country, we will take care of you when you return.
  And this is from February 18, 2007. According to the Washington Post, 
this promise of good care in return for their sacrifices, they returned 
home to the bleakest home coming that the government could have 
provided given that this promise was made.
  I am going to yield to another colleague who has joined us. But it 
also goes on to say that, and this is a quote: ``I hate it,'' said a 
soldier, who stays in his room all day. ``There are cockroaches.'' This 
is for our veterans. ``Cockroaches. The elevator doesn't work. The 
garage door doesn't work. Sometimes there is no heat and no water.'' No 
heat and no water in a facility for our veterans.
  I think it is appropriate to get a response from the gentleman from 
Wisconsin, Mr. Steve Kagen, if he would care to add to this discussion.
  Mr. KAGEN. Thank you very much for leading off and expressing the 
view of one brave American soldier.
  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. And if the gentleman would yield one moment, I 
might also add that the gentleman is a medical doctor and is imminently 
qualified to talk about issues of care for our soldiers.
  Mr. KAGEN. Thank you very much. But what we are talking about is not 
bricks and mortar. The buildings didn't fail. The windows didn't fail. 
The furnace didn't fail. It was a failure of leadership and, really, a 
failure of this administration. It adds yet another failure to the long 
list of failures. After all, this current administration, would you not 
agree, has failed to secure our Nation, our borders, our ports. It has 
failed to strengthen our middle class. It has failed even to educate 
our children. But, most importantly, for all the brave Americans who 
have put themselves in harm's way, this administration has cut and run 
from them at their military hospital, the Army hospital at Walter Reed.
  It is a disgrace. And it is not about bricks and mortars; it is about 
failed leadership, something that this Congress, the 110th Congress, 
can turn around and will as we already have.
  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. The gentleman makes an excellent point. 
Because ultimately people make decisions, and somewhere along the way, 
conditions that merited attention were not dutifully attended to.
  Ms. NORTON. Would the gentleman yield on that point, to reinforce 
that point? At the hearing earlier this week, the generals testified 
that this was not for want of funds. The fact is that we have given and 
will give more. If you come here and you look at our Defense budget, I 
don't think you will see that the Congress has been stingy in coming 
forward with the funds to do what is necessary, at least to keep these 
kind of shameful conditions from taking place. And the fact that you 
see top flight medical care at Walter Reed itself says that, when the 
doctors are in charge, when the nurses are in charge, things are fine.
  The leadership that you speak of, the leadership to deploy the funds 
correctly, the leadership to make sure that our soldiers have a 
seamless recovery so that, when they are in aftercare, they know they 
are recovering because they are treated in exactly the same way they 
were treated in the hospital.
  Yes, you are right, I say to my good friend and colleague who knows 
firsthand that whatever the doctor is able to do for you in the 
hospital can virtually evaporate if the kind of care that is necessary 
is not given after release from the hospital.
  I would be glad to yield to the gentleman.
  Mr. KAGEN. Every physician, every nurse, everyone on the floor at 
Walter Reed is doing their personal best to take care of the soldiers, 
and they are getting great care.

                              {time}  1950

  But the thing I find extremely upsetting, on the night of the State 
of the Union address, my wife, who is a nurse, was in town. She is 
president of the social organization for the spouse's club of the 
freshmen class, both Democrats and Republican; and she went to Walter 
Reed on a fact-finding tour to see that the soldiers were getting all 
the care and all the prosthetic devices that they required.
  Well, they gave her the company tour. They didn't give her a tour of 
Building 18. And come to find out, according to testimony revealed, 
that Lieutenant General Kevin Kiley knew about these conditions as far 
back as 2003, when one soldier reported that the conditions were 
extremely poor and he wasn't getting what he needed.
  So I have the opinion, as a physician, and having years of experience 
of caring for thousands of military veterans, that if they had our back 
covered during conflict, we must not let them down. We have got to 
cover their back when they come home.
  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. And I might add also, in terms of covering 
their backs when they come home, that these medical facilities, not 
just Walter Reed but others, are experiencing some concerns that we 
have to talk about as well, which can be a great segue into this 
Washington Post comment from March 5 of 2007.
  This one reads that ``the mold, mice and rot of Walter Reed's 
Building 18 compose a familiar scenario of many soldiers back from Iraq 
or Afghanistan. Soldiers and veterans at other facilities report 
bureaucratic disarray similar to Walter Reed's indifferent, untrained 
staff, lost paperwork, medical appointments that drop from the 
computers, and long waits for consultations.''
  Now that kind of treatment is something that cannot continue. The 
bricks and mortar, we have to deal with, and I believe we can deal with 
that. But we also have to make sure that the computers work. We have 
got to make sure that persons have adequate staffing available to them 
at hospitals so that they can receive the kind of attention that they 
merit and deserve.
  This problem is systemic, as the gentlelady explained, and I think 
that we have to take a systemic approach to dealing with it. If we only 
focus on Walter Reed, then I think we miss something important, an 
opportunity to look at the entirety of what we are confronting and to 
take corrective action, not for one circumstance but for all 
circumstances that we find ourselves confronting at this time.
  Let's not let any aspect of this escape. While we are dealing with 
it, let's deal with it in its entirety.
  And I would yield to the gentlelady.
  Ms. NORTON. I appreciate that the gentleman has yielded, and the 
contrast he is drawing between the bureaucracy and the in-hospital 
care. Because when you see conditions like this, here are some more 
direct communications.
  Now, to be fair, I want to stress, and the difference between the 
Washington Post and these communications is we have not verified these. 
We don't want to say in any way that we doubt them, but we do want to 
say what the difference is.
  Nevertheless, people have felt they had to tell us what they felt and 
what they knew. And here you see, again, another part of the country, 
the other end of the country, Fort Irwin in California. ``The room was 
swarming with fruit flies, trash overflowing and a syringe on the 
table.''
  Please remember, all that we are hearing about physical conditions is 
emblematic of an invisible bureaucracy that is much worse.
  Or Fort Knox, again, in Kentucky. ``The living conditions were the 
worst I had ever seen for soldiers, paint peeling, mold, windows that 
didn't work. I went to the hospital chaplain to get them to issue 
blankets and linens. There were no nurses.''
  Again, this one, however, these are from the Washington Post. But 
these they haven't verified, but they haven't gone out there.
  I do want to say that when you talk to the soldiers, as I did, and 
here I will quote one of them. He said, ``Congresswoman, these people 
need help.'' They

[[Page H2283]]

did not even criticize the workers in the bureaucracy. Their sense was 
that they were overwhelmed.
  We are talking about an invisible bureaucracy, a bureaucracy, for 
example, that when you have lost an arm and a leg, maybe both of them, 
will keep you waiting months before you can find out whether you are 
going out on disability or whether you are going back in some form or 
fashion to the Army.
  And the gentleman has talked about lost paperwork, computers that 
don't talk to one another. The life of one soldier can be on 27 
different computers. The computers don't talk to one another. 
Therefore, nobody can talk to the soldier.
  I have suggested that we have to go with this in long-term, short-
term as well as long-term ways. One short-term way would be every 
soldier needs his own advocate, so that, while we are fixing it, you 
never feel you are lost. There is somebody you can always go to.
  I would be glad to yield to the gentleman.
  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. If I could, before you yield to the gentleman, 
let me just say this. We have had another person to join us, and I 
think it appropriate that we announce the presence of the subcommittee 
Chair on Oversight and Investigations, and I am confident that he will 
have much that he is going to share with us.
  I just want the Members to know that he is with us tonight, and that 
would be the Honorable Harry Mitchell, who is from the great State of 
Arizona. And because he is the Chair of the subcommittee, I feel it my 
duty to yield to him at this time, after which we will continue. Mr. 
Chairman.
  Mr. MITCHELL. Thank you very much, and I appreciate that.
  What has been discussed here are the conditions at these hospitals, 
other hospitals and the ones that you have mentioned over here; and it 
is absolutely unacceptable for any official to have had knowledge of 
the dilapidated conditions at Walter Reed, only to stay silent and do 
nothing. They must be held accountable.
  This Congress went for years without conducting any oversight 
whatsoever. And the American people sent us here to do a job. The 
American people sent us here to get to the bottom of this. That means 
asking the tough questions and leaving no stone unturned to make sure 
that this never happens again.
  The problems at Walter Reed cannot be fixed with new drywall and 
paint. Inadequate outpatient care and confusing, time-consuming 
bureaucracy can impact soldiers throughout their entire life. We owe it 
to our soldiers and veterans to understand how this systemic failure 
could increase their needs in the future.
  One of the things we are finding out is that the problems in the 
military medical system extend far beyond dilapidated buildings. Too 
many soldiers are finding an endless stream of red tape as they try and 
secure the benefits they have earned in the VA system.
  One of the things that you have mentioned, that we are holding 
hearings on this, and tomorrow we are having a hearing on Walter Reed 
and how it impacts other veterans' facilities. We are holding these 
hearings to investigate this problem, and we are going to do something 
about it.
  I think the people are sick and tired of seeing the way that our 
troops are being treated, and I really welcome this discussion and the 
discussions we are going to have with these investigations and 
oversight hearings.
  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank you for taking 
the time to come to the floor. Your leadership is invaluable on this 
type of concern. We want the country to know that you will be there for 
our veterans, and we are going to make sure that it is fixed. We have a 
short-term solution, but we have to also have a long-term vision, and I 
greatly appreciate your taking the time.
  I yield back to the chairman.
  Mr. MITCHELL. Can I add one other thing? And I think this is very 
important.
  We just introduced this last week the Dignity for Wounded Warriors 
Act; and this is to look at the long-term effect, not just of what is 
happening right now.
  The Dignity for Wounded Warriors Act of 2007, we introduced this to 
ensure that injured soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan 
receive the care they deserve. It sets the standard of care for our 
wounded. It sets the standard for military medical facilities, and it 
cuts through the red tape our wounded and their families have to 
navigate through.
  So we are looking at not just now but, as you said, this is a long 
term, and I think we are going to address that with this Dignity for 
Wounded Warriors Act. I am very excited about that, and I think when 
you see this come to the floor this will have overwhelming support.
  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. I thank the chairman for his vision.
  I would now yield to the gentleman from Wisconsin, Mr. Kagen.
  Mr. KAGEN. Thank you very much, and thank you for being there to ask 
the tough questions.
  What I think the American people have to understand is that there has 
been a positive change and a new direction in this country and in this 
110th Congress. You are looking at two new Members of the Class of 
2006. It is the class I call America's hope.

                              {time}  2000

  It is America's hope that we intend to represent.
  But I think everyone watching tonight and everyone in America must 
really be asking themselves several questions: What are these people's 
values, and whose side are they on? Things have changed in the 110th. I 
think you measure a person's or an administration's values based upon 
how they spend their money or our money, and this administration was 
seeking to cut $3.8 billion from the health care of veterans. They were 
asking our veterans, who have put their lives on the line, to pay for 
the benefits they have already owned. Those are not the values of the 
people I represent in Wisconsin. I am sure they are not Arizona's 
values either.
  And the other question: Whose side are we on? Well, the current 
administration is choosing to help the politically connected, private, 
inside contractors, not just in Iraq but here at home at Walter Reed, 
rather than the wounded who seek the best care possible. This 
administration, in my view, has chosen to help insurance companies and 
pharmaceutical companies rather than our hardworking families and the 
senior citizens that I take care of in Wisconsin who cannot afford 
their prescription medication. I don't believe the values of this 
administration reflect those of the American public, and that is why I 
think I got elected to this Congress, to bring a positive change. What 
you see at Walter Reed is a symptom of a bigger problem in the White 
House.
  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his 
observations.
  And I think that we are very fortunate that your State of Wisconsin 
has sent you here with the vision that you have. And I believe that you 
are going to be a very valuable Member of this House. The contributions 
that you have already made have made a difference, and we thank you for 
your presence.
  I will now yield again to the gentlewoman because I know that, given 
she is from the District of Columbia and Walter Reed is in her 
district, that she has some additional points to make.
  Ms. NORTON. I appreciate the gentleman's yielding. And I also 
appreciate hearing the Wounded Soldiers Act. That looks like the 
thinking on that even predates some of what has been revealed here.
  You will notice that the President has appointed a commission. It is 
a bipartisan commission. It has two chairs that I think everybody would 
respect, Donna Shalala and former leader Dole. We often have tried to 
get commissions, and I would applaud the appointment of a commission 
largely because a commission, as I understand its charge, will look 
throughout the country and not focus simply on the crown jewel and will 
look at the bureaucracy and not simply at the peeling walls.
  But I want to stress again, these soldiers need relief now, people. 
If you go into Walter Reed and say, ``Don't you worry, this 
bureaucracy, we are going to fix,'' I can tell you if you are going to 
fix a bureaucracy where the computers don't talk to one another, you 
are going to be fixing that for years to come.

[[Page H2284]]

  We have got to be able to say, it seems to me, before we go on April 
2 to spring break, this we have done. I anticipate you will see some of 
it in the Defense supplemental. Some of it will be money. Some of it 
will be language. I say that without even knowing, but I know how 
concerned the Congress is.
  And I really want to bring the ultimate analogy here, and that is to 
say, remember Vietnam and the Vietnam veteran. How many Vietnam 
veterans are homeless today, feel the terrible neglect of that war? 
They were draftees, but the price they have paid. And, of course, these 
are volunteers, which, by the way, in a real sense means we really owe 
them because they have stepped forward on their own. But increasingly 
the Vietnam analogy is used, and that analogy has some validity. The 
part of it that we must see does not obtain is the part that relates to 
how the Vietnam veterans were treated. That must be the end of that. We 
must show with this war that there will never be a Vietnam when it 
comes to treatment of the wounded and treatment of veterans. And that 
day begins now. And we don't have a lot of time.
  This is March. We have a few weeks before we go out. I think we can 
do it. We may not pass the supplemental before then, but it does seem 
to me that we are going to come forward when I hear all of the concern 
with short-term solutions so that the soldiers at Fort Irwin, at Fort 
Knox, at Walter Reed and in your respective districts can know that 
help is not only on the way, it is coming, it is galloping their way.
  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Absolutely. And such that they can see it 
immediately, if not sooner, because you really don't need a commission 
to kill roaches. You really don't need a commission to go over and take 
care of a mold problem. You don't need a commission to repair doors, to 
make sure that the water runs and that it is hot. You don't need a 
commission to do the little things that make a big difference in the 
life of a patient in a hospital.
  So it would seem to me, and I commend the President for appointing 
the commission, that while commissions have their role, there are 
things that can be done immediately that they can see such that they 
will have confidence that the committee is going to do its work because 
right now there probably is a failure of confidence in what the 
commission may ultimately conclude because we live in a world where it 
is not enough for things to be right; they must also look right. And it 
doesn't look right to have a commission studying a problem when roaches 
are running across the floor. So we ought to get in there as quickly as 
possible and allow the people who can do these little things that make 
a big difference in a person's life, give them the opportunity to make 
some change, immediate change, that the patient can see.
  I think that this infamous building 18 is one that can receive the 
kind of attention that these soldiers, these veterans, will appreciate 
immediately. They shouldn't have to look through walls and see bathtubs 
above them. They shouldn't have to cope with the conditions of mold 
that can, in and of itself, become another problem for them. So I am 
hopeful that we will see some immediate change right away.
  And I believe that the chairman is still with us, and I would like to 
have the chair give his response to what we are talking about with 
reference to immediate change.
  Mr. MITCHELL. Absolutely. And I think that the changes that you 
mentioned are ones that can be done immediately. But this has been a 
problem that has been overlooked for so many years. And I believe, 
because I have heard from other people, that there are other buildings 
out there besides building 18. That is not the only one. I think this 
is just symbolic of a health care system that is not only part of the 
Department of Defense but also I think it probably, and this is what we 
need to look into, may spill over into veterans' care, the Veterans' 
Administration. What we need to do is to make sure that there is a 
seamless transition from those in the military to the Veterans' 
Administration. That is one of the things that we are looking into now 
to make sure that all of those tests and all of the applications that 
people went through and all the paperwork and red tape and bureaucracy 
they went through when they were at Walter Reed or any other military 
facility, they don't have to repeat it when they go on to the veterans' 
hospital. We don't want that to happen.
  And it has been estimated that there is going to be over 700,000 
veterans of the global war on terror. And when this is over, it is 
going to flood the VA system. And we have got to make sure that because 
we take care of these new veterans that we don't forget, as you have 
said, the older veterans, those from Vietnam, those from Korea, and the 
few that are still around from World War II and beyond. We have got to 
make sure that we have the resources available, not only people but 
money, to take care of the new veterans that are coming on, and we need 
to plan for that. And I think there has been a real lack of planning 
for what is going to happen with the huge number of soldiers that are 
coming here.
  Recently it was reported that, in World War II, for every soldier 
that was killed, there were two wounded. Today, and I think this is 
important, when we try to measure what is going on in Iraq and we talk 
about the number of fatalities, for every fatality, there are 16 that 
are wounded.

                              {time}  2010

  This is going to put an extreme pressure on the military medical 
facility as well as the veterans. That is what we have got to be 
prepared for, and that is what we have to be looking for in terms of 
the future.
  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I know each speaker will have 
some closing comments to make. If I may, I will start with the medical 
doctor, the first-term Congressperson who has already made a difference 
by being here and who has shared an infinite amount of intelligence 
with us.
  I yield to the gentleman to please give closing comments so we can 
hear from the other speakers as well.
  MR. KAGEN. Mr. Speaker, during the past 12 years, our opposition 
party, during their power, during their control of Congress and our 
budget, the veterans budget for the VA health care system fell by 12.5 
percent on a per person basis. This is at a time when they took us to 
war based on lies and deception, based ultimately on poor judgment, 
based on a time when there will be 263,000 of our Guardsmen and Army 
Reserve coming home and needing the care that they need.
  This is not the time to reduce the veterans health care budget. This 
is a time for Democrats and Republicans across the aisle to work in a 
bipartisan way, to come together and move up our performance, not to 
deny that it exists at all.
  This thing again from Walter Reed was a terrible, terrible blot on 
what otherwise would be a tremendous health care system, the veterans 
health care system.
  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, we will hear from our chairman at 
this time.
  Mr. MITCHELL. Mr. Speaker, just one last thing. We looked at the 
conditions, the physical conditions of these facilities that have 
brought this to light. Maybe it is good that these problems are coming 
to light, so we can take a look at not only the military facilities, 
but also the veterans facilities.
  But I think what we found is that the problems in the military 
medical system, and probably the veterans as well, go far beyond 
dilapidated facilities, and I think you are going to find as you talk 
to these soldiers and their families that one of the things that is 
important is that the endless stream of red tape and trying to secure 
benefits, this has been a strain, not only on these individual 
soldiers, but the whole family.
  So one of the things we are looking at, and I think that is so 
important with the Dignity for Wounded Warriors Act, is we are not only 
taking a look at the standard of care and the medical facilities 
themselves, but also how important it is to look at the red tape.
  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlelady from 
the District of Columbia, who has been a real fighter for veterans in 
this Congress.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and let 
me thank him for his leadership on what I think has been a very 
informative special hour about our veterans.
  Just to pick up on what my two colleagues have said, the chairman 
stresses that we are talking about veterans as well as military 
matters. The

[[Page H2285]]

best example at the hearings was the decision that the poor soldier has 
to make about whether to take his veterans benefits or his DOD benefits 
and how difficult that decision is, and how some of them are just 
driven crazy about how you arrive at that decision, since the amounts 
can be very different, the kind of decision where you need somebody 
holding your hand all the time.
  My colleague talked about poor judgment from the beginning when we 
went to the invasion and now when we see soldiers coming back home. I 
indicated earlier that a colossal example of poor judgment was closing 
the premier military hospital in the middle of a war.
  If I could just quote in closing from Vice Chair Cody, who testified 
before us at the Oversight and Reform Committee hearing: ``You are 
trying to get the best people to come here to work, and they know in 3 
years that this place will close down and they are not sure whether 
they will be afforded the opportunity to move to the new Walter Reed 
National Military Center. That causes some issues.''
  Well, as I have said, we are not going to give $3 billion for bricks 
and mortar in the middle of a war anyway, so that is why I am 
introducing a bill tomorrow just to send the signal that we are not 
going to close this hospital.
  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlelady for her 
vision as well.
  Let me close by saying this to my colleagues and friends: we are not 
talking about what we call a Third World country when we talk about 
Walter Reed and the facilities. We are talking about the richest 
country in the world, a country where we can spend $177 million per day 
on the war, and that was prior to January of this year. Now we spend 
over $200 million, not per year, not per month, not per week, but per 
day on the war. A country where one out of every 110 persons is a 
millionaire.
  In this, the richest country in the world, where our soldiers and our 
veterans have made it possible for us to have these riches, these 
liberties, I think that we have to provide better services for them 
before, during, and after any injury that they may receive.
  So I am honored that we had the time tonight. I want to thank the 
Speaker for allowing us to have this time tonight.
  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Congressmen Al Green and 
Frank Pallone for arranging this Special Order hour. Today I rise to 
register my concern about the conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical 
Center and to show my support and dedication to increasing the quality 
of health care services, for our veterans as well as our men and women 
in uniform.
  The Nation has been horrified by the Washington Post's recent reports 
of the appalling conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Thanks 
to the diligent investigative reporting of Dana Priest and Anne Hull, 
we now know that our soldiers recovering in outpatient units are being 
forced to confront cockroaches, mice droppings and toxic black mold as 
they heal. Even worse, many become lost in an uncaring military 
bureaucracy that subjects them to long waits just to get their most 
basic needs addressed.
  The administration is now scrambling to control the damage from this 
scathing expose of its neglect of our wounded warriors. Almost as 
distressing as the conditions at Walter Reed is the fact that it took a 
report from the Washington Post to get the administration to address 
this unacceptable situation. We now know that our wounded warriors have 
been complaining about these problems for years, not just at Walter 
Reed but at military hospitals and outpatient facilities across the 
country. Their pleas, however, seem to have fallen on deaf ears. We owe 
a debt of gratitude to the reporters and editors at the Washington Post 
for uncovering this abominable situation and forcing this 
administration to act.
  Time and again, when those of us who oppose America's involvement in 
Iraq stand up and question why our brave men and women in uniform must 
fight and die in a war of choice, we are accused of ``not supporting 
the troops.'' But, Madam Speaker, supporting the troops is about more 
than lip service. The hypocrisy and irony of the situation at Walter 
Reed is scandalous and immoral. The same administration that hides 
behind the troops to avoid changing its policy in Iraq is guilty of 
abandoning the very men and women who must make the sacrifices required 
to carry out this failed policy.
  The sheer audacity of the administration's rhetoric in comparison 
with its actions is staggering. The administration trumpets its support 
for the troops but then, in the next moment, sends them into battle 
without the proper training and equipment. The administration says it 
supports the troops, but then falls short in providing them with a safe 
environment to heal the wounds they received while fighting so 
valiantly and selflessly for our country.
  Thousands of our brave men and women serving the administration's 
failed policy in Iraq have paid a heavy price. Since March of 2003, 
23,677 service members have been wounded in Iraq. Our military and VA 
health care systems are ih crisis, apparently unprepared for the influx 
of casualties that war unavoidably creates. These health systems have 
been overwhelmed by troops returning from battle seeking health care 
and, in many instances, are unable to provide these men and women with 
the services they so desperately need. It is estimated that in the 
coming years over 700,000 veterans from the wars in Iraq and 
Afghanistan will enter the military and veterans health care system. 
Yet, because of Republican budget cuts, many of our brave soldiers are 
returning home with mental health ailments to discover that they will 
receive a third fewer psychiatric visits than they would have just 10 
years ago.

  The number of soldiers navigating the bureaucracy of Walter Reed 
since 2001 has nearly doubled, yet the administration continues to move 
forward with the planned closing of the hospital. The president's 
budget continues to shortchange veterans' health care, providing an 
increase in fiscal year 2008 but then cutting the budget in fiscal 
years 2009 and 2010 to below the 2008 level and freezing the funding 
level thereafter. The administration's lack of planning for the war 
seems to include a total disregard for the service members who are 
returning home bearing the scars of the conflict.
  Mr. Speaker, our soldiers have done their duty. Now we must truly 
support them, not by blindly continuing a failed policy, but by getting 
them out of harm's way. We will continue to insist that our service 
members receive the health care they deserve. We will continue to hold 
oversight hearings about the conditions faced by our wounded service 
members and veterans at Walter Reed as well as at other military and 
veterans health facilities across the country. But the best way to 
support these brave young men and women is to begin a fully-funded 
withdrawal. Let's really support our troops by giving them the 
equipment and supplies they need to get out of Iraq safely in the next 
6 months.

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