[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 54 (Wednesday, March 28, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H3199-H3203]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 1538, WOUNDED WARRIOR ASSISTANCE 
                              ACT OF 2007

  Ms. CASTOR. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I 
call up House Resolution 274 and ask for its immediate consideration.
  The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

                              H. Res. 274

       Resolved,  That at any time after the adoption of this 
     resolution the Speaker may, pursuant to clause 2(b) of rule 
     XVIII, declare the House resolved into the Committee of the 
     Whole House on the state of the Union for consideration of 
     the bill (H.R. 1538) to amend title 10, United States Code, 
     to improve the management of medical care, personnel actions, 
     and quality of life issues for members of the Armed Forces 
     who are receiving medical care in an outpatient status, and 
     for other purposes. The first reading of the bill shall be 
     dispensed with. All points of order against consideration of 
     the bill are waived except those arising under clause 9 or 10 
     of rule XXI. General debate shall be confined to the bill and 
     shall not exceed one hour and 20 minutes, with one hour 
     equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking 
     minority member of the Committee on Armed

[[Page H3200]]

     Services and 20 minutes equally divided and controlled by the 
     chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on 
     Veterans' Affairs. After general debate the bill shall be 
     considered for amendment under the five-minute rule. It shall 
     be in order to consider as an original bill for the purpose 
     of amendment under the five-minute rule the amendment in the 
     nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on Armed 
     Services now printed in the bill. The committee amendment in 
     the nature of a substitute shall be considered as read. All 
     points of order against the committee amendment in the nature 
     of a substitute are waived except those arising under clause 
     9 or 10 of rule XXI. Notwithstanding clause 11 of rule XVIII, 
     no amendment to the committee amendment in the nature of a 
     substitute shall be in order except those printed in the 
     report of the Committee on Rules accompanying this 
     resolution. Each such amendment may be offered only in the 
     order printed in the report, may be offered only by a Member 
     designated in the report, shall be considered as read, shall 
     be debatable for the time specified in the report equally 
     divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, 
     shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject 
     to a demand for division of the question in the House or in 
     the Committee of the Whole. All points of order against such 
     amendments are waived except those arising under clause 9 or 
     10 of rule XXI. At the conclusion of consideration of the 
     bill for amendment the Committee shall rise and report the 
     bill to the House with such amendments as may have been 
     adopted. Any Member may demand a separate vote in the House 
     on any amendment adopted in the Committee of the Whole to the 
     bill or to the committee amendment in the nature of a 
     substitute. The previous question shall be considered as 
     ordered on the bill and amendments thereto to final passage 
     without intervening motion except one motion to recommit with 
     or without instructions.
       Sec. 2. During consideration in the House of H.R. 1538 
     pursuant to this resolution, notwithstanding the operation of 
     the previous question, the Chair may postpone further 
     consideration of the bill to a time designated by the 
     Speaker.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Castor) is 
recognized for 1 hour.
  Ms. CASTOR. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the 
customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Hastings). 
All time yielded during consideration of the rule is for debate only.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  (Ms. CASTOR asked and was given permission to revise and extend her 
remarks.)
  Ms. CASTOR. Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 274 provides for 
consideration of H.R. 1538, the Wounded Warrior Assistance Act of 2007, 
under a structured rule. The rule provides 1 hour and 20 minutes of 
general debate with 1 hour equally divided and controlled by the 
chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Armed 
Services, and 20 minutes equally divided and controlled by the chairman 
and ranking minority member of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
  The rule waives all points of orders against consideration of the 
bill except clauses 9 and 10 of rule XXI. The rule provides that the 
amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on 
Armed Services shall be considered as an original bill for the purpose 
of amendment and shall be considered as read. The rule waives all 
points of order against provisions in the bill, as amended.
  The rule makes in order only those further amendments printed in the 
Rules Committee report accompanying the resolution; in this case, eight 
Democratic amendments and four Republican amendments. The amendments 
may be offered only in the order printed in the report, may be offered 
only by a Member designated in the report, shall be considered as read, 
shall be debatable for the time specified in the report, equally 
divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, not be subject 
to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the 
question in the House or in the Committee of the Whole. All points of 
order against the amendment except for clauses 9 and 10 of rule XXI are 
waived.
  The rule provides one motion to recommit with or without 
instructions. Finally, the rule permits the Chair, during consideration 
of H.R. 1538, to postpone further consideration to a time designated by 
the Speaker.
  Mr. Speaker, the American people and this new Congress demand, 
through this rule and this legislation, that the executive branch move 
beyond the rhetoric of ``support our troops'' to concrete actions that 
sustain our brave men and women in uniform and their families by 
providing the quality health care they deserve when they return from 
the battlefield.
  Supporting our troops does not mean that you simply salute as you 
send them off to war, ask them to serve in sacrifice for our great 
country, but it also means that they are supported when they come home, 
their families are respected, and our wounded warriors receive superior 
health care for their physical injuries and mental scars.
  This might sound familiar from the Washington Post: ``The conflict in 
Iraq has hatched a town of desperation and dysfunction, clinging to the 
pilings of Walter Reed. The wounded are socked away for months and 
years in random buildings and barracks in and around the military post. 
Mostly what the soldiers do together is wait: for appointments, 
evaluation, signatures and lost paperwork to be found. `It's like,' one 
military wife said, `if Iraq don't kill you, Walter Reed will.' While a 
part of Walter Reed has a full bar, there is not one counselor or 
psychologist assigned there to assist soldiers and families in crisis--
an idea proposed by Walter Reed social workers but rejected by the 
military command that runs the post.''
  To the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue, I say what a shame that the 
American people had to have their eyes opened by two dedicated 
Washington Post reporters as to the treatment of our veterans, the 
incompetence and the profound disrespect. These reporters spent 
hundreds of hours documenting the intimate struggles of the wounded 
warriors who live at Walter Reed. Their stories triggered others from 
across the country, like in my hometown paper, the Tampa Tribune.
  The Tampa Tribune last week told the story of soldier John Barnes who 
was injured by a mortar in Iraq just last year. Barnes was fortunate, 
he had a mother who was a dedicated nurse who stood by him during his 
days at Walter Reed.
  Barnes, now 23, was frequently left unattended, his mother, Valerie 
Wallace said, even though he had a severe brain injury. He fell 
repeatedly. Orderlies failed to arrive on time to wheel him to 
appointments. Medicines were given in the wrong doses; paperwork was 
lost or never filed.
  `` `I don't think anybody planned this war far out,' said Wallace, an 
energetic woman who looks younger than her 45 years. `If you are going 
to invade a country and you are expecting to be there for years, you've 
got to know there are going to be thousands of casualties,' she said. 
`How are you going to take care of them? Where are you going to put 
them?'
  ``Wallace is a registered nurse who has worked for more than a decade 
at Tampa General Hospital. She wasn't intimidated by the staff at 
Walter Reed, and she knew what questions to ask. Still, the layers of 
bureaucracy were overwhelming. The need to remain constantly vigilant 
was exhausting. Trust quickly evaporated.
  `` `Nobody tells you anything,' Wallace said. 'Nobody prepares you 
for anything. You're very much on your own in a world you don't know or 
understand, and you are so overcome with grief and worry that you can't 
think straight anyway.' ''
  Well, these and other stories emboldened military families across the 
country and all Americans to stand up and demand better treatment for 
our troops and families who have sacrificed so much.
  As Speaker Pelosi reminds us often, the support provided to our 
troops by the Bush administration has not matched their sacrifice, and, 
Mr. Speaker, we will rectify that today.
  I wish, back in late 2003, when an Army specialist from Tampa named 
Corey Magee contacted my office, because I was a county commissioner 
before I was elected to Congress. His family contacted me and said 
Corey has been shot in the fire fight in Fallujah after an IED blew up 
his tank. He was shot in the neck and paralyzed and eventually flown to 
Walter Reed. In some God-given circumstance, I happened to be traveling 
to Washington that weekend and was able to assemble a care package from 
his family to deliver to Corey. But they couldn't find out what his 
situation was. We called and called. We enlisted the help of a United 
States Senator at the time who was on the Veterans' Committee. We

[[Page H3201]]

still couldn't get through the bureaucracy.
  I had to travel with the Senator's staff to Walter Reed Hospital, and 
track down the doctor to find out what brave Corey Magee's prognosis 
was. He was a brave young guy, and really in his condition couldn't ask 
for help on his own. And do you know, after that he thanked us 
profusely for contacting his family and filling them in. He said, ``I 
am sure we won't have to call you again. They are going to take good 
care of me.''
  He returned to Tampa, and I was surprised a few weeks later to get a 
phone call from this brave Army specialist because he was having 
trouble getting his physical therapy appointments at the Veterans 
Hospital.

                              {time}  1215

  So this bill, though it is a step in the right direction today, comes 
a bit too late. I wish this bill and I wish the attention had been 
focused earlier and the respect paid to these families by the Bush 
administration.
  As I visited the Bay Pines VA Medical Center in St. Petersburg just a 
few weeks ago, you see there are a few brave soldiers there who are 
very symbolic of soldiers across the country that are suffering from 
post-traumatic stress disorder.
  One of the soldiers was in his early 20s, had served in Iraq, come 
back, trying to get his life together, but it was too much. The mental 
scars were too much. The post-traumatic stress set in. His young 
marriage faltered. He lost his job, meaning he eventually lost his 
home, and ended up as an alcoholic, a homeless alcoholic in his early 
20s because of post-traumatic stress disorder.
  What he explained to me was what he needed when he came out of the 
service was a helping hand. He needed someone proactively to say, are 
you all right, son, rather than to give him a checklist to check off to 
make sure he was okay.
  These are tough guys. They are not going to own up oftentimes to the 
fact that they cannot sleep at night and they want to drink their 
sorrows and memories away.
  Fortunately, I think the American people can be very heartened today 
to know that this is a bipartisan effort. Under the leadership of our 
Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, I am very fortunate to serve on the Armed 
Services Committee under the leadership of Chairman Ike Skelton, and I 
salute him and the ranking member for moving this legislation quickly. 
We salute the Veterans' Affairs Committee and Chairman Bob Filner but, 
mostly, the leadership of the American people who have cried out for 
change.
  Through this rule and this bill, we are going to improve the health 
care and mental health for our wounded warriors. We are going to tackle 
the bureaucracy on their behalf. We are going to establish a toll-free 
hotline so that families and soldiers and anyone who cares about them 
can report deficiencies in our system. We are going to require 
expedited action.
  Thanks to the leadership of subcommittee Chair Vic Snyder, now 
Members of Congress that have desired information about the soldiers 
returning to their districts are going to be notified. Members of 
Congress oftentimes can be the best advocates for these returning 
soldiers, and now it will be a requirement in the law.
  We are going to provide medical advocates to these soldiers. We are 
going to improve support services to families; and, rather than 
mismanage resources, we are going to turn the White House's 
privatization initiative around and require accountability.
  Coming from Tampa, the home of the Haley VA Center and one of the 
four polytrauma centers in the country, I am especially heartened by 
the provisions in this bill that improve veterans health care by 
providing more physician residents in those polytrauma centers. ABC's 
News anchor, Bob Woodruff, brought this to life in his hour-long expose 
a few weeks ago. He visited the Haley Polytrauma Center in Tampa. These 
are where the most critically injured soldiers are sent for their 
health care, the brain injuries, the spinal cord injuries.
  What Dr. Robert Scott, the medical director at that medical facility, 
told me a few weeks ago is, even though the polytrauma center is 
directly across the street from the University of South Florida College 
of Medicine, they cannot get the physician residents in training. The 
Feds are not providing enough. We need these doctors in training to 
learn and train about these critical war injuries and the physical 
therapy that our soldiers need.
  So, Mr. Speaker, I urge this new Congress to chart a new direction 
today and to erase the moral stain on our Nation's conscience.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from 
Florida for yielding me the customary 30 minutes; and, Mr. Speaker, I 
yield myself as much time as I may consume.
  (Mr. HASTINGS of Washington asked and was given permission to revise 
and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, our men and women in uniform 
routinely risk their lives to protect ours. Along with their families, 
they make many sacrifices in service to America. There is no question 
that they deserve the very best care that our Nation can provide.
  The situation at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center was unacceptable 
to all Americans, and I am encouraged that immediate steps have been 
taken to address the problems there. But it is just as important to 
take action to prevent similar problems from happening at any of our 
military health facilities.
  Under Republican leadership, Mr. Speaker, recent Congresses have 
increased spending per veteran, expanded the concurrent receipt, 
written budgets that nearly doubled funding for veterans health care, 
and enhanced benefits for those returning from the war on terror.
  Now, Congress is taking another step forward, and a proper step 
forward, in improving services for both our active military and our 
veterans.
  Mr. Speaker, the underlying bill before us today makes commonsense 
improvements to ensure that our military men and women have access to 
the care that they have earned and to help maintain excellence 
throughout our military health system.
  For example, this legislation creates a new toll-free hotline for 
reporting deficiencies at military health care facilities, calls for a 
study to identify infrastructure needs, and authorizes funding to 
support wounded warriors and their families. It assigns a medical case 
manager and a patient advocate to each servicemember receiving 
outpatient care and makes sure that these professionals are properly 
trained.
  The process currently used to determine if a soldier can return to 
active duty is improved so that wounded servicemembers are afforded an 
opportunity to have input into the decision on whether they should 
retire from the service. Provisions are included to provide those 
separating or retiring from service with a seamless transition into the 
VA system, and the number of doctors at VA hospital facilities is 
increased.
  Mr. Speaker, it is impossible to talk about military and VA health 
care systems without mentioning the unique challenges faced by veterans 
in rural areas. My district in central Washington has one of the 
highest concentrations of rural veterans in the Northwest. Although I 
am working with the VA to get a new outpatient clinic up and running in 
the northern part of my district, access to health care remains an 
issue of concern for me and my constituents who all too often are 
forced to drive hours and sometimes wait months to even get the most 
basic care.
  So, Mr. Speaker, I am particularly disappointed that an amendment 
offered by Mr. Pearce of New Mexico was rejected last night in the 
Rules Committee and will not be allowed to be considered on the floor 
today. We are missing an opportunity to make a good bill even better by 
improving care for our rural veterans. The Pearce amendment is based on 
a bill that I have cosponsored that would enable the VA to partner with 
existing hospitals and local communities on a case-by-case basis so 
that veterans in many rural areas can be cared for closer to home. This 
to me, Mr. Speaker, is a commonsense approach to get top-notch care to 
veterans without delay. I am at a loss to understand why anyone would 
oppose this improvement to caring for our veterans.
  Similarly, Mr. Moran of Kansas had an amendment that I also support; 
and,

[[Page H3202]]

unfortunately, it, too, was rejected by Democrats on the Rules 
Committee.
  Our support for improving veterans health care should not be a 
partisan issue. I am pleased that both Democrats and Republicans on the 
Armed Services Committee have made the underlying bill, the Wounded 
Warrior Assistance Act, a priority and that the committee approved it 
by unanimous vote.
  So, Mr. Speaker, I support the bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. CASTOR. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to yield 3 minutes to the 
distinguished gentleman from New York (Mr. Arcuri), a member of the 
Rules Committee.
  Mr. ARCURI. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from the Rules 
Committee for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the rule and the 
underlying bill, the Wounded Warrior Assistance Act.
  Improvements in medical technology over the years allow for more 
servicemen and -women to survive injuries sustained in battle. During 
World War II, for every soldier that was killed, two were wounded. Now, 
this ratio is up to 16 to 1. These incredible medical developments 
allow many more men and women to return home to their families, but 
their injuries tend to be much more serious and, in many cases, require 
additional care for the rest of their lives.
  Last month, I had the opportunity to visit with wounded soldiers 
recovering at Walter Reed Medical Center. I met several young men 
wounded in Iraq, one a constituent of mine from upstate New York. As I 
stood next to the mother of one of the soldiers, I saw a look of 
sadness on her face, and at that point it struck me, what if one of my 
two teenage children were lying in that bed? I know that I would want 
the absolute best treatment and care for my children, and our brave 
troops deserve nothing less.
  Sadly, the administration's mismanagement of the war in Iraq has 
extended to the home front as well. The selfless men and women who 
volunteered to defend their country have been callously neglected and 
were not only sent into battle without adequate resources, they also 
returned home to inadequate resources. When they asked for help, no one 
answered.
  We make a promise to our soldiers to provide for them when they 
return home from battle, and it is absolutely unacceptable that this 
promise has been broken.
  The Wounded Warrior Assistance Act will ensure that more than 25,000 
servicemembers who have sustained injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan 
receive the world-class treatment and care and services they have so 
bravely earned and deserve. This bill creates an efficient system for 
the transition of records from the Department of Defense to the 
Veterans Administration. It establishes a support system of counselors, 
advocates and case managers to ensure timely, comprehensive care; and 
it establishes a number to call to report problems in facilities so 
that when a soldier asks for help someone answers.
  Mr. Speaker, our men and women in uniform deserve the absolute best 
care that this Nation has to offer. I urge my colleagues to renew our 
promise to our veterans by supporting this rule and the underlying 
bill.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 
minutes to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. Miller).
  Mrs. MILLER of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I certainly appreciate the 
gentleman yielding; and although I do question as well this very 
restrictive rule, I rise to speak in very strong support of the 
underlying bill.
  Mr. Speaker, our Nation is blessed, indeed blessed, that we have 
produced the incredible men and women who defend our freedom through 
their service and through their sacrifice in our military, and every 
one of those who serve do so voluntarily and out of a deep love of 
America and a commitment to the freedom that our Nation bestows. They 
deserve every last measure of support to ensure that when they are 
wounded they receive the best possible care.
  And let me say this. The military medical corps has in large measure 
provided absolutely incredible care to those wounded in battle. The 
advancements in battlefield medicine and the care of our wounded 
warriors after they are removed from the battlefield has allowed 
countless of our soldiers to survive and to recover fully who in past 
conflicts may not have survived. In fact, the statistics that are 
coming out of theater are really a remarkable tribute to the doctors 
and to the nurses who are engaged there, and those who provide care to 
our soldiers deserve our thanks and our praise and our gratitude.
  However, the recent discoveries at Walter Reed Army Medical Hospital 
were disturbing and totally unacceptable. We cannot allow any more 
Building 18 incidents to occur, and we must do everything that we 
possibly can to ensure that it does not.
  This legislation that we are going to be debating shortly is a huge 
step in the right direction. It will begin to streamline the 
bureaucracy of the military medical systems and lighten the caseload of 
case managers by providing more assistance. It will provide a hotline 
for those receiving substandard care to report the problems so that 
those situations can be dealt with quickly and that the patients 
receive the care that they deserve when they need it. And it will 
provide for a smooth transition from the Department of Defense health 
system to the Department of Veterans Affairs, cutting more red tape so 
that the focus can be on the patient and not on the paperwork.
  We cannot allow those who have fought our foreign enemies in the 
defense of freedom to come home and fight the Federal bureaucracy to 
get the health care that they need.
  As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, I am very proud to 
support this important piece of legislation that our committee produced 
in a bipartisan way, and I certainly want to thank Chairman Skelton and 
Ranking Member Hunter, who are both patriots and veterans who have 
served the cause of freedom, for their dedication to the care of our 
troops and for their work in bringing this legislation forward to the 
floor today.
  Mr. Speaker, I strongly support passage of the underlying bill, the 
Wounded Warrior Assistance Act. Our brave men and women wounded in 
defense of liberty, democracy and freedom deserve no less.

                              {time}  1230

  Ms. CASTOR. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Ohio and distinguished member of the Rules Committee, Ms. Sutton.
  Ms. SUTTON. I thank the gentlewoman for yielding time for her 
leadership on this rule and in the Armed Services Committee.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the rule and in strong support of 
H.R. 1538, the Wounded Warrior Assistance Act. It is an outrage that 
our brave men and women, who have served our Nation so honorably, have 
returned home, as recent press accounts have revealed, and faced 
problems getting the care they so rightly deserve.
  As I said before, our troops must have, and we must provide, that 
which they need for any mission upon which they are sent. They must 
have and we must provide that which they need when they return home.
  My home State of Ohio has 6,347 brave soldiers currently serving in 
Afghanistan and Iraq. If they are injured in any way, they must have 
the care they need when they return home. The roughly 60,000 veterans 
in my congressional district and over 1 million veterans in Ohio and 
all of our veterans across this Nation deserve better support and 
assistance than many of them have received.
  The legislation before us arose out of a lack of oversight and 
transparency that should have been in place, but was neglected by the 
administration and past Congresses. This bipartisan bill ensures that 
our wounded soldiers and their families can feel secure in the 
knowledge that they will now be properly cared for and treated with the 
respect and dignity that they have earned and most certainly deserve. 
This bill will ensure that all of our veterans get the care and 
assistance they need and improves the overall veterans health care 
system to make it easier for them to access and use.
  Lastly, this bill puts in place strong oversight and inspection 
requirements to ensure that the events of Walter

[[Page H3203]]

Reed and other facilities around this Nation never, ever happen again.
  Let's pass this rule and pass this very important bill.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my 
time.
  Ms. CASTOR. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished 
gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Mitchell).
  Mr. MITCHELL. Mr. Speaker, just weeks ago an outraged Nation learned 
about the terrible conditions many of our wounded warriors had to 
endure as they recovered from battlefield injuries at Walter Reed 
Medical Center. We have all heard the sad stories of mold and rat 
droppings at Building 18.
  Even worse, we have learned that these dilapidated conditions extend 
beyond Walter Reed to other military facilities and even veterans 
facilities where troops turned veterans face a long, complicated and 
confusing process to get the benefits and care they have earned. 
Conditions like these and miles of bureaucratic red tape rob our troops 
and veterans of what they deserve the most, dignity, respect and honor.
  It is absolutely unacceptable, and I am proud that this Congress is 
taking action. Just last week, the House approved more than $20 million 
to clean up the mess at Walter Reed. We approved more than $550 million 
to get rid of the backlog of maintenance requests at veterans 
facilities. That is a good start.
  Last month, I introduced the Dignity for Wounded Warriors Act for 
2007, which was the first legislation introduced in this House to 
prevent another episode like that of Walter Reed from ever happening 
again.
  I commend the House Armed Services Committee for putting forward this 
legislation, which also establishes guidelines for how returning 
soldiers should be treated and measures of accountability. All of our 
troops, and all of our veterans, are entitled to quality health care 
and should be treated with the respect and dignity they deserve. These 
are great first steps, but we still have a long way to go to ensure our 
troops and veterans are treated properly. They have my commitment that 
we will continue to take care of them just as they have taken care of 
us.
  Ms. CASTOR. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance 
of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, the bill that this rule makes in order is a good bill. 
It passed the Armed Services Committee unanimously. It is something 
that is needed now that we need are engaged in this war on terror. 
Bills like this, in my view, deserve an open rule, so that you can give 
the opportunity for Members on both sides of the aisle to try to 
improve this good product and make it better. I cited two examples for 
the Rules Committee to not make in order two bills that dealt 
specifically with our veterans in rural areas.
  While I support the underlying bill, I am opposed to the rule, 
because I think the rule could have allowed more amendments to have 
been in order or, for that matter, have made this an open rule. I think 
that ought to be the standard when we have strong bipartisan support 
for legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. CASTOR. Mr. Speaker, 4 years after the start of the war in Iraq, 
and less than 100 days since the swearing in of this new Congress, this 
Congress will act today.
  I urge my colleagues to support this rule and this legislation so we 
can pass the Wounded Warrior Assistance Act of 2007. Let's send a 
message, let's stand up for our brave troops in the field, not just 
when they are serving on the battlefield, but when they return home. 
Let's give the families the respect they deserve and make sure that we 
are providing superior health care whether it's a physical injury or a 
mental scar.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote on the previous question and on 
the rule.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the 
previous question on the resolution.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on ordering the previous 
question.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and 
nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this question are postponed.

                          ____________________