[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 72 (Thursday, May 3, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5570-S5571]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. PRYOR (for himself and Mr. Chambliss):
  S. 1283. A bill 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; to the Committee on 
Armed Services.
  Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. President, I rise today to join my colleague and 
my good friend, the Senator from Arkansas, Mr. Pryor, in introducing 
legislation to ensure that the medical needs of wounded service men and 
women are properly met and that the military bureaucracy does not 
interfere with their recovery progress.
  We have watched with embarrassment and compassion as the unacceptable 
conditions of some of our military medical care facilities and housing 
facilities were revealed and shown to the public. Clearly, we owe our 
wounded military personnel the best treatment and care that can be 
offered. This bill we are introducing today will help provide that.
  Let me say, first of all, I have recently had the opportunity to 
visit the Eisenhower Medical Center at Fort Gordon, GA, as well as the 
medical facility at Fort Benning, GA, and I am reminded once again that 
medical care given to our military men and women is truly second to 
none. Are there exceptions? Sure. There are problems that arise from 
time to time in the delivery of health care services to our military 
men and women. Our purpose today is to try to make some of the 
bureaucracy go away and to try to help make sure our medical suppliers 
at all of our military facilities around the country and around the 
world have the ability to deliver the very best medical care to our men 
and women.
  Our bill, S. 1283, the Wounded Warrior Assistance Act of 2007, will 
improve the access to and quality of the health care our military 
personnel receive by requiring that case managers for personnel in 
medical holdover status handle no more than 17 cases and review each 
case once a week.
  Our bill will also create a system of patient advocates who can help 
personnel navigate the cumbersome medical board and review process, as 
well as add necessary funding to hire additional physicians.
  Our bill increases training for health care professionals, medical 
case managers, and patient advocates, with an emphasis on identifying 
and treating difficult-to-diagnose and complex conditions, such as 
post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.
  Our bill establishes a toll-free hotline for patients and their 
families to report problems with medical facilities or patient care and 
creates an independent advocate to counsel servicemembers appearing 
before medical evaluation boards.
  Our bill creates a wounded warrior battalion, which will be an Army 
pilot program to improve the transition from military to civilian life 
for wounded combat veterans, as well as track and assist members of the 
Armed Forces who are in outpatient status and in need of medical 
treatment. More than 24,900 soldiers have been wounded in Iraq. We owe 
it to them and their loved ones to have a responsive health care system 
in place, in addition to the very best medical care available.
  This legislation increases the resources available to our veterans in 
order to allow them to focus on their recovery rather than redtape. 
Heroes such as these need and deserve the best medical care and 
attention we can offer them, and this bill will help provide that. They 
do not need to be disadvantaged by an outdated, bureaucratic process 
that adds more stress to their recovery process.
  Our legislation is a step in the right direction to reform and 
modernize the outpatient treatment process and will increase the morale 
and welfare of our recovering servicemembers. They deserve our fullest 
support, and we are committed to meeting their needs.
  This bill mirrors H.R. 1538, which was passed by the House of 
Representatives by a vote of 426 to 0 on March 28 of this year.
  I thank Senator Pryor for the chance to work together with him on 
this important legislation. He and I have had the opportunity to work 
on any number of measures during our now going on 5 years in the 
Senate. He is a true champion of not just our wounded but all of our 
military personnel, and it has been a pleasure to work with him.
  I commend this bill to all of my colleagues. I hope we can move to a 
swift passage of the bill so we can present it to the President for his 
signature. I urge my colleagues to support it.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Arkansas is recognized.
  Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Georgia for his 
kind remarks. Of course, everybody in the Senate knows what a friend to 
the men and women in uniform Senator Chambliss has been since he has 
been in the Senate. I am sure that also relates back to his House days. 
He has really been a fabulous leader for our soldiers, and it is an 
honor for me to ask him to join me in the Wounded Warrior Act.
  Last Friday, I had the chance to go to Walter Reed and see three 
Arkansans who were injured in various ways in Iraq. It is always a 
sobering experience to go see our soldiers whom we are so proud of. We 
are proud of the people who put on the uniform and put their lives in 
jeopardy for the principles of this country. And we have other 
facilities, not just Walter Reed. I know that is the one that gets the 
most publicity nationally. Obviously, every State or region has a lot 
of facilities. In Little Rock, there is the John McClellan Veterans 
Hospital, which I visited not too long ago, and we have at least a 
couple of other very good facilities in our State. They offer, 
generally speaking, great care. We know that sometimes people fall 
through the cracks, but we are very proud of our VA presence in the 
State of Arkansas.
  I must say that in my office in Little Rock--and the one here, for 
that matter--we have people on staff who deal and work with soldiers 
virtually on a daily basis--people who are in the VA system who, for 
some reason, have run into some bureaucratic roadblock or a file gets 
lost or a record gets lost or some box doesn't get checked or whatever 
the case may be. We, more or less, like many colleagues here, have 
full-time staff who do that on virtually a full-time basis. We are 
honored to help the citizens of our State in any way we can, but we 
also would like to say that we can help the VA system run better and 
provide better health care with less bureaucracy.
  Arkansas has had about 40 soldiers killed in Iraq. It has been a very 
hard circumstance for our State to go through. It impacts every 
community in the State and almost every family in the State. In 
addition to those 40, which obviously are going to get more notice and 
publicity and discussion, as they should, there are 369 Arkansans who 
have been injured in Iraq. Those numbers track fairly well what the 
national numbers are.
  Across this Nation, there have been 11,215 soldiers, at last count, 
who have been wounded in Iraq so severely that they have not been able 
to return to duty. So it is critical that we have legislation such as 
the Wounded Warrior Assistance Act. It will require case managers for 
outpatients to handle no more than 17 cases. They will have to review 
each case weekly. It creates a system of patient advocates within our 
health care system. It increases training for health care 
professionals, medical case managers, and patient advocates, with an 
emphasis on identifying and treating post-traumatic stress disorder and 
traumatic brain injuries. It establishes a toll-free hotline for 
patients and families to report problems with medical facilities or 
patient care. It creates an independent advocate to counsel 
servicemembers appearing before medical evaluation boards. We think all 
of those are healthy, positive, and constructive reforms. We think the 
time has come for this to happen.
  Senator Chambliss, a few moments ago, mentioned that the House passed 
this legislation 426 to 0. They did that late last month. It is the 
Senate's turn to weigh in and be on record for helping our wounded 
warriors.
  The Wounded Warrior Assistance Act allows them to focus on healing 
and not be frustrated by redtape. It improves the access and quality of 
care our veterans receive. It puts an advocate on their side. We know 
that with any large organization, there will be

[[Page S5571]]

some bureaucracy and files will be lost and information gets misplaced. 
We understand that. But, hopefully, what this will do is streamline the 
process and make the system work a lot better for those who have been 
willing to make the sacrifice for this country.
  Mr. President, I think this is important legislation because it does 
good things, but it is also symbolic legislation. It shows our members 
of the military that we are willing--their Government and the people of 
this country--to stand behind them during and after their Active-Duty 
service.
  I ask that my colleagues give this legislation their strong 
consideration. The House passed it overwhelmingly. I hope we will have 
broad-based, bipartisan support in this body. It is an honor for me to 
offer it with my lead cosponsor, Senator Chambliss of Georgia.
  I yield the floor.
                                 ______