[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 102 (Friday, June 22, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8303-S8305]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

      By Ms. SNOWE (for herself and Mrs. Lincoln):
  S. 1682. A bill to amend title 10, United States Code, to improve the 
management of medical care for members of the Armed Forces, to improve 
the speed and efficiency of the physical disability evaluation system 
of the Department of Defense, and for other purposes; to the Committee 
on Armed Services.
  Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I rise today to proudly join my friend and 
colleague Senator Blanche Lincoln in the introduction of the 
Servicemembers' Healthcare Benefits and Rehabilitation Enhancement Act 
of 2007.
  In March, I was able to visit one of Maine's returning soldiers who 
has been assigned outpatient care at the Walter Reed Army Medical 
Center. We spoke about the many issues and obstacles faced by our 
wounded troops as they struggle not only to recover from their 
injuries, but to prepare themselves for their future. During our 
meeting, this soldier covered many of the pitfalls faced by troops as 
they confront the bewildering processes of medical and physical 
evaluation boards without the benefit of anyone to advocate on their 
behalf. In fact, he aptly described the process as an ``adversarial'' 
system that onerously demands wounded soldiers to provide the ``burden 
of proof'' for their claims.
  In response, we have crafted this legislation in order to remedy a 
variety of flaws that currently plague the military health care system, 
including: inequitable disability ratings, a lack of advocacy within 
military outpatient facilities, inadequate mental health treatment, and 
inefficient transition from the DOD to the VA.
  First off, our bill would address the concerns I have heard from a 
number of returning troops from my home state of Maine and across this 
Nation who have gone without the proper advocacy and case management 
for medical benefits during their stay at military outpatient 
facilities. It is inexcusable that our returning heroes are often 
forced to navigate the esoteric physical disability evaluation system, 
PDES, within an adversarial atmosphere.
  The measure we are proposing would require the Secretary of Defense 
to provide each recovering servicemember in a military medical 
treatment facility with a medical care manager who will assist him or 
her with all matters regarding their medical status, along with a 
caseworker who will assist each servicemember and his or her family in 
obtaining all the information necessary for transition, recovery, and 
benefits collection. Further, provisions we included will create a DOD-
wide Ombudsmen Office to provide policy guidance to, and oversight of, 
ombudsman offices in all military departments and the medical system of 
the DOD. Only then, will our returning servicemembers recover within an 
atmosphere that is based upon advocacy.
  Additionally, recent news reports and independent analysis have 
revealed troubling statistics regarding rampant inaccuracies within the 
military disability ratings system. According to Pentagon data analyzed 
by the Veterans' Disability Benefits Commission, since 2000, 92.7 
percent of all disability ratings handed out by physical evaluation 
boards, PEBs, have been 20 percent or lower. Under the current policy, 
those who receive disability ratings under 30 percent and have served 
less than 20 years of military service are discharged with only a 
severance check, deprived of full military retirement pay, life 
insurance, health insurance, and access to military commissaries.
  Further evidence of a troubled disability ratings system shows that 
since America went to war in Afghanistan and Iraq, fewer veterans have 
received disability ratings of 30 percent or more, inferring that the 
DOD may have lowered the ratings for injured troops who would have 
otherwise received a host of lifelong benefits. On top of that, it 
currently takes an average of 209 days for troops to complete the PDES 
process by receiving notification of potential discharge and a 
subsequent disability rating.
  As a means of fixing these blatant flaws within the military 
disability ratings system, this legislation consolidates the physical 
evaluation system by placing the informal and formal physical 
evaluation boards under one command, as a method of streamlining and 
expediting the process. Our troops deserve timely care and efficient 
treatment upon their return home, and therefore, no recovering 
servicemember should be forced to endure lengthy delays in a medical 
hold or holdover status due to bureaucratic inefficiencies.
  The bill also requires that physicians preparing each individual 
medical case for all PEBs report multiple diagnosed medical impairments 
that, in concert, may deem a servicemember to be unfit for duty. Under 
the current system, the U.S. Army, for example, only rates physical 
impairments that individually cause a servicemember to be deemed unfit 
for duty, ultimately dismissing ailments that may significantly hinder 
a servicemember's ability to continue his or her service in the 
military or find gainful employment in the civilian sector.
  Over the past year, the American public has also become acutely aware 
of the effects of traumatic brain injury, TBI, which has become the 
signature injury of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, affecting 
thousands of returning servicemembers. Therefore, it is now more 
imperative than ever for both the DOD and the VA to implement mental 
health treatment policies that accurately diagnose and adequately treat 
debilitating mental health injuries among our injured troops.
  Our bill addresses these issues by including a provision that 
requires all servicemembers who are expected to deploy to a combat 
theater to receive a mental health assessment that tests their 
cognitive functioning within 120 days before deployment, a mental 
health assessment within 60 days after deployment, to include a 
comprehensive screening for mild, moderate, and severe cases of TBI. 
Additionally, all servicemembers will receive a third mental health 
assessment at the time of their predischarge physical.
  The measure we are putting forward today also aims to update the 
current disability ratings system used by the military and the VA to 
include the effects of TBI and post traumatic stress disorder, along 
with any other mental health disorders that may affect our Nation's 
returning warriors. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs would be required 
to issue a report to Congress detailing a plan to update the Veterans' 
Administration Schedule for Ratings Disabilities, VASRD, to align its 
disability ratings to more closely reflect the effects of mental halth 
disorders, including TBI and PTSD on the modern workforce.
  The Servicemembers' Healthcare Benefits and Rehabilitation 
Enhancement Act of 2007 also calls on the Secretaries of Defense and 
Veterans Affairs to provide Congress with a report detailing plans to 
increase the role of eligible private sector rehabilitation providers 
for assisting the VA in providing comprehensive post acute inpatient 
and outpatient rehabilitation for TBI and PTSD, if in certain instances 
the VA is unable to provide such services.
  The Veterans Health Administration is, unequivocally, the foremost 
expert in providing mental health treatment for our recovering 
servicemembers, yet in varying circumstances, the VA may require 
additional health care coverage in remote areas. All of our returning 
heroes, despite the severity of their mental health ailments, or their 
location geographically, deserve every

[[Page S8304]]

available option for rehabilitative services, to ensure that they never 
go untreated.
  Additionally, to help ease the transition from the military health 
care system to the VA system, both the DOD and the VA must adopt and 
implement a unified electronic medical database. Interagency database 
compatibility would not only increase medical efficiency, but it would 
significantly ease the transition into civilian life for injured or 
retiring servicemembers who deserve timely and effective health care. 
Therefore, our legislation establishes and implements a single 
electronic military and medical record database within the DOD that 
will be used to track and record the medical status of each member of 
the Armed Forces in theater and throughout the military health care 
process, and will be accessible to the VA through the Joint Patient 
Tracking Application, JPTA. This electronic records system will be 
identical to the VistA system, currently used by the VA, which has 
served as a model of excellence for electronic medical databases among 
our Nation's health community.
  I have nothing but the utmost respect for those brave Americans who 
served in uniform with honor, courage, and distinction. The obligation 
our Nation holds for its servicemembers and veterans is enormous, and 
it is an obligation that must be fulfilled every day. We must always 
remain cognizant of the wisdom laid forth by President George 
Washington, when he stated, ``The willingness with which our young 
people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall 
be directly proportional as to how they perceive the Veterans of 
earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their country.''
  At a time when over 600,000 courageous men and women have returned 
from combat in both Iraq and Afghanistan, I believe it is now up to 
Congress to do everything in its power to answer the call of our men 
and women who have nobly served our Nation in uniform, to ensure that 
they receive the heroes' treatment they rightly earned and rightly 
deserve. Again, I want to thank my colleague, Senator Lincoln, for her 
assistance in making this a stronger bill and bringing it before the 
Senate. I strongly urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. BIDEN (for himself and Mr. Lugar):
  S. 1684. A bill to establish the Return of Talent Program to allow 
aliens who are legally present in the United States to return 
temporarily to the country of citizenship of the alien if that country 
is engaged in post-conflict or natural disaster reconstruction, and for 
other purposes; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, two of the greatest challenges we face 
today are how to address the needs of postconflict countries, and 
countries that are suffering from large-scale natural disasters. These 
are critical issues, and ones that we cannot afford to get wrong, for 
the sake of the people living in those nations, and for the sake of our 
own security.
  On the post-conflict front, a recent commission organized by the 
Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Association of 
the U.S. Army found, to no one's surprise, that ``failed states 
matter--for national security as well as for humanitarian reasons. If 
left to their own devices, such states can become sanctuaries for 
terrorist networks, organized crime and drug traffickers, as well as 
posing grave humanitarian challenges and threats to regional 
stability.''
  Currently, the most obvious case in point is the reconstruction of 
Iraq. In addition to Iraq, unfortunately, we can talk about many other 
states that are either unstable, or are tenuously recovering from past 
conflicts including Afghanistan, East Timor, Kosovo, Haiti, and the 
Democratic Republic of the Congo.
  Earthquakes, floods, drought and landslides often have the most dire 
impacts in developing countries that are the least equipped to respond. 
The countries ravaged by the 2004 tsunami are recovering, but there is 
still a long way to go: Indonesia lost over 150,000 people, with half a 
million left homeless. In India, almost 20,000 people lost their lives 
and 2.79 million people were affected, losing homes, land, and 
livestock. The tsunami set back development in the Maldives by 20 
years, devastating the country's economic backbone and tourism 
industry.
  We need comprehensive, and creative, strategies to help countries 
rebound from conflicts or natural disasters. One such strategy is to 
allow, and indeed encourage, immigrants to the United States to use 
their skills, talents, and knowledge to help rebuild their native 
lands. The diaspora is an extraordinary collective resource. These 
individuals know the communities. They know the culture. They know the 
language, more than any contractors, and more than any humanitarian 
workers from the outside, no matter how well-trained they may be or how 
much expertise they may have.
  So today, I am introducing legislation, as I did in the last 
Congress, that would create a ``return of talent'' visa program.
  The idea is simple: to allow legal immigrants in the United States to 
return home to help with reconstruction efforts, without jeopardizing 
their immigration status. Legal permanent residents will be able to 
return temporarily to their countries after a conflict or a significant 
natural disaster to help rebuild, without their time out of the United 
States affecting their ability to meet the requirements for U.S. 
citizenship.
  Under current law, a legal permanent resident who wants to apply for 
U.S. citizenship is required to be physically present in the United 
States for at least half of the 5 years immediately preceding the date 
of filing the naturalization application.
  This residency requirement could be particularly difficult to meet 
for those who have family and friends in their countries of origin who 
are in desperate need of help, and whose skills are especially in 
demand to help their countries of origin rebuild, for example, 
teachers, engineers, translators, and health care workers. We should 
not stand in their way of returning, bringing their talent and 
expertise home, and helping them help others at a time of greatest 
need.
  This legislation would encourage skilled and committed individuals to 
return to their countries of origin to revive the business, industry, 
agriculture, education, health and other sectors that have been 
weakened or destroyed after years of conflict or devastating disasters.
  The program would apply to immigrants from countries where U.S. Armed 
Forces have engaged in armed conflict or peacekeeping, or countries 
where the United Nations Security Council has authorized peacekeeping 
operations in the past 10 years. Immigrants from countries which 
received funding from the U.S. Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance 
also would be eligible to participate in the program.
  Estimates of the number of individuals who could participate in this 
program are relatively low. For example, the United States admitted 
4,749 Afghani and 4,077 Iraqi immigrants in 2005 who are now legal 
permanent residents eligible to pursue U.S. citizenship. Immigrants 
from Indonesia numbered 3,924 and Bangladesh, 11,487 in the same year. 
Yet while the program would have a small impact on the U.S. 
naturalization process, the contributions of even a few hundred 
individuals could have a tremendous positive effect on reconstruction 
work.
  At this moment the Senate is seized with finding a resolution to the 
massive and critical question of immigration reform. A return of talent 
program would fit well with whatever decisions we reach because, simply 
put, everybody wins: The United States is able to support badly needed 
rebuilding efforts without increasing foreign aid; immigrants are able 
to use their skills and resources to help communities without 
disrupting their path to U.S. citizenship; and communities abroad that 
are recovering from conflict and disaster receive much-needed 
assistance.
  A return of talent program is an important piece of our overall 
strategy to stabilize and rebuild countries torn by conflict and 
devastated by natural disaster. I urge my colleagues to support this 
legislation.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

[[Page S8305]]

                                S. 1684

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Return of Talent Act''.

     SEC. 2. RETURN OF TALENT PROGRAM.

       (a) In General.--Title III of the Immigration and 
     Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1401 et seq.) is amended by 
     inserting after section 317 the following:


 ``TEMPORARY ABSENCE OF PERSONS PARTICIPATING IN THE RETURN OF TALENT 
                                PROGRAM

       ``Sec. 317A.  (a) In General.--The Secretary of Homeland 
     Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall 
     establish the Return of Talent Program to permit eligible 
     aliens to temporarily return to the alien's country of 
     citizenship in order to make a material contribution to that 
     country if the country is engaged in post-conflict or natural 
     disaster reconstruction activities, for a period not 
     exceeding 24 months, unless an exception is granted under 
     subsection (d).
       ``(b) Eligible Alien.--An alien is eligible to participate 
     in the Return of Talent Program established under subsection 
     (a) if the alien meets the special immigrant description 
     under section 101(a)(27)(N).
       ``(c) Family Members.--The spouse, parents, siblings, and 
     any minor children of an alien who participates in the Return 
     of Talent Program established under subsection (a) may return 
     to such alien's country of citizenship with the alien and 
     reenter the United States with the alien.
       ``(d) Extension of Time.--The Secretary of Homeland 
     Security may extend the 24-month period referred to in 
     subsection (a) upon a showing that circumstances warrant that 
     an extension is necessary for post-conflict or natural 
     disaster reconstruction efforts.
       ``(e) Residency Requirements.--An immigrant described in 
     section 101(a)(27)(N) who participates in the Return of 
     Talent Program established under subsection (a), and the 
     spouse, parents, siblings, and any minor children who 
     accompany such immigrant to that immigrant's country of 
     citizenship, shall be considered, during such period of 
     participation in the program--
       ``(1) for purposes of section 316(a), physically present 
     and residing in the United States for purposes of 
     naturalization within the meaning of that section; and
       ``(2) for purposes of section 316(b), to meet the 
     continuous residency requirements in that section.
       ``(f) Oversight and Enforcement.--The Secretary of Homeland 
     Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall 
     oversee and enforce the requirements of this section.''.
       (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for the 
     Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) is 
     amended by inserting after the item relating to section 317 
     the following:

``317A. Temporary absence of persons participating in the Return of 
              Talent Program''.

     SEC. 3. ELIGIBLE IMMIGRANTS.

       Section 101(a)(27) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 
     (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)) is amended--
       (1) in subparagraph (L), by inserting a semicolon after 
     ``Improvement Act of 1998'';
       (2) in subparagraph (M), by striking the period and 
     inserting ``; or''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(N) an immigrant who--
       ``(i) has been lawfully admitted to the United States for 
     permanent residence;
       ``(ii) demonstrates an ability and willingness to make a 
     material contribution to the post-conflict or natural 
     disaster reconstruction in the alien's country of 
     citizenship; and
       ``(iii) as determined by the Secretary of State in 
     consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security--
       ``(I) is a citizen of a country in which Armed Forces of 
     the United States are engaged, or have engaged in the 10 
     years preceding such determination, in combat or peacekeeping 
     operations;
       ``(II) is a citizen of a country where authorization for 
     United Nations peacekeeping operations was initiated by the 
     United Nations Security Council during the 10 years preceding 
     such determination; or
       ``(III) is a citizen of a country which received, during 
     the preceding 2 years, funding from the Office of Foreign 
     Disaster Assistance of the United States Agency for 
     International Development in response to a declared disaster 
     in such country by the United States Ambassador, the Chief of 
     the U.S. Mission, or the appropriate Assistant Secretary of 
     State, that is beyond the ability of such country's response 
     capacity and warrants a response by the United States 
     Government.''.

     SEC. 4. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

       Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of 
     this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation 
     with the Secretary of State, shall submit a report to 
     Congress that describes--
       (1) the countries of citizenship of the participants in the 
     Return of Talent Program established under section 317A of 
     the Immigration and Nationality Act, as added by section 2;
       (2) the post-conflict or natural disaster reconstruction 
     efforts that benefitted, or were made possible, through 
     participation in the program; and
       (3) any other information that the Secretary of Homeland 
     Security determines to be appropriate.

     SEC. 5. REGULATIONS.

       Not later than 6 months after the date of the enactment of 
     this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall promulgate 
     regulations to carry out this Act and the amendments made by 
     this Act.

     SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       There are authorized to be appropriated to the Bureau of 
     Citizenship and Immigration Services for fiscal year 2008, 
     such sums as may be necessary to carry out this Act and the 
     amendments made by this Act.

                          ____________________