[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 68 (Monday, April 28, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S3445]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. AKAKA:
  S. 2923. A bill to provide for a three-year extension of the Senior 
oversight Committee on wounded warrior matters, and for other purposes; 
to the Committee on Armed Services.
  Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, today I am introducing the proposed Senior 
Oversight Committee Extension Act of 2008 The VA and DoD Senior 
Oversight Committee--the SOC--has been an important component of 
ongoing efforts to ensure that the Departments of Veterans Affairs and 
Defense work together to improve the treatment and care of our Nation's 
wounded warriors. This bill requires a 3-year extension of the VA and 
DoD SOC so that it may continue its vitally important oversight 
function.
  As a result of the problems identified at Walter Reed Army Medical 
Center in May 2007, VA and DoD established the SOC to identify 
corrective actions. It was tasked with reviewing and overseeing the 
implementation of the recommendations of the various task forces and 
study groups which were established to study problems related to the 
transitioning of seriously injured servicemembers. Today, the SOC and 
its supporting staff continue to work toward implementing policies and 
procedures to streamline and expedite joint efforts to provide 
seriously injured servicemembers and veterans with the best care 
available.
  The SOC is currently co-chaired by the Deputy Secretary of Defense 
and the Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs. It brings together the 
most senior VA and DoD officials on a regular basis to ensure that the 
decisions designed to improve care, recovery, rehabilitation and 
reintegration of seriously injured servicemembers are made in a timely 
and efficient manner. It is supported by a full-time joint VA and DoD 
staff that is responsible for coordinating, integrating and 
synchronizing the activities of the Committee.
  The Administration's current plan is for the SOC to hand over its 
responsibilities next January to the existing VA and DoD Joint 
Executive Council. However, the Joint Executive Council has neither a 
full time staff nor the equivalent involvement of senior VA and DoD 
officials. The JEC staff has neither the resources nor the leverage 
within the individual Departments to carry out the essential work that 
the SOC has managed. Veterans' organizations who testified at the April 
23, 2008, Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee hearing support the need 
to extend the SOC rather than transfer responsibilities to the Joint 
Executive Council.
  Although I am pleased with the progress that has been achieved over 
the past year on improving VA and DoD cooperation and collaboration, 
much work remains. I am concerned that, in the future, without the full 
weight of VA and DoD leadership behind these activities, an ongoing 
commitment to solving the problems related to the goal of seamless 
transition and a full time staff to track implementation, there is a 
very real risk of returning to the bureaucratic lethargy which 
contributed to the Walter Reed scandal. We have come too far to return 
to those days.
  I am a firm believer in the adage that what the boss checks is what 
gets done. To make sure the boss--in this case, the Secretaries of 
Veterans Affairs and Defense--keep an eye on coordination and 
cooperation between the two departments, I am introducing this 
legislation to provide the two Secretaries with authority to extend the 
work of the SOC for 3 years, to ensure the continued existence of a 
joint body that will serve as the single point of contact for the 
oversight, strategy and integration of policies and procedures 
pertaining to the seriously injured.
  With the upcoming change in Administration, there can be no wavering 
on the high level of attention that the Departments have brought to 
issues of coordination and cooperation. I am committed to sustaining 
this effort for as long as there are servicemembers in combat.
  Mr. President, 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:

                                S. 2923

       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 ``Senior Oversight Committee 
     Extension Act of 2008''.

     SEC. 2. THREE-YEAR EXTENSION OF SENIOR OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE 
                   WITH RESPECT TO WOUNDED WARRIOR MATTERS.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary 
     of Veterans Affairs shall jointly take such actions as are 
     appropriate, including the allocation of appropriate 
     personnel, funding, and other resources, to continue the 
     operations of the Senior Oversight Committee until September 
     30, 2011.
       (b) Report on Further Extension of Committee.--Not later 
     than December 31, 2010, the Secretary of Defense and the 
     Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall jointly submit to 
     Congress a report setting forth the joint recommendation of 
     the Secretaries as to the advisability of continuing the 
     operations of the Senior Oversight Committee after September 
     30, 2011. If the Secretaries recommend that continuing the 
     operations of the Senior Oversight Committee after September 
     30, 2011, is advisable, the report may include such 
     recommendations for the modification of the responsibilities, 
     composition, or support of the Senior Oversight Committee as 
     the Secretaries jointly consider appropriate.
       (c) Senior Oversight Committee Defined.--In this section, 
     the term ``Senior Oversight Committee'' means the Senior 
     Oversight Committee jointly established by the Secretary of 
     Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs in May 2007 to 
     address concerns related to the treatment of wounded, ill, 
     and injured members of the Armed Forces and veterans and 
     serve as the single point of contact for oversight, strategy, 
     and integration of proposed strategies for the efforts of the 
     Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs 
     to improve support throughout the recovery, rehabilitation, 
     and reintegration of wounded, ill, or injured members of the 
     Armed Forces.
                                 ______