[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 156 (Tuesday, October 18, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1890]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   VETERANS SEXUAL ASSAULT PREVENTION AND HEALTHCARE ENHANCEMENT ACT

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                               SPEECH OF

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 11, 2011

  Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of 
H.R. 2074, ``the Veterans Sexual Assault Prevention and Healthcare 
Enhancement Act of 2011.'' This legislation requires the Veterans' 
Administration, VA, to report and track sexual assaults and other 
safety related incidents at its medical facilities. Further, it 
requires: a payment of nursing home care for veterans with service-
connected disabilities, requires individualized care for traumatic 
brain injuries (TBI), allows service dogs on VA properties, and 
establishes a three year pilot program to assess the effectiveness of 
mental health and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatments of 
veterans who are utilizing dog training therapy.
  Throughout my tenure in Congress, I have remained committed to 
meeting the needs of veterans. They have kept their promise to serve 
our nation and have willingly risked their lives to protect the country 
we all love. We must now ensure that we keep our promises to our 
veterans. It is only prudent to require the VA to take steps to ensure 
that our veterans are safe while in their care.
  In the State of Texas, we have nearly 1.7 million veterans, and 18th 
District is home to 32,000 of them. The veterans I represent are aware 
of the services provided by the Veterans' Administration. When they 
return home, the least we can do is to ensure that while they are 
receiving care their physical safety concerns are being addressed.
  The Veterans' Administration is charged with providing for the 
healthcare needs of our nation's veterans. Part of this care includes 
providing for their safety. Although the majority of the men and women 
who have served our country are upright and law abiding citizens there 
are always a few bad actors. The veterans must be protected against bad 
actors in the same way that they have helped to protect the United 
States against our enemies.
  The Department of Defense estimates that in 2010 alone, there were 
over 19,000 sexual assaults in the military, which amounts to nearly 52 
sexual assaults per day. It is not unreasonable to imagine that those 
tens of thousands of survivors and their perpetrators vanish after they 
are discharged from the military. There are substantial numbers of 
veterans who are survivors of sexual trauma, survivors utilizing the VA 
services. According to a VA report in FY 2010 68,379 patients had at 
least one outpatient visit to a VHA facility that was for the treatment 
of a condition related to military sexual trauma: 61 percent, or 
41,475, of those patients were women; 39 percent, or 26,904, were men.
  We must remember that the Veterans' Administration does serve tens of 
thousands of veterans every year. This number will continue to grow as 
more of our troops return home. As with any institution that meets the 
needs of so many the VA must ensure the safety of the patients under 
their care. To do so the VA must train members of their staff on sexual 
harassment and sexual assault responses, and educate patients on the 
process to file a sexual assault allegation.
  According to the Government Accountability Office, GAO, there were 
nearly 300 sexual assault incidents reported to the VA police from 
January 2007 through July 2010--including alleged incidents that 
involved rape, inappropriate touching, forceful medical examinations, 
forced or inappropriate oral sex, and other types of sexual assault 
incidents. Many of these sexual assault incidents were not reported to 
officials within the management reporting stream which is a direct 
violation of VA policy and Federal Regulations.
  H.R. 2074 addresses some of the factors identified by the GAO, namely 
that the VA did not have a consistent sexual assault definition that 
could be utilized for reporting purposes. The VA also did not have 
clear expectations for incident reporting across VA medical facilities. 
In addition, the VA does not have the ability or mechanisms in place to 
monitor sexual assault incidents reported through the management 
reporting stream. H.R. 2074 would require the VA to establish a 
comprehensive policy to report and track all incidents of sexual 
assault and other safety concerns.
  It is important that the men and women receiving care at VA medical 
facilities are adequately protected from harm. It is unfathomable that 
this issue has not been addressed sooner. We must remember that 
although sexual assault is often considered an issue only affecting 
women, in fact, both men and women have suffered sexual assaults. 
Further, victims may be assaulted by predators of the same or the 
opposite sex. Like other types of trauma, sexual trauma can leave 
lasting scars upon the physical and mental health of its victims. 
Veterans who are already receiving care for their wounds should not be 
left to defend themselves against aggressors.
  In addition, the GAO determined that five VA medical facilities 
visited, had poorly monitored surveillance cameras, alarm system 
malfunctions, and the failure of alarms to alert both VA police and 
clinical staff when triggered. Inadequate system configuration and 
testing procedures contributed to these weaknesses. Further, facility 
officials at most of the locations GAO visited said the VA police were 
understaffed. These issues could have dire consequences, as it could 
lead to delayed response time to incidents and seriously erode the VA's 
efforts to prevent or mitigate sexual assaults and other safety 
incidents. This is simply outrageous.
  H.R. 2074 requires the VA to take this matter seriously. As it stands 
this bill requires the VA to have clear accountability goals for VA 
staff. Every VA medical facility is required to have a military sexual 
trauma coordinator; considering the volume of patients who are coping 
with this condition that should not be a surprise. What is surprising 
is that at most VA facilities this position is not a full time job. 
These employees are often given additional duties and obligations not 
related to military sexual trauma. This legislation should be a wakeup 
call. Protecting the safety of our veterans while they are in our care 
is a top priority.
  In addition, this legislation opens the possibility of meeting the 
health needs of veterans who reside in nursing homes, are receiving 
treatment for PTSD and other mental health services. It is important to 
note that when a solider returns from the battlefield he or she brings 
with them both physical and mental wounds. It is our duty to ensure 
that each and every one of those veterans who survive the fields of 
combat are able to receive the care they need when they make it home.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 2074, the Veterans 
Sexual Assault Prevention and Healthcare Enhancement Act.

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