[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Pages 23710-23711]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           VETERANS DAY 2004

  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, last week, on November 11, the Nation 
paused to honor those brave Americans who have so selflessly served our 
country in the Armed forces. For more than 200 years, men and women 
have proudly worn the uniform of the United States. In peacetime and in 
wartime, these men and women have served and sacrificed on our behalf, 
often far away from their homes and from their families. Too many of 
them have made the ultimate sacrifice. We owe them--and their 
families--our deepest, heartfelt gratitude.
  As we marked Veterans Day here in the United States with appropriate 
ceremonies and recognitions, men and women from Wisconsin and across 
our country were serving on our behalf in Iraq, Afghanistan, and 
elsewhere. Their dedication to this great country--like that of those 
who served before them--should inspire us all.
  We owe these brave men and women our gratitude, and we also owe them 
our best efforts to ensure that they know about and receive the Federal 
benefits and services that they have earned through their service to 
our country. I have long been concerned that to many veterans and 
military personnel are unaware of benefits and programs that are 
available to them through the Departments of Veterans Affairs and 
Defense and a number of

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other Federal agencies. I will continue my work to ensure that all 
veterans know about the benefits for which they may be eligible. I will 
also continue to support efforts to fully fund VA health care programs 
so that all veterans who wish to take advantage of their health care 
benefits are able to do so. No veterans should have to wait months to 
see a doctor or should be told that he or she is barred from enrolling 
in the VA health care system because of a lack of funding.
  In addition, I am committed to ensuring that our current military 
personnel receive adequate health care and transition services, 
including mental health services, as they return from deployments and 
when they return to civilian life. I am pleased that the recently 
enacted defense authorization bill for fiscal year 2005 includes a 
provision that I authored which represents a first step toward 
enhancing and strengthening transition services that are provided to 
our military personnel. My provision requires the Government 
Accountability Office to undertake a comprehensive analysis of existing 
transition services for our military personnel that are administered by 
the Departments of Defense, Veterans Affairs, and Labor and to make 
recommendations to Congress on how these programs can be improved. This 
study will focus on two issues: how to achieve the uniform provision of 
appropriate transition services to all military personnel, and the role 
of post-deployment and pre-discharge health assessments as part of the 
larger transition program.
  I have heard from a number of Wisconsinites and members of military 
and veterans service organizations that our men and women in uniform do 
not all have access to the same transition counseling and medical 
services as they are demobilizing from service in Iraq, Afghanistan, 
and elsewhere. I have long been concerned about reports of uneven 
provision of services from base to base and from service to service. 
All of our men and women in uniform have pledged to serve our country, 
and all of them, at the very least, deserve to have access to the same 
services in return. This GAO study will help us to have a better 
picture of the services that are being provided and what needs to be 
done to improve these important programs, and I look forward to 
reviewing it.
  We should honor America's brave veterans and their families not only 
on Veterans Day, but throughout the year. As we reflect upon the 
meaning of this day, let us keep all of our veterans and their families 
in our thoughts. These men and women are examples of the best that our 
country has to offer, and they deserve our support both during times of 
conflict and after the battles have ended and our troops have come 
home.

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