[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 16473]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  FUNDING FOR VETERANS HEALTH CARE, DEMOCRATS PROVIDE LARGEST FUNDING 
                             INCREASE EVER

  (Mr. GRIJALVA asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, many of our soldiers returning from 
service in Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from a loss of limb or other 
serious wounds. Our VA and military hospitals have state-of-the-art 
facilities to treat these wounds and to help our soldiers make a 
recovery that they need and deserve.
  But the same is not true for those soldiers who return from combat 
suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome. A Washington Post series 
chronicled the struggles faced by many of our soldiers seeking 
psychological assistance and support from our medical facilities and 
from the VA. The Post writers concluded that Walter Reed lacks 
sufficient psychiatrists and clinicians to properly treat the growing 
numbers of soldiers returning with combat stress.
  I am proud to say help is on the way. The historic VA funding which 
passed the House last week provides 600 million more than the President 
requested to treat PTSD and finally, finally, begin to address a 
disturbing problem. Let us not repeat the mistake we have made with our 
Vietnam veterans and begin to help our veterans now.

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