[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Pages 20341-20344]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 WOUNDED WARRIOR ASSISTANCE ACT OF 2007

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I yesterday asked by unanimous consent that 
we adopt the Wounded Warrior legislation that was brought to the Senate 
during the Defense authorization bill in a form of a bipartisan 
amendment. A number of Senators worked very hard. Senator Murray is on 
the floor. She worked very hard, and a number of Senators have worked 
very hard on this legislation. It came about as a result of what we 
learned at Walter Reed about how our returning troops from Iraq and 
Afghanistan were being basically neglected. They had been wounded, and 
they were receiving unacceptable and poor treatment when they came 
home. That failure was learned about--not only about the veterans care 
system, which had many bureaucratic failures, but also the physical 
facilities that were there failed to meet a minimum level of 
acceptability. The American people were outraged by the facts that came 
to light, and the Senate took prompt action.
  The Wounded Warrior amendment, now in legislation that is before the 
Senate, would address the substandard facilities we have talked about 
and we have seen. It would address the lack of seamless transition and 
develop one when medical care for troops is transferred from the 
Department of Defense to the Veterans' Administration, which oftentimes 
in the past has led to diminished care. It addresses the inadequacy of 
severance pay. It addresses the need for improved sharing of medical 
records between the Department of Defense and the Veterans' 
Administration. We are told now that there are as many as 600,000 
pending claims of returning veterans. It addresses the inadequate care 
and treatment of traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress 
disorder, and a number of other very important items.
  So I again renew my request. Yesterday we were told that the 
Republicans were looking at this. Mr. President, I am going to renew 
this request. There are all kinds of reasons, I guess, for objecting to 
something such as this. Now I am told the reason for objecting is the 
pay raise isn't included. The Wounded Warrior legislation becomes 
effective upon passage and approval. The pay raise for the troops 
doesn't become effective until October 1 or January 1--I don't know how 
the legislation reads, but it is not now. So that would not be a good 
reason in my estimation, and I think in the estimation of these wounded 
warriors, for objecting.
  The pay raise does not become effective until the beginning of the 
fiscal year. In fact, I think it is January 1 of next year. It is 
different than a number of things we pass. But it does not become 
effective now. So if that is a reason for objecting, it is a poor 
reason, because they are two different issues. One is the pay raise 
does not become effective now; this does become effective.

[[Page 20342]]

  So I ask unanimous consent that the Armed Services Committee be 
discharged from further consideration of H.R. 1538, and the Senate 
proceed to its immediate consideration; that the substitute amendment 
at the desk, which is the text of the Wounded Warriors provision in 
H.R. 1585, be considered and agreed to; the bill, as amended, be read a 
third time, passed, and the motion to reconsider be laid on the table; 
and any statements relating to this matter be printed in the Record, 
with no intervening action or debate.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is there objection?
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, and I 
will not object, I would hope to get the majority leader to amend his 
unanimous consent request. I notified him through floor staff that it 
would be my hope we could modify the unanimous consent request and not 
only pass the Wounded Warrior provision, which was regretfully taken 
down along with the Defense authorization bill last week, but modify 
that to include the language of section 601 of the Defense 
authorization bill, which would provide for an increase in military 
basic pay of all of our uniformed military personnel. So if the 
majority leader would modify his consent agreement as I have suggested, 
the bill, in effect, that we would be passing would be Wounded Warrior, 
plus the military pay raise. That would be my suggestion to the 
majority leader.
  I am not going to object to his unanimous-consent agreement. I agree 
with him that the Wounded Warrior provisions are extremely important. I 
was disappointed it was taken down along with the Defense authorization 
bill last week, but I would respectfully suggest that it be modified to 
include the pay raise as well.
  Mr. REID. I accept the modification.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is there objection to the request, 
as modified?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, could we also send this matter to 
conference?
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, let me suggest, I do need to consult 
with the ranking member. I am sure that won't be a problem, but to do 
it on the spur of the moment without consulting with the ranking 
member, it would probably not be acceptable to my side. But I can't 
imagine this would be a problem, and we will get back to the majority 
leader shortly.
  Mr. REID. I understand that, Mr. President. I appreciate the 
cooperation. This is a good step forward.
  The amendment (No. 2402) was agreed to.
  (The amendment is printed in today's Record under ``Text of 
Amendments.'')
  The amendment was ordered to be engrossed, and the bill to be read a 
third time.
  The bill (H.R. 1538), as amended, was read the third time and passed.
  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I have offered the Dignified Treatment of 
Wounded Warriors Act as a stand-alone bill that incorporates the 
provisions of the Dignified Treatment of Wounded Warriors Act as marked 
up by the Armed Services Committee and as amended when offered as an 
amendment to the Department of Defense Authorization Act and passed by 
a vote of 94 to 0.
  Our wounded warriors cannot wait, and should not have to wait, for us 
to finish the Department of Defense Authorization Act to get the relief 
contained in this bill. The bill incorporates the ideas of many 
Senators and the consideration of both the Armed Services Committee and 
the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. A total of 51 Senators have 
cosponsored this legislation. It is truly a bipartisan effort to 
address shortfalls in the care of our wounded warriors. I am delighted 
the Senate is passing this bill today so that we can move forward to 
conference with the House of Representatives to reach agreement on a 
bill that both the House and Senate can pass and send to the President.
  This bill addresses the issue of inconsistent disability ratings by 
requiring that the military departments use VA standards for rating 
disabilities unless the Department of Defense rating is higher. The 
bill adopts a more favorable statutory presumption for determining 
whether a disability is incident to military service by adopting the 
more favorable VA presumption. The bill requires two pilot programs to 
test the viability of involving the Veterans' Administration in the 
assignment of disability ratings for the Department of Defense. The 
bill also establishes an independent board to review and, where 
appropriate, correct unjustifiably low Department of Defense disability 
ratings awarded since 2001.
  This bill also addresses the lack of a seamless transition from the 
military to the Veterans' Administration by requiring the Secretary of 
Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to jointly develop a 
comprehensive policy on the care and management of injured 
servicemembers who will transition from the Department of Defense to 
the VA. The bill establishes a Department of Defense and a Department 
of Veterans Affairs interagency program office to develop and implement 
a joint electronic health record.
  This bill authorizes $50 million for improved diagnosis, treatment 
and rehabilitation of military members with traumatic brain injury, 
TBI, and post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD. The bill requires the 
establishment of centers of excellence for both TBI and PTSD to conduct 
research and train health care professionals. The bill requires that 
the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs, report to Congress with comprehensive plans to 
prevent, diagnose, mitigate and treat TBI and PTSD.
  This bill increases the minimum severance pay to 1 year's basic pay 
for those separated with disabilities incurred in a combat zone or 
combat-related activity and 6 months basic pay for all others. This is 
quadrupling or doubling, depending on the circumstance, the current 
arrangement. The bill also eliminates the requirement that severance 
pay be deducted from disability compensation for disabilities incurred 
in a combat zone.
  This bill also addresses the problem that exists because medically 
retired servicemembers who are eligible for Tricare as retirees do not 
have access to some of the cutting-edge treatments that are available 
to members still on active duty. The bill does that by authorizing 
medically retired servicemembers to receive the active duty medical 
benefit for 3 years after the member leaves active duty. This can be 
extended to 5 years where medically required. The bill authorizes 
military and VA health care providers to provide medical care and 
counseling to family members who leave their homes and often leave 
their jobs to help provide care to their wounded warriors. The 
Dignified Treatment of Wounded Warriors Act requires the Secretary of 
Defense to establish standards for the treatment of and housing for 
military outpatients. These standards will require compliance with 
Federal and other standards for military medical treatment facilities, 
specialty medical care facilities, and military housing for outpatients 
that will be uniform and consistent and high level throughout the 
Department of Defense.
  This bill also includes measures proposed by the Committee on 
Veterans' Affairs under the leadership of Senator Akaka that address 
shortfalls in the VA system for care of our wounded warriors after 
their transition to the VA.
  So in summary, the Dignified Treatment of Wounded Warriors Act is a 
comprehensive approach that lays out a path for the Department of 
Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs to address shortfalls in 
the care of our wounded warriors while they remain in military service, 
during the transition from the military to the VA, and after this 
transition, while in the care of the VA.
  Our wounded warriors deserve the best care and support that we can 
muster. The American people rightly insist on no less. This wide-
ranging legislation will improve the provision of health care and 
benefits to injured military personnel and make the system much more 
efficient as well.

[[Page 20343]]


 Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, today the Senate adopted, by 
unanimous consent, legislation that will make a significant difference 
in the lives of America's wounded warriors and veterans. I applaud the 
passage of the Dignified Treatment of Wounded Warriors Act and the 3.5 
percent across-the-board pay raise for the men and women of the U.S. 
military.
  This legislation bridges the gap in health care coverage for the 
severely wounded, and ensures their access to the broadest possible 
range of health care services. It authorizes additional care and 
support for families who are caring for the wounded. The bill increases 
traumatic brain injury care for veterans, and access to mental health 
evaluations. It requires the Secretaries of Defense and Veterans 
Affairs to develop and implement new policy to better manage the care 
and transition of our wounded soldiers. It also empowers a special 
board to review disability ratings of 20 percent or less, and to 
restore to wounded soldiers, if appropriate, a higher disability rating 
or retired status. And, it authorizes additional funding for traumatic 
brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder.
  The disability evaluation systems of the Departments of Defense and 
Veterans Affairs are out of date and in need of reform. This 
legislation advances that reform by requiring the immediate initiation 
of pilot projects to fundamentally change and streamline those 
antiquated systems. The bill also improves benefits related to 
administrative separation from the military due to injury, increasing 
severance pay and eliminating the requirement that severance pay be 
deducted from VA disability compensation for injuries incurred in a 
combat zone.
  The legislation requires the Secretary of Defense to inspect and 
improve medical treatment and residential facilities, and to study the 
accelerated construction of new facilities at the National Military 
Medical Center at Bethesda, MD.
  This legislation is an important step toward restoring trust for 
America's wounded soldiers and veterans. The Senate can be proud that 
it has put the needs of wounded warriors and our selfless service men 
and women ahead of partisanship, jurisdictional boundaries and 
disagreements over policy. We are now ready to move foward to 
conference with the House of Representatives and make overdue 
improvements for our soldiers, their families, and our veterans.
  While I am pleased we have been able to take this action today, very 
critical improvements to defense policy and programs remain in the 
unfinished work on the National Defense Authorization Act for 2008, 
which the Democratic Senate leadership pulled from the Senate floor 
last week because of policy disagreements on Iraq.
  Failure to pass the Defense authorization bill will curtail many 
needed initiatives to support our military personnel and their families 
and to continue the fight on the global war on terror. Our military 
forces deployed throughout the world, including Iraq and Afghanistan, 
need the resources, training, and equipment that this bill would 
provide. Examples of the important authorities that are being held 
hostage to the contentious debate on policy in Iraq include: increasing 
in end-strength for the Army and Marine Corps; providing combat-related 
special compensation to serve members who are; medically retired 
because of a combat-related disability; paying over 25 special pays and 
bonuses designed to improve military recruiting and retention; 
improving military equipment needed to protect deploying forces, 
including $4.0 billion for mine-resistant vehicles known as MRAPs; 
updating Army combat systems and additional funding for armor and 
aviation survivability equipment; building five warships and funding 
for Virginia class submarines; increasing the number of Department of 
Defense and Department of Energy programs to help reduce the threat of 
nuclear materials from the former Soviet Union falling into the hands 
of terrorists; encouraging more focused competition for the billions of 
dollars that the Department of Defense spends on contract services; and 
providing critical authorities to combatant commanders to address 
security priorities and support allies, coalition partners, and others 
in the war on terror.
  I call on the Senate leadership to resume consideration of the 
Defense authorization bill at the earliest possible time, so that these 
and many other critical pieces of the legislation will become law for 
the benefit of our troops. Swift passage of the National Defense 
Authorization Act for 2008, coupled with support for our wounded 
warriors and hard-working troops together represent the full measure of 
support for our military forces that they need, and that they 
unquestionably deserve.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, Senator Levin, along with Senator McCain, 
have forged a comprehensive, bipartisan legislative package to ensure 
that wounded and injured members of the Armed Forces receive the finest 
care and benefits, which they richly deserve.
  I thank Senators on both sides who participated in this legislation, 
on the basis of their own legislative initiatives and their 
amendments--10 of which were agreed to when the bill was considered by 
the full Senate on July 12, 2007.
  I want to underscore that this bill is--in no way--a reflection of 
concern about the quality of acute medical care that our soldiers, 
sailors, airmen, and marines receive when they sustain wounds or 
illness in the field of battle.
  Our men and women in uniform receive the best treatment anywhere in 
the world, and that fact has been sustained by every outside panel 
studying the problems arising from the disclosures at Walter Reed last 
February.
  In fact, just today, the President's Commission on Care for America's 
Wounded Warriors, the Dole-Shalala Commission, found that the survival 
rate of those seriously injured has markedly increased compared to the 
rate in Vietnam and previous wars.
  The report of a commission appointed by Secretary Gates, and led by 
two distinguished former Secretaries of the Army, Togo West and John 
Marsh confirms this by stating: Through advances in battlefield 
medicine, evacuation care, the Department has achieved the lowest 
mortality rates of wounded in history.
  Let us never doubt the bravery and skill of our medical personnel.
  This bill, approved by the Senate this morning, addresses the failure 
of systems--again, quoting from the Department of Defense Commission 
report--failures which included the: product of bureaucratic behavior, 
inability to reconcile institutional disparities, and leaving the 
wounded warrior and family to untangle that which government agencies 
cannot.
  It is with great humility that I recall that I was the first Member 
of the Senate to visit Walter Reed--on February 23, 2007. It happened 
to be the same day that Secretary Gates visited Walter Reed to conduct 
his own inspection.
  In the intervening months, many encouraging developments have taken 
place. I applaud the leadership of Secretary Gates in promptly taking 
action to correct deficiencies at Walter Reed, and insisting on 
accountability for failures in leadership that contributed to 
unacceptable conditions for our soldiers.
  Our committee has also have received assurances from the Secretary of 
the Army Pete Geren, Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England and the 
Deputy Secretary of Veterans' Affairs Gordon Mansfield, that each will 
work tirelessly to improve the consistency and effectiveness of their 
management of all soldiers and veterans.
  The bill which has now been passed by unanimous consent is 
comprehensive and deserving of our support. It incorporates many of the 
findings of completed studies and reviews, as well as the constructive 
ideas of Members of the Senate.
  This legislation will ensure that wounded and injured members of the 
Armed Forces receive the care and benefits that they deserve.
  It will improve physical and mental health benefits for the severely 
wounded, to ensure that they have the broadest possible options for 
care from military, veterans and private sector health care resources.

[[Page 20344]]

  It includes significant initiatives in the areas of traumatic brain 
injury, TBI, and post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD, for soldiers and 
veterans. This addresses the Dole-Shalala findings that over 52,000 
Iraq and Afghanistan returning veterans have been treated for PTSD 
symptoms by the VA.
  This legislation also creates a special review board to reexamine 
disability determinations which fall below the 20 percent threshold if 
a former member of the armed services feels that he or she received an 
unfair rating.
  Additionally, the bill requires the Departments of Defense and 
Veterans Affairs to rapidly move to fundamentally change and improve 
the disability evaluation systems within the two departments.
  I am pleased that the legislation will ensure that as policies and 
programs are developed to improve care and management of wounded 
soldiers and veterans, that such policies and improvements will apply 
equally to members of the Active and Reserve components.
  The bill also requires that military personnel continue to receive 
the best possible care at Walter Reed Army Medical Center until 
equivalent medical facilities are constructed at the National Naval 
Medical Center, Bethesda, MD, and the Fort Belvoir, VA, Army Community 
Hospital--and requires the Department of Defense to study the 
feasibility of accelerating the relocation of medical capabilities in 
the National Capital Region required by the Base Realignment and 
Closure Act of 2005.
  The Senate can be proud that it has put the needs of our wounded 
warriors first and set forth bipartisan jurisdictional boundaries.
  I want to thank my colleagues--especially Senator Akaka, chairman of 
the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, and Senator Craig, the 
ranking member, for their cooperation, and for the work of both our 
committee staffs--working together--in the preparation of this 
legislation.
  It is my hope that we will proceed expeditiously to conference with 
the other body on wounded warrior legislation and promptly resume 
consideration of the National Defense Authorization Act for 2008 when 
Congress reconvenes in September.
  We owe this to our men and women in uniform and their families 
stationed throughout the world. They deserve nothing less than our full 
support.

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