[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Page 20983]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              DIGNIFIED TREATMENT OF WOUNDED WARRIORS ACT

  Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, I wish to take a moment to comment on the 
passage of the Dignified Treatment of Wounded Warriors Act. The 
President's blue ribbon Wounded Warrior Commission met with the 
President to provide him with recommendations as to how the Veterans' 
Administration, along with the Department of Defense, can best provide 
service to our dramatically injured veterans in a seamless fashion.
  Our action, with passage of this legislation, is a step in the same 
direction. It fulfills the pledge we made a few months ago when the 
Veterans' Affairs Committee, along with the Armed Services Committee, 
held joint hearings to receive testimony on needed changes to 
transition programs and health care benefits.
  At that time, many of us stated our intention to make a good-faith 
effort to work on issues under our respective committees' jurisdictions 
and then to merge our work back together again at the earliest possible 
time.
  This bill not only contains the legislation that went through the 
Armed Services Committee earlier in the form of S. 1606, but it also 
includes title II of the bill, legislation sponsored by Senator Danny 
Akaka and me to address issues surrounding the treatment provided to 
those veterans with traumatic brain injuries.
  Of course, I am proud of the comprehensive nature of the legislation 
Senator Akaka and I have put forward in this legislation and pleased to 
see its passage.
  Under the provisions in this bill, injured veterans will benefit from 
new investments in research into mild, moderate, and serious traumatic 
brain injury. They and their families will be assured that care is 
provided in age-appropriate settings. We will explore whether assisted 
living services are the most appropriate and least restrictive settings 
to provide care for those with traumatic brain injury.
  Most important to me is that our servicemembers, veterans, and their 
families will have peace of mind knowing the Secretary can provide 
traumatic brain injury care in a private, non-VA facility anytime the 
Secretary determines that doing so would be optimal to the recovery and 
the rehabilitation of that patient. In other words, with passage of 
this legislation, we are assuring that whenever it is in the best 
interest of the patient's recovery, then VA can purchase private care 
to treat traumatic brain injury.
  These are a few of the very important provisions in title II of the 
legislation. Of course, there are many other notable pieces of the bill 
in title I, which, as I previously stated, was produced by my 
colleagues in the Armed Services Committee. I compliment them again for 
their work on this important bill.
  We said we would do this as expeditiously as possible. The earliest 
time possible was, of course, the National Defense Authorization Act, 
which was on the floor a few weeks ago. There, we added the substance 
of the bill as an amendment to that act.
  Unfortunately, the NDAA was pulled from the floor--a little 
premature, in my judgment, but it was. But I do wish to compliment both 
leaders for agreeing in a bipartisan way to bring this important part 
of that bill before us quickly so our troops and our injured veterans 
and their families can receive the care and benefits they deserve as 
quickly as it can be delivered.
  I said on the floor a few weeks ago, during consideration of the 
National Defense Authorization Act, the legislation was very important 
because it demonstrated that Congress can break down the walls of 
jurisdiction and territory and do the right thing at the right time for 
our troops.
  I and other Senators have been very critical of the bureaucratic 
roadblocks DOD and VA can put up against one another, when we all want 
to make sure they are working together in a seamless fashion. We now 
see those walls breaking apart. So I believe we are going to demand 
that these two agencies break down further those barriers of territory 
and jurisdiction. When we demonstrate we can do it, we then must ask 
them to do it. In this legislation, you saw two committees come 
together to make it possible. I am proud we have done so. It is the 
kind of work we ought to do.
  I also think it is fitting we passed this bill yesterday because the 
President's Commission on Care for America's Returning Wounded Warriors 
is set to issue its final report. That happened. We have now had an 
opportunity to review it. I thank all of the Members of that Commission 
for their service and for all of the work they did in a short 
timeframe. Former Senator Bob Dole and Secretary Donna Shalala were 
great leaders on this issue for us and for our veterans and for our 
troops.
  The passage of this bill is only the beginning of changes that we 
will make and must make for the health care and the benefit services 
offered to our veterans and offered through VA and DOD. I look forward 
to hearings on the panel's recommendations soon and to finalize the 
reading of the report. I now have it in hand. I am hopeful that with 
the passage of this legislation, which will soon be on its way to the 
President for signature, we in the Congress can focus on the 
recommendations of the Dole-Shalala panel.
  With that, I again thank the chairman of the Veterans' Affairs 
Committee, Senator Akaka, for his work and support in the production of 
title II of this bill. I also want to thank and compliment Senator 
McCain and Senator Levin and Senator Warner for their work on title I, 
the Wounded Warrior legislation. I truly appreciate the coming together 
of these diverse but connected jurisdictions to show we can break down 
our walls and to once again demonstrate and encourage both the 
Department of Defense and VA to work in a progressive, seamless fashion 
for the benefit of our fighting men and women and for the benefit of 
those same men and women when they become veterans and the 
responsibility for them shifts to a different jurisdiction. It is 
important legislation and work of which we can be proud.

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