[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5413]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          WALTER REED HOSPITAL

  (Ms. NORTON asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, at yesterday's hearing on Walter Reed, I 
asked the brass whether putting Walter Reed on the BRAC closure list 
had affected the hospital's staffing and stability. All responded that 
it had. Army Vice Chief of Staff Cody said, ``We're trying to get the 
best people. Who would want to sign up to work at a hospital that might 
be closing?''
  You don't close your premium military hospital in the middle of a 
shooting war and the war on terrorism. I can't imagine that Congress 
would spend $3 billion on bricks and mortar that could go to wounded 
soldiers and to veterans. Yet as long as BRAC mandates closure, vital 
staff who value their careers get the closure signal.
  This week I intend to file a bill to keep Walter Reed open. Too much 
harm has been done already. Let's not compound Walter Reed's problems 
by keeping a costly closure threat on the books.

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