[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5787]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       CONDITIONS AT WALTER REED

  (Mr. STEARNS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, the recent reports of substandard 
conditions at the outpatient facility at Walter Reed Medical Center are 
deeply disturbing. The brave men and women who put their lives on the 
line every day to protect our country do not deserve the shoddy 
conditions, nor do they deserve to be trapped in the bureaucratic 
morass that has engulfed Walter Reed.
  It is necessary to put into place a seamless program for our veterans 
from the time they are injured through rehabilitation and home care and 
work support. I urge Secretary Nicholson of Veterans Affairs to do just 
that.
  The proper treatment of our wounded members of the Armed Forces is 
not a partisan issue. It is a moral issue. And Congress needs to ensure 
that our injured brave men and women receive the best, most advanced, 
and most timely medical care possible. Anything less would be immoral 
and a dereliction of our duty.

                          ____________________