[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 6086]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                THE FAILURE OF LEADERSHIP AT WALTER REED

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the order of the House of 
January 4, 2007, the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Boozman) is 
recognized during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BOOZMAN. Madam Speaker, I felt the need today to rise and to 
briefly express my deeply felt dismay over the failure of leadership 
concerning the problems at Walter Reed.
  We have witnessed a disservice to the men and women in uniform to 
whom we owe such a deep debt of gratitude. It is simply inexcusable. We 
can and must do a better job by our injured troops, especially after 
asking them to do so much for us.
  I was glad to see actions to hold the Army and hospital leadership 
accountable, and the President's choice to create the Dole-Shalala 
Commission. Both Senator Dole and Secretary Shalala have the experience 
to craft solutions to improve the situation. I know they will be 
independent and offer a sound assessment of the problem with good 
solutions.
  Ultimately, our troops deserve the best. This is a bipartisan issue, 
and I look forward to working diligently on it.
  We must not rest until our troops are assured of the medical 
treatment that they so rightfully deserve.

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