[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 10065]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            SUPPORTING THE MENTAL HEALTH NEEDS OF OUR TROOPS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, last week, Members of this House were given 
a chance to put some real action behind the slogan, ``Support the 
Troops,'' because one of the spending votes that we had before us 
included a provision to support the 21st Century Veterans Bill of 
Rights.
  This Bill of Rights will restore full, 4-year college scholarships to 
veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars to help make these troops, 
these soldiers part of an economic recovery like the veterans of World 
War II.
  The first 2 years of the new GI Bill would cost what we spend in 2 
days in Iraq. Imagine that. We could provide our veterans with 2 years 
of the GI Bill for 2 days of what we spend in Iraq. And yet some folks 
here in the House could not bring themselves to support the provision. 
All I can say is, what does that say to our brave men and women in 
uniform?
  Veterans who have sacrificed for our country deserve to receive our 
Nation's support. The administration sent them to Iraq, and because 
they are vigilant and dedicated, very few of us standing here today 
serving in the U.S. House of Representatives or Senate have sent our 
sons and daughters over there.

                              {time}  1800

  We haven't had to watch our kids be killed or wounded.
  And we must not let our troops down. A prime example of letting them 
down comes from one of our Nation's top research arms, the National 
Institute of Mental Health. In a recently released report, the 
Institute found that the number of suicides among veterans of the wars 
of Iraq and Afghanistan may exceed the combat death toll because of 
inadequate mental health care. According to the Director of Community 
Mental Health Centers, hobbled by financial limits, haven't provided 
enough scientifically sound care, especially in rural areas.
  We've lost more than 4,000 of our Nation's bravest to deadly attacks 
in Iraq alone. How can a nation stand by while we lose that many men 
and women to suicide? It is unbelievable that we would be allowing this 
to happen.
  According to a report by the Rand Corporation, soldiers who have been 
exposed to combat trauma were the most likely to suffer from depression 
or post-traumatic stress disorder. About 53 percent of soldiers sought 
treatment during the past year; half of those who received care were 
judged by Rand researchers to have gotten inadequate treatment. That 
means about three-quarters of those in need of mental health assistance 
are going without or are receiving inadequate treatment. Is that how a 
grateful nation shows its appreciation?
  Meeting the needs of our returning troops should be how we show our 
appreciation, and it should be paramount in our fiscal deliberations. 
But we can go one step further. We can bring our troops home. We can 
reject the administration's call to send more troops into the theater. 
Once we fully fund the safe and orderly redeployment of our troops and 
military contractors, we can focus our efforts on the men and women 
walking with hidden wounds, the wounds of PTSD.
  I urge my colleagues to reject a blank check for the administration's 
endless occupation of Iraq. When the House receives the Senate-passed 
supplemental, we must oppose any bill that does not truly support our 
troops. We must oppose any spending that is not dedicated to 
redeploying our soldiers home to their families.
  We must bring our troops home. We must end the occupation of Iraq. 
And we must provide the troops with the care and services they need. We 
must show them just how much we appreciate their service.

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