[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 12502]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   INTRODUCTION OF THE HONORING OUR NATION'S OBLIGATION TO RETURNING 
                              WARRIORS ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. MARK UDALL

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 12, 2008

  Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Madam Speaker, today I am introducing the 
Honoring Our Nation's Obligation to Returning Warriors Act (HONOR 
Warriors Act), along with my colleague and friend Representative John 
Salazar (D-CO). It is a companion bill to S. 3008, bipartisan 
legislation authored by Senator Kit Bond of Missouri and Senator 
Barbara Boxer of California.
  This legislation recognizes that our servicemembers returning from 
Iraq and Afghanistan need and deserve improved mental health care 
services. The HONOR Warriors Act will provide better mental health care 
treatment for these military members and veterans, enhance care for 
military families, and better prepare our troops to cope with stress 
related to combat.
  The Pentagon acknowledged recently that Post-Traumatic Stress 
Disorder (PTSD) and major depression are affecting an ever greater 
number of U.S. troops. Nearly 40,000 troops have been diagnosed with 
PTSD since 2003, up 50 percent just last year. The RAND Corporation 
found even more disturbing statistics recently: Nearly 20 percent of 
all military servicemembers who have returned from Iraq and 
Afghanistan--300,000 total--have reported symptoms of PTSD or severe 
depression. More than 600,000 returning troops suffer from PTSD or 
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), or both. With many our servicemembers 
deploying for their third or fourth tours to Iraq, we can expect that 
these numbers will continue to rise.
  Treating these mental health problems is in some ways more difficult 
than treating wounds we can see. PTSD is the ``invisible wound'' that 
some soldiers don't even know they have, and the onset of its symptoms 
can be delayed, making it even harder to recognize. In addition, 
because of the stigma attached to PTSD, estimates are that nearly 50 
percent of troops don't seek treatment. They are ashamed to seek help 
or fear that a diagnosis of mental illness will harm their careers.
  The recent RAND report also found that of those who do seek help for 
PTSD, only about half receive treatment that is considered to be 
``minimally adequate.'' With its shortage of funds and trained staff, 
it is clear that our military mental health care system isn't prepared 
to deal with this growing mental health crisis.
  This is unacceptable. If the Pentagon can't act to help these injured 
servicemembers who have sacrificed so much for our country, then 
Congress must. That's why I am introducing this legislation--to ensure 
that the mental health needs of our military members and veterans are 
addressed now. The legislation will:
  Create a scholarship program to educate and train behavioral health 
care specialists to serve servicemembers and veterans;
  Give active-duty servicemembers access to Vet Centers, which 
currently provide readjustment counseling, outreach, and mental health 
care services to veterans only;
  Extend survivor benefits to families of military personnel who commit 
suicide and have a history of combat-related mental health conditions, 
PTSD, or TBI;
  Provide grants to non-profit organizations to offer services to 
survivors of members of the Armed Forces and veterans;
  Establish pilot programs to better prepare servicemembers for combat 
through a focus on improved prevention, early detection, intervention, 
and treatment of PTSD. The bill sets up two locations for these 
programs--Fort Carson in Colorado, and Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri.
  With Veterans Affairs Secretary James Peake himself suggesting a few 
weeks ago that concerns about PTSD and TBI are overblown, it's clear 
that Congress needs to step in to ensure that our servicemembers and 
veterans suffering from the invisible wounds of PTSD and major 
depression are getting the support they deserve. They shouldn't have to 
fight another war to get proper care once they return home. Providing 
prompt and effective treatment to our returning troops can help prevent 
many of the negative effects related to PTSD and depression. It's the 
least we can do to repay them for the sacrifices they have made for our 
country.

                          ____________________