[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 13060]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         OUR NATION'S VETERANS

  (Mr. TEAGUE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. TEAGUE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak on an issue that is 
dear to my heart--our Nation's veterans. Yesterday I introduced several 
bills that I believe would improve the quality of life for our veterans 
and continue to honor our commitment to them.
  My district is a highly rural district, and my veterans need access 
to qualified mental health professionals. I have submitted a bill that 
will establish a mental telehealth pilot project that will provide 
access to veterans that live in rural areas. This bill will make it 
possible for them to at least talk to a qualified specialist about the 
problems that they face as they re-adapt to home life.
  Secondly, a report in the Journal of Military Medicine stated that 
blasts from IEDs have caused a debilitating condition called tinnitus. 
I have introduced a bill that calls on the Department of Defense to 
screen for tinnitus and also calls on the VA to look for new ways of 
treating and curing tinnitus.
  We should never forget that freedom is not free. These men and women 
laid their lives on the line to protect us, and we should always do all 
we can to serve them as well as they served us.

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