[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 6425]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          HELPING WOUNDED VETERANS AND THEIR FAMILY CAREGIVERS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Schrader). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey) is recognized for 
5 minutes.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, we have no greater obligation as a Congress 
and as a Nation than to look after the Americans who selflessly and 
patriotically have volunteered themselves into harm's way in Iraq, 
Afghanistan, and around the world. When they come home wheelchair-bound 
or with missing limbs or with a traumatic brain injury, they deserve 
nothing less than the very best treatment and care. Often, that care is 
provided not by health care professionals at a hospital, but by 
spouses, parents, other family members, or a loved one that isn't even 
next of kin. Many of these wonderful folks are already living on a 
tight budget. They're likely to be already caring for young children 
and/or aging parents. And often they have jobs they can't afford to 
lose.
  I've fought to give these families the support they need. I 
introduced the first-ever expansion of the Family and Medical Leave 
Act, which provided Americans with 6 months of unpaid leave--unpaid, 
should be paid--of unpaid leave to care for wounded servicemembers and 
their families. Last week, a bipartisan majority in the House took 
important new steps by passing the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus 
Health Services Act. This would ease the enormous burden falling on 
those whose loved ones return from war with a severe injury. It 
provides tools and training so they can be better caregivers. When they 
accompany a veteran on medical visits, their lodging would be paid for. 
They would also be eligible for a monthly stipend as well as health 
care benefits of their own. And when the stress becomes too great, 
which of course it does, counseling and respite care would be 
available.
  The bill also makes huge strides in recognizing the unique challenges 
faced by women who wear the uniform. It includes treatment for sexual 
trauma, which affects a staggering number of servicewomen. There is a 
child care pilot program so that women veterans can get the care they 
need without sacrificing the care of their children. Also, for the 
first time ever, there's neonatal care for the infants of returning 
soldiers giving birth.
  I wish I didn't have to vote for that bill last week because I wish 
that bill hadn't been necessary in the first place. Because the best 
way to support the men and women of the United States military, I 
believe, would be not to send them to fight in unnecessary wars in the 
first place.
  The tragedy is all the more poignant, Mr. Speaker, because these 
injuries are being sustained in conflicts that are doing little or 
nothing to advance our national security interests. I can't help but 
think how many military families would have been spared the struggle if 
we had taken a SMART security approach to fighting terrorism or if we 
had doubled down on humanitarian aid rather than resorting to 
aggression, invasion, and occupation.
  But as fiercely as I am in opposition to these two wars, I will never 
turn my back on the men and women who have been asked to fight them. In 
fact, the more skeptical you are about Iraq and Afghanistan, the 
greater you should be in your obligation to our troops on the front 
lines. There's one big solution to the strain on our veterans health 
care system and family caregivers, and that would be to reverse the 
disastrous policy that is creating more wounded combat veterans every 
single day.
  So, Mr. Speaker, I can think of no better way to honor our soldiers 
than to end these wars and to bring all of them home--and bring them 
home now.

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