[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 17943]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 HARRIS COUNTY VETERAN'S COURT PROGRAM

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 19, 2012

  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, since the United States of America 
entered the War on Terror, many things have changed with what our 
troops encounter overseas. Our soldiers are not only fighting a war 
where guerrilla tactics, suicide bombings, and targeted killings are 
used, but they are fighting over values and morals versus territory. 
This war has not been in one specific country, but takes place wherever 
our enemies are attacking or hiding.
  A lot has changed in this modern day war, but thankfully a lot has 
changed with how we help our troops when they return home. 2.4 million 
Americans have fought in Iraq or Afghanistan and the Department of 
Veterans Affairs have diagnosed roughly 200,000 of those Americans with 
post-traumatic stress disorder with many more that have gone 
undiagnosed. Many of these men have come home and are still fighting 
internal demons from these perilous places that they have returned 
from.
  Thankfully, Harris County Texas District Judge, Marc Carter, an Army 
veteran himself noticed that many of the defendants coming through the 
Harris County courts were veterans who had recently come home from 
fighting overseas. Judge Carter is judge of the 228th Criminal District 
Court of Texas. He replaced me after I served as judge in that court 
for 22 years.
  Judge Carter and other members of the Harris County community 
recognized this problem in 2009 and took the initiative to create the 
first veteran's court in the state of Texas. The Harris County 
Veteran's Court Program specifically works with first time misdemeanors 
and felonies. If veterans choose to go through the program instead of 
going to prison, it requires two years of probation and treatment.
  The reason why the Veteran's Court Program is so successful is 
because it addresses the root of the problem, which is PTSD and drug 
abuse. Many of these veterans are still mentally overseas fighting for 
our and their lives and these programs give them the help they need to 
readjust back into society. Since 2008 veteran's treatment courts have 
been created in 27 States.
  These men have been to the darkest places on earth to protect the 
American people and although there is a lot we owe our veterans, most 
importantly, we owe them a second chance.
  And that's just the way it is.

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