    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2007, Book I)]
    [March 16, 2007]
    [Pages 321-322]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Following a Meeting With the President's Commission on Care for
    America's Returning Wounded Warriors
    March 16, 2007

        A couple of weeks ago, I announced that Senator Dole and Secretary Shalala agreed
    to chair a commission of our fellow citizens to look into the health
    care that our veterans and those in the military are receiving.
        Today I was pleased to meet the Commission
    members that have been selected. We've got Purple Heart recipients; got
    the wife of a severely wounded troop; we've got a doctor; we've got
    compassionate people who all care about whether or not our Government is
    fulfilling its responsibility to make sure our health care systems, both
    at DOD, Defense Department, and at the Veterans Administration, are
    meeting our obligations.

    [[Page 322]]

        And I assured the members of this committee that I will
    support their work and will address the problems that they find. We owe
    it to those who wear the uniform and their families to make sure that
    our troops have the best, and that's what this Commission is meant to
    do. And I thank you for your willingness to serve. You're doing the
    country a great service, because the Commission report will ensure that
    service goes beyond my time in office. In other words, it'll really set
    the stage for this Presidency and other Presidencies, set a standard
    that we expect Government to follow.
        So thanks for being here; appreciate your time.

    Note: The President spoke at 9:10 a.m. in Room 180 of the Dwight D.
    Eisenhower Executive Office Building. In his remarks, he referred to
    former Sen. Robert J. Dole and former Secretary of Health and Human
    Services Donna E. Shalala, Cochairs, President's Commission on Care for
    America's Returning Wounded Warriors.