Dean, DNC Veterans Council: Our Wounded Heroes Deserve More Than Lip Service

[MaineDem]

Dean, DNC Veterans Council: Our Wounded Heroes Deserve More Than Lip Service

Washington, DC - With President Bush receiving the report of a special
commission on improving care for our wounded soldiers today, the
Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean and DNC’s Veterans
and Military Families Council Chairman Don Fowler demanded that
President Bush join Democrats in providing our wounded heroes the
resources they need.

The President's Commission on Care for America's Returning Wounded
Warriors, co-chaired by former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole and
former Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala, was formed
last March after media reports revealed the dreadful conditions at
medical centers treating wounded soldiers returning from Iraq. The
Commission’s report comes on the same day Democrats in the Senate
voted to the cut the red tape confronting our wounded warriors and
veterans, provide $50 million to improve diagnosis of traumatic brain
injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder, boost severance pay for
wounded soldiers, and help close the gap between military and
veteran’s health care benefits.

Earlier this year, the Democratic Congress also passed the largest
increase in veterans' health care funding in our nation's history. By
contrast, despite a barrage of empty rhetoric about supporting our
veterans and military families, President Bush has consistently
underfunded the Veterans Administration, even including a two percent
cut in his 2008 budget proposal.

Dean and Fowler issued the following statement on the release of the
Commission’s report:

“President Bush has an obligation to the brave men and women wounded
in service to our country to not treat this report like he treated the
Iraq Study Group or the 9/11 Commission by paying lip service to it
before sticking it on a shelf somewhere to rot. The American people were
shocked to learn of the dreadful conditions at facilities treating our
heroes wounded on the battlefield. Democrats responded by taking real
steps to improve the care they receive and kept our promise to
America’s veterans and military families by passing the largest
increase in veterans' health care funding in history. The time has come
for President Bush and the Bush Republicans in Congress to join us in
truly putting our veterans and military families first.”

The following is a summary of the issues confronted by the Wounded
Warriors bill passed by the Senate today:
● The substandard facilities at Walter Reed and other military
hospitals;
● The lack of seamless transition when medical care for troops is
transferred from the Department of Defense to the Veterans
Administration, which often leads to diminished care;
● The inadequacy of severance pay to help those who have
sacrificed so much already support their families while they recover;
● The need to improve sharing of medical records between the
Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs;
● The inadequate care and treatment for traumatic brain injury
(TBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) by authorizing $50
million for improved diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation; and
● The challenges facing wounded troops whose health insurance
programs, like the Tricare program for retired veterans, have allowed
gaps in coverage and medical treatment.

###

Paid for and authorized by the Democratic National Committee,
www.democrats.org. This communication is not authorized by any candidate
or candidate's committee.

[madfloridian]

1. Kick because the good stuff goes unnoticed.

Most here only want to talk about the "bad Dems" who don't stand up.