Wounded Warrior Assistance Act of 2007 now goes before full House
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Legislation proposed by U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords to improve Department of Defense monitoring of service members experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder was approved Tuesday by the House Armed Services Committee.
The proposal is now part of the Wounded Warrior Assistance Act of 2007, a bipartisan measure overhauling military medical care for service members wounded in combat.
“We owe our men and women in uniform nothing less than the very best medical care,” said Giffords, whose southeastern Arizona congressional district is home to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and the Fort Huachuca Army post. “Our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines are prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice for their country. We must be prepared to make sure their health needs are met.”
Recent statistics from the Department of Veterans Affairs suggest that the rate of post-traumatic stress disorder among Iraq war veterans may be as high as 20 percent. Among Vietnam veterans, who have had more time for symptoms to emerge, the post-traumatic stress disorder rate is 30 percent.
“Post-traumatic stress disorder is an issue that will face this nation for decades to come,” said Giffords, who last month visited with seriously wounded service men at the Southern Arizona VA Hospital in Tucson. After the tour, the congresswoman held the first meeting with her Veterans Advisory Council and heard about the growing need for timely mental health care for service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Giffords' legislation requires the Department of Defense to develop a system to track early warning signs of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and other mental health disorders among service members receiving outpatient medical care. The legislation passed the committee with unanimous bipartisan support.
The Wounded Warrior Assistance Act, H. R. 1538, is a first step by the Armed Services Committee to address the inadequate living conditions and administrative snafus experienced by some service members at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The act designates an independent advocate to help service members appearing before medical evaluation boards and establishes a 12-member panel appointed by Congress, the Department of Defense and the White House to provide an independent review of how wounded service members are treated.
“This bill is a commitment from Congress that the kind of scandal in service member health care we saw at Walter Reed never happens again,” said Giffords.