Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., praised the unanimous Senate passage of a bill that is geared to improve management of health care facilities for wounded soldiers and also increase military pay.

            "This legislation will help make sure that our returning troops not only get the physical care they need, but also psychological help. It includes mental health care and specifies that the plan should address post-traumatic stress disorder for early detection. Our nation’s veterans and families deserve programs to ensure their quality of life. Returning soldiers should have state of the art care and help to integrate back into the communities they fought to protect," said Enzi.

            The Wounded Warrior Assistance Act of 2007, H.R. 1538, would increase pay for military men and women by 3.6 percent. The bill would increase the quality of health care facilities for soldiers, improve transition for troops whose medical care is transferred from the Department of Defense to the Department of Veterans Affairs and increase the sharing of medical records between the two Departments. The bill would improve severance pay to help support families while soldiers recover, increase funding for treatment of traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder and provide support for wounded troops whose health insurance programs have gaps in coverage and medical treatment.

            The bill passed the House of Representatives on March 28, 2007 by a vote of 426-0. The bill is now ready for a conference committee where the Senate and House will work out differences between the two versions of the bill.