Senate Republicans Reject Emergency Funding for Wounded Soldiers
Thursday, March 29, 2007
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CONTACT: Ben LaBolt
WASHINGTON, DC – A proposal to improve medical treatment for wounded soldiers introduced by Senators Barack Obama (D-IL) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO) was today rejected by Senate Republicans, following weeks of public outrage over the state of care for U.S. servicemembers at military hospitals. The amendment, which would have provided $103 million in funding for additional caseworkers and mental health counselors, a women’s mental health treatment program, and a comprehensive mental health study of returning soldiers, was based on the Dignity for Wounded Warriors Act the Senators introduced in February.
“Senate Republicans voted to continue the War in Iraq indefinitely, but they rejected essential funding to provide medical treatment for our brave soldiers who return home bearing the scars of war,” said Senator Obama. “The deplorable conditions at Walter Reed demonstrated that the state of care for our servicemembers is at a crisis level, and we must take action to ensure that we are prepared on the homefront to deal with the legacies of this war.”
“How can we send men and women to war, but refuse to pay for proper care when they return injured?” Senator McCaskill said. “By killing this amendment, the Republicans are keeping our service members from receiving the care they deserve.”
Specifically, the Obama-McCaskill amendment would have cut bureaucratic delays for service members by allocating funds to hire hundreds of new caseworkers at military hospitals around the country to make sure disability claims are processed in a timely fashion. It would have further eased the claims process by developing a secure system where service members can submit, track, and review paperwork via the Internet. Currently, service members wait an average of 209 days for their disability paperwork to be processed.
The measure also addressed concerns about the mental health care for troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. The measure would have allowed the Department of Defense to hire additional mental health and crisis counselors at military hospitals around the country and established a women’s mental health treatment program, to help service members and their families cope with the stress of combat injuries.
While the U.S. waited 15 years to study psychological problems of the Vietnam veterans, the Obama-McCaskill amendment would have directed the National Academy of Sciences to immediately examine the mental health and readjustment needs of those returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Obama vowed that his efforts to secure funding to improve services, reduce bureaucracy, and enhance treatment for servicemembers will continue.
“Our brave men and women in uniform didn’t hesitate when they were called to serve. We must not wait to improve care for our wounded warriors,” said Obama.