The Iraq Accountability Project: A Wrap-Up of This Week's Senate Oversight on Iraq
This week, as Senate Democrats voted to give the troops the resources and strategy they need to complete their mission in Iraq, Senate committees continued to pursue aggressive oversight of the President's conduct of the war. The President must drop his veto threat and work with Congress to change course.
Tuesday, March 27th
Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs
"DOD/VA Collaboration and Cooperation to Meet the Health Care Needs of Returning Servicemembers"
Senators demanded accountability for inadequate veterans' health care that remains poorly planned and mismanaged after five years of war in Iraq.
SEN. AKAKA: The focus, today, is on how DOD [Department of Defense] and VA [Department of Veterans Affairs] are working to meet the health care needs of those transitioning from service, especially those who have sustained serious traumas.... There is much talk about seamless transition, but it is far from clear that the talk is matched by effective action. This is not a new issue, but it seems that now more than ever, when the demand is so great, we find that there is more talk than action. We have entered the fifth year of this war. I cannot help but wonder why so many things are still being planned, still being discussed. Why is it that DOD and VA still can not make the handoff of wounded servicemembers more effectively? Why do budgets still not reflect that caring for veterans is part of the cost of war?
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SEN. SANDERS: The men and women of our Armed Forces are having to endure what some have called "a second battlefield" when they return home here to the U.S. and try to get the care and benefits they are entitled. This is unacceptable. For veterans already dealing with the pain and trauma of their injuries to have to deal with bureaucratic red tape and foot dragging is shameful. Not only that, but these soldiers have often suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury and/or are experiencing symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and other conditions. It is a moral outrage that we have a system that forces these veterans to fend for themselves, keeping track of all the complicated benefits, paperwork, and appointments that currently exist in our system. Haven't these soldiers sacrificed enough?
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SEN. MURRAY: I've just about had it with Administration officials who assure us everything is being taken care of. I know you work hard, but we are going to judge you by the results you get for our veterans, and we're going to hold you accountable.
Tammy Duckworth testified that the VA is "decades behind" the latest prosthetics technology and called for improvements to the veterans' health care system.
Tammy Duckworth, IRAQ WAR VETERAN AND Director, Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs: Since my last appearance, I have undergone the transition from DOD to VA health care and have had an overall positive experience. However, compared to the experiences of other servicemembers, I know that my mine is not uniform across the nation.... The one negative experience was the prosthetics department, which, while eager to meet my needs, was many decades behind in prosthetics technology.... I recommend that the VA expand its existing SHARE program that allows patients to access private prosthetic practitioners. There is simply not enough time for USDVA to catch up in the field in time to adequately serve the new amputees from OIF/OEF [Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom] during these critical first two years following amputation. Perhaps after the end of the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the VA will have time to advance its prosthetics program.
In addition to medical treatment, Seamless Transition is also the passing from one administrative program to another. The Seamless Transition initiative needs to be expanded to each state's VA, and more importantly, local counties and municipalities.... One of the greatest difficulties for state VA agencies is the tracking of returning servicemembers who come home from active duty status. We at the states only find out about these individuals if they self-report to our agency. It appears that a significant difficulty with the Seamless Transition between DOD and USDVA is the sharing of servicemember's information....
Any Seamless transition program must also include comprehensive screening for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and vision loss by both the DOD and the USDVA Health Care systems. I know that efforts are underway to strengthen these assessments by both the DOD and the USDVA. However, there is no standard procedure in place to insure that all war wounded are screened nation-wide.
An Iraq War veteran testified that many VA practitioners have become specialists in geriatric care and are ill-equipped to deal with the needs of a new generation of young veterans.
JONATHAN PRUDEN, IRAQ WAR VETERAN: At VA facilities I have been asked at least a dozen times if I lost my leg to diabetes/vascular disease. VA practitioners have become specialists in geriatrics and have very little experience with blast injuries and young patients. Currently the majority of their patients are over 50, however these doctors are facing a new wave of veterans with different needs. While reestablishing Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) may be an acceptable goal for an 80 year old veteran, OEF/OIF veterans typically want to return to the active lives they led before being wounded.
A mother of an Iraq War veteran called for the same quality of veterans' health care that officials would want for their own children.
Denise Mettie: I am representing my son, retired Army Specialist Evan Mettie, who was injured in Iraq on January 1, 2006 and the Wounded Warrior Project, a group that assists wounded servicemembers from Iraq and Afghanistan.... Many of the challenges we faced are being encountered by others in similar situations. If you take but a few things from this story, please let it be this. Traumatic Brain Injured patients and families need time to adjust to the reality of their situations, and it is unfair to quickly begin the retirement process for individuals with such an unknown and unpredictable injury, especially when retirement limits care options. Give us time to get our feet under us and understand what we are dealing with. Traumatic Brain Injured patients and families need options. I know that the VA is building their program, and I understand that it continues to make progress. Still there are many private hospitals which have many years of experience in treating and rehabilitating patients like my son. It is unfair to deny us access to the same level of care that you would choose for your children.
SEN. MURRAY: Our country owes you and your son an apology. Your son fought a war for our country. You shouldn't have had to fight every day to get him the care he deserves.... War is expensive and if we don't face the full costs of war including caring for our veterans we'll never be able to get the resources and help families like Evan's need. We need the truth, so we can set the right budget and the right policies.... It's easy to whitewash a moldy wall. It's a lot harder to make sure that our veterans are taken care of every step of the way.
A witness criticized the Administration for ignoring the efforts of private medical facilities to help with veterans' health care.
Dr. Bruce M. Gans, Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation: The reason I am speaking with you today is to share my experience regarding how in the past we tried, without success, to offer our medical rehabilitation services to returning military personnel, both active military and veterans.... About four years ago, when it became apparent that serious injuries were being incurred by growing numbers of our troops, we at Kessler tried to reach out to offer our services to the DOD and VA. We called, wrote, emailed, and in other ways tried to engage medical and administrative leaders in the Departments and individual facilities to offer our assistance. Unfortunately, at that time we were unable to find a receptive ear.... The solution is obvious: establish a mechanism for qualified civilian rehabilitation hospitals to contract with the VA and DOD to provide high quality services to our injured, both now and for the long term.
