![Supporting Our Troops](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20081126190701im_/http://bayh.senate.gov/imo/media/image/banner10.jpg)
As our courageous servicemen and women continue to fight two wars across the ocean, Senator Bayh is working diligently to provide them with the equipment they need to stay safe in the field while giving military families the financial support they deserve until our troops come home. Additionally, Senator Bayh has spearheaded efforts to improve our military health care system to ensure that our wounded warriors have access to first-rate care when they return stateside to nurse the wounds of war.
Protective Equipment for Combat Troops
Senator Bayh is committed to making sure all U.S. troops and intelligence operatives in harm’s way have the protective equipment necessary for their safety and success in the field. He has been a vocal critic of the Pentagon’s failure to accurately estimate the number of armored vehicles needed to keep our combat troops safe. He helped secure $1.3 billion for additional heavily armored Humvees for troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan as part of the 2008 Defense Appropriations bill, as well as $23.6 billion for Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles in the Senate version of the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act. He has also worked to accelerate funding for Predator Unmanned Aerial Vehicles that can find, track, and immediately strike an enemy threat without putting a single American soldier’s life at risk.
Financial Support for Military Families
Senator Bayh has worked to alleviate financial burdens placed on our military men and women due to their service overseas. To support our National Guard and Reserve members on active duty, he fought to eliminate the Patriot Penalty, a pay cut many National Guard and Reserve members face when they are called to duty and lose their civilian salaries. The Senate passed his legislation to provide reservists with a direct payment of up to $3,000 per month to make up for the difference between their civilian and military salaries. Senator Bayh also passed a law to protect military families who are facing foreclosure, eviction or loan default due to financial hardship imposed by their service. His Servicemembers’ Home Protection Act of 2005 levies fines against financial institutions that ignore their responsibilities to educate our soldiers about their rights, while penalizing lenders for foreclosing on military homes. Senator Bayh also introduced the Interest Relief Act last year to suspend accrual of interest on federal student loans for active duty soldiers and their spouses for up to five years while on active duty.
Treating Traumatic Brain Injury
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) has been called the “signature injury” of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Thousands of American soldiers have returned from battle with a TBI, which can be caused by shrapnel that penetrates the skull or by shockwaves from IEDs and mortars that leave no visible signs of injury. Unfortunately, bureaucratic red tape has made it difficult for many soldiers to obtain the specialized care they need to recover properly. Most problems have occurred when soldiers with TBI have been transferred from active duty status to retired, where they can no longer access private care centers. Senator Bayh authored and passed legislation allowing severely wounded soldiers to retain their active duty medical benefits for up to three years from the date of their injury. By retaining these benefits, soldiers will have the option of receiving treatment at either military or private facilities that specialize in cutting-edge cognitive therapies.
Ensuring Timely, Quality Care
The September 2007 death of Indiana National Guardsman Sgt. Gerald Cassidy illustrated the tragic shortcomings of our military health care system that were initially exposed at Walter Reed Medical Center earlier in the year. Sgt. Cassidy returned from Iraq with a traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder, only to receive substandard care while stationed at an Army medical recovery unit in Fort Knox, Ky. He waited weeks between medical appointments and five months for approval of a transfer order to a private care facility in Indianapolis. At a hearing last November, Senator Bayh pressed Army Secretary Pete Geren to explain why “the enemy could not kill him but our own government did.” Geren admitted that the system had failed Sgt. Cassidy and that his treatment was “unacceptable.” A month later, Senator Bayh passed legislation in direct response to the circumstances surrounding Sgt. Cassidy’s death. The Bayh provisions require the Department of Defense and the Veterans Administration to establish maximum waiting times for soldiers seeking specialty care, diagnostic referrals and medically necessary surgery. They also create a new referral standard to ensure that wounded soldiers are sent to the facility most appropriate for their injury, including universities, rehabilitation hospitals, and private care centers.