Wounded Warrior Assistance Act

I rise in support of the rule and in strong support of H.R. 1538, the Wounded Warrior Assistance Act.

All of us and all Americans support our troops.

As I've said before, they must have, and we must provide, that which they need for any mission on which they are sent.

And they must have, and we must provide, that which they need when they return home.

It is an outrage that our brave men and women, who have served our nation so honorably, have returned home, and as recent press accounts have revealed, faced problems getting the care they so rightly deserve.

My home state, Ohio, has 6,347 brave soldiers currently serving in Afghanistan and Iraq and if they are injured in any way, they must have the care they need when they return home.

And the roughly 60,000 veterans in my Congressional District, the over one million veterans in Ohio and all of our veterans across this nation deserve better support and assistance than many of them have received.

That is what the bipartisan Wounded Warrior Assistance Act does.

The legislation before us arose out of a lack of oversight and transparency that should have been in place, but was neglected by the Administration and past Congresses.

Our bill improves the management of medical care and quality of life issues for our wounded warriors and for all of our veterans.

Our bill ensures that our wounded soldiers and their families can feel secure in the knowledge that they will be properly cared for and treated with the respect and dignity that they have earned and most certainly deserve.

This bill will ensure that all of our veterans get the care and assistance they need and improves the overall veteran's healthcare system to make it easier for them to access and use.

Lastly, this bill puts into place strong oversight and inspection requirements to ensure that the events at Walter Reed and other facilities around this nation never, ever, happen again.

Passing this rule and the underlying legislation is not only what we should do, it is what we must do for our brave service members.

Let's pass this rule and pass this very important bill.

Thank you.