Bush prods Congress on legislation for wounded - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

Bush prods Congress on legislation for wounded

WASHINGTON — President Bush pushed Congress on Tuesday to help modernize the government’s inefficient system that cares for wounded veterans of war.

The president said his administration had implemented most recommendations made in July by a bipartisan commission, and now it was Congress’ turn to finish the job.

Bush sent legislation to Capitol Hill for implementing those recommendations that require legislative action.

“Medical advances have enabled battlefield medics and hospitals to provide our wounded warriors with care that would have been unimaginable just a decade ago,” Bush said, standing in the Rose Garden with wounded troops.

“Yet our system for managing this care has fallen behind. It’s an old system. It’s an antiquated system. It’s an outdated system that needs to be changed.”

Bush set up the commission after shoddy outpatient treatment was uncovered in February at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington that prompted public outcry for improvements.

Bush said the legislation will streamline the way disabilities are evaluated and compensation is awarded to injured service members.

He said the legislation also proposes to emphasize rehabilitation and retraining; improve treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder; provide new support and financial incentives for therapy and education; and strengthen support for families during the recovery process.

Former Republican Sen. Bob Dole, and Donna Shalala, secretary of Health and Human Services during the Clinton administration, jointly led the nine-member presidential commission. In an op-ed published Tuesday in The Washington Post, they expressed concern that their commission’s recommendations were being swept up “into a decades-long battle” to reform the entire disability system for all service members.

At the White House, Dole acknowledged that some people claim the commission should have worked to reform the whole system. But he said the commission’s charge from the president was to limit its review to Iraq and Afghanistan.

“It is time to decide — do we reform the current military and veterans’ disability evaluation and compensation systems or limp along, placing Band-Aids over existing flaws?” the op-ed asked.

Related reading:

• Disability pay can depend on where you live

• Spouse group: Action needed for wounded vets