Bill would reform treatment of wounded vets

Bill would reform treatment of wounded vets

By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Mar 1, 2007 17:00:08 EST
In the wake of the continuing scandal over the housing and medical evaluation process for wounded service members at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, House and Senate Democrats have unveiled a sweeping bill promising comprehensive reforms of how combat veterans and their families are treated.

Called the Dignity for Wounded Warriors Act, the bill would mandate housing standards for the wounded, overhaul disability review boards, require one caseworker for every 20 recovering service members, extend job protections for service members to include family members who are at their side during recovery, demand that an ombudsmen be available around the clock by phone and in any hospital with more than 100 patients, and create a new independent oversight board to monitor how recovering service members are treated.

Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, a Democratic presidential candidate and a Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee member who is the chief sponsor of the bill, said it is designed to “not only fix problems at Walter Reed but improve conditions at other hospitals.”

“We think this is a comprehensive bill,” he said.

“This is not window dressing,” said Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., one of the co-sponsors. “This is not a new coat of paint.”

Rep. Harry Mitchell, D-Ariz., one of the House co-sponsors, said, “It is appalling and absolutely unacceptable for our wounded troops to return from the front lines and receive this kind of treatment. We are going to investigate this and do everything we can to make sure this never happens to our brave men and women again."

The bill, introduced in the House and Senate, breaks down into six parts.

http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/03/TNSobamabill070301/