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SENATE BACKS VETERANS' HEALTHCARE OVERHAUL AND
MILITARY PAY RAISE -- Separates measures from
defense
policy legislation and passes by unanimous
consent.
Story here...
http://www.bloomberg.com/
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Story below:
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Senate Backs Veterans Health-Care Overhaul,
Military Pay Raise
By Nicholas Johnston
(Bloomberg) -- The Senate today agreed to overhaul health-care programs
for wounded veterans and give a 3.5 percent pay raise to military
personnel, reviving two measures that stalled last week because of a
dispute on the war in Iraq.
Both measures were part of defense policy legislation that was shelved
last week after Republicans blocked amendments that would have forced
President George W. Bush to alter his war strategy.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the two provisions were
considered separately because troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan
are ``basically being neglected.''
The veterans-health-care measure was drafted in response to reports of
substandard care at the Army's Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington.
The bill creates programs to better track injured service members and
enhance treatments for brain injuries and post-traumatic stress
disorders.
A nine-member commission headed by former Senator Bob Dole of Kansas and
former Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala gave a report
to Bush today at the White House on recommendations to improve veterans
health care.
The commission spent three months investigating conditions at Walter
Reed Army Medical Center and other facilities. It is making
recommendations to ensure ``that our wounded heroes get the best
possible care'' from the Defense Department and Veterans Administration,
Bush said.
`Deserve the Best'
The recommendations are based on the ``perspective of the patient'' who
worked his or her way through the system, Bush said. The troops
recovering from injuries suffered in Iraq and Afghanistan ``deserve the
best,'' he said.
The House of Representatives passed veterans health-care legislation in
March. Any differences between the two measures must be ironed out
before legislation can be sent to Bush for his signature.
Republican Jon Kyl of Arizona criticized the practice of plucking
provisions from the defense policy measure and passing them separately,
without addressing the full legislation.
``That's not the end of the story if we're really going to support the
mission of our troops,'' he said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Nicholas Johnston in Washington
at njohnston3@bloomberg.net
.
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Larry Scott --
