I would like to thank the Members of the Committee, our witnesses, and all those in the audience for being here today.

Over 33,000 servicemembers have been wounded in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Due to improved battlefield medicine, those who might have died in past conflicts are now surviving, many with multiple serious injuries such as amputations, traumatic brain injury (TBI), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

In February 2007, a series of Washington Post articles about conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center highlighted the challenges our veterans face.

The Wounded Warrior provisions of the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act were intended to address these issues. Many of them require the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DoD) to collaborate to improve the care, management and transition of recovering service members.

The hearing today will explore the progress the two Departments have made in implementing the Wounded Warrior provisions.

To improve care management in the Army, 32 Warrior Transition Units were established. Injured Soldiers are now assigned a primary care manager, nurse case manager and a squad leader to guide them through their recovery.

The rapid creation of WTUs are a success, however according to GAO several challenges remain, including hiring medical staff in a competitive market, replacing temporarily borrowed personnel with permanent staff, and getting eligible servicemembers into the units.

In December 2007, the VA, in coordination with DOD and the Department of Health and Human Services, established the joint Federal Recovery Coordinator Program to coordinate clinical and non-clinical care for severely injured and ill servicemembers. As of May 7, 2008, there were only six field staff members working with 85 patients at three sites. I look forward to hearing how effective this program has been and how it will be expanded to benefit more veterans.

As our injured veterans transition from the military health system to the VA system, they face the difficulty of navigating through two different and cumbersome disability evaluation systems. The current system is a source of stress and frustration for many veterans.

Last November, DoD and VA jointly initiated a 1-year pilot program to evaluate a streamlined evaluation system. I hope the departments will be able to expand this program in the coming months.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) are considered by many to be the signature injury of the war. According to a RAND Corporation report released on April 17, 2008, nearly 300,000 veterans of OEF and OIF are suffering from PTSD or major depression and nearly 20 percent of the 1.64 million veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan reported a probable traumatic brain injury (TBI) during deployment.

Unfortunately, these veterans are not getting the care they deserve. Only 43 percent of those reporting a probable TBI have been evaluated by a physician for brain injury and only half of those who meet the criteria for PTSD or major depression sought help from a physician or mental health provider. This is not acceptable and we must do better.

In November 2007, the DoD established the Center of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury. I look forward to hearing how the VA and DoD are working together to conduct research and develop best practices.

An essential component towards improving continuity of care for veterans is the development of an interoperable electronic health record. This will allow for the seamless transfer of medical information between departments.

Over the past year and half, both Departments have made significant progress towards improving care management and transition of recovering servicemembers. However, much work remains to be done. I look forward to hearing what progress has been made, what obstacles remain and how this Committee can help the two Departments move ahead.

We look forward to an informative hearing, and a frank exchange. We wish to thank Terri Tanielian and Lisa Jaycox on our first panel for coming before us today to provide us with the background we need to begin this discussion, and we thank Mr. Dominguez and Admiral Dunne for joining us to give us updates from DoD and the VA.

No matter where we stand on the war in Iraq, we all stand together in our desire to make sure that our returning servicemembers get the seamless health care they need, and the benefits they have earned.