I would like to thank everyone for attending today’s Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing entitled, Transitioning Heroes:  New Era, Same Problems?  Thank you especially to our witnesses for testifying today.

We are here today to address what both the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs are doing to assist the men and women of our armed forces to seamlessly transition back to civilian life.  Time and again, we have heard from our returning service members, expecting a smooth transition back to the lives they once lived, only to find themselves lost in a complex and frustrating bureaucracy.

Today, we will hear from a severely injured veteran, Sergeant Sean Johnson, who was hit by a mortar round in Iraq and is now completely blind.  Although he has received excellent treatment at the Blind Rehabilitation Center in Chicago, he was never assigned a Federal Care Coordinator, after contacting the VA almost a year ago.  In addition, Sergeant Johnson has also found himself experiencing the hardships of navigating through both the DOD system and VA system at the same time.

This is just one example of many.  Sergeant Johnson joins those veterans and their families who share the same concerns that our Veterans Service Organizations will voice here today.

Additionally, as I have said before, outreach to our nation’s veterans is an equally important task.  Both the VA and DOD must ensure that veterans and their families are properly informed about the benefits and services they have earned when they return to civilian life. 

Proactively bringing the VA to our veterans, as opposed to waiting for veterans to find the VA, is a critical part of delivering the care they have earned in exchange for their brave service.

The VA should be a place where veterans can easily, and with confidence, go for the help they seek, but the VA must also be willing to reach out to these veterans. Effective outreach will not only ensure better delivery of services for our veterans, but will also increase morale.

I am hopeful that today, both the VA and DOD will shed light on what they are doing to make certain our veterans are receiving the best possible care available; they are being provided with the services and resources they have earned; and most importantly, that the two Departments are working together to ensure that these earned benefits are seamlessly delivered. 

I believe that all my colleagues join me in being steadfast in our hopes that Secretary Shinseki, as he transforms the VA into a 21st century organization, will help eliminate the stigma that so many of our nation’s veterans have placed upon the VA.  We must ensure that both the VA and DOD are working together and providing veterans the services that they rightfully deserve. 

Again, thank you to all our witnesses for testifying today, and we look forward to hearing your testimony.