Mr. Chairman, I want to thank you and Ranking Member Buyer for holding this important hearing on implementing the wounded warrior provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008. It is important that we examine the progress of the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense in carrying out these provisions so we can improve the care, management, and transition of recovering servicemembers.

Throughout American history, the men and women of our armed forces have answered their nation’s call to battle. These men and women have bravely sacrificed for our country and defended our freedom while risking their lives and livelihoods. Unfortunately, for veterans wounded while fighting for our country, the conflict does not end when they leave the battlefield. Many of our servicemembers return home with life-changing injuries and disabilities.

Currently, there are more than two million veterans with service connected injuries or illnesses. Thousands of these veterans have returned from Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, many with psychological distress from the horrors of war and severe injuries from IED attacks and other hazards.

Modern medical science has allowed many of these veterans to survive injuries that would have proven fatal in previous wars. But there is still much work that needs to be done to adequately treat our wounded warriors. Military and VA hospitals are filling with veterans suffering from traumatic brain injuries and post-dramatic stress syndrome.

We must ensure that our wounded warriors receive the best care available to treat their injuries when they return home. We made a promise to these soldiers that they would be cared for when they return home, and that promise must be fulfilled.

Our servicemembers deserve the best available medical, mental health, and dental care services when they return home. And we must ensure that our soldiers have a seamless transition from military service to veteran status, so they will continue to get the best treatment possible.

In my own district, wounded warriors may have experienced additional problems receiving proper care because of the closure of the Southeast Louisiana VA Hospital due to damage caused by Hurricane Katrina. Because of this closure, approximately 221,000 veterans in a twenty-three parish area in southeast Louisiana are having to travel up to four hours to go to other VA hospitals just to receive basic care.

With the help of this committee, and the leadership of Chairman Filner and Ranking Member Buyer, the House passed the VA Medical Facility Authorization and Lease Act, which brought the full authorization for our replacement hospital to $625 million, which has already been appropriated. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the committee for their commitment to Louisiana veterans who are still recovering from the 2005 storms.

Unfortunately, our hospital is not likely to be rebuilt before 2013. It is my commitment to the veterans in Louisiana that I will work to change policy so they are able to receive quality healthcare in their own communities by the doctors of their choice until the new VA hospital opens.

I look forward to working with the committee to ensure that our wounded warriors throughout the country have access to the care that they deserve.