Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4360, a bill to designate the Department of Veterans Affairs Blind Rehabilitation Center in Long Beach, California, as the Major Charles R. Soltes, Jr., O.D. Department of Veterans Affairs Blind Rehabilitation Center. Naming the future blind rehabilitation center currently in its final stages of construction in Long Beach, California, after Major Charles R. Soltes, Jr., is an appropriate expression of our support for our blind veterans. In 2004 while deployed in Iraq, Major Soltes was serving in the 426th Civil Affairs Battalion in the U.S. Army when the vehicle he was traveling in was struck by an improvised explosive device, costing him his life. He was the first Army optometrist to be killed in action while on Active Duty, but the legacy Major Soltes leaves behind remains strong with the veteran community, particularly among our blinded veterans. The VA estimates that approximately 157,000 veterans in the United States are legally blind, and over 1 million additional veterans are suffering from debilitating low vision. Approximately 60 percent of veterans with known combat-related traumatic brain injury and 30 percent with noncombat TBI report visual symptoms. As eye injuries continue to plague our servicemembers overseas, these numbers will continue to rise. And the work of optometrists like Major Soltes will become increasingly important.…”