Tim Mahoney: “it's an unfortunate fact of war young American soldiers are not only losing their lives on the battlefield, but many…”

“it's an unfortunate fact of war young American soldiers are not only losing their lives on the battlefield, but many soldiers who survive traumatic combat injuries are returning home with equally serious psychological wounds. Unfortunately, the Veterans Administration has not been given, by this administration, the personnel and the funding necessary to address the problem. A recent series of Washington Post articles followed the stories of several soldiers returning home from service in Iraq who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. The articles paint a harrowing picture of the challenges that face these veterans, suicidal patients left in waiting rooms, psychiatric wards with terrible odors and a disconcerting lack of therapy and treatment. Mr. Speaker, last week this House took action to help our military personnel who are suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome. We passed the largest increase for funding for veterans health care in the VA's history. This includes treatment for PTSD. It is clear that these funds are desperately needed to provide better care for our men and women returning from serving our Nation.”