Austin Scott: “Well, thank you, Mr. Salazar. You have done extraordinarily well in presenting the very crucible of our bill, which is…”

“Well, thank you, Mr. Salazar. You have done extraordinarily well in presenting the very crucible of our bill, which is bringing the accountability, bringing the needed transparency. No more, no place is it needed more so than in the care of our wounded soldiers. And so much has fallen through the cracks. I read this report. I just want to, I will go back to it for a moment, Mr. Salazar, because it says this. It says that more than 25,000 service members have been wounded in the two wars, and nearly half seriously enough that they can not return to duty within 72 hours. The delays in the Army's rating of disability have been a source of deep frustration for many, with wounded soldiers waiting hours to be moved on, days, and sometimes months to be moved on with their lives outside the military. Many in the National Guard themselves have lost their jobs. We have yet to even come to the depths of the pain that our soldiers are faced with as a result of this. So when the President says send 21,000 more in, send these in, he never again, this President will never again have to go before the voters. But you do and I do. And when we go back before them, they will know that we have done everything in our power to bring a right look on a wrong situation, and to correct this terrible, terrible imbalance for our veterans. And so I thank you for your participation, and I thank you for highlighting that great need. I appreciate your passion for this.”