I am a little bit concerned that women veterans who are going outside the system and paying to get private diagnosis and care and treatment may run into problems.

We have an opportunity to rid our Nation of one of its greatest tragedies--the scandalous amount of homeless veterans.

It is a shame on the face of this country that on any given night, somewhere upwards of 130,000 veterans... find themselves on the streets.

One third of the adult homeless population has served in the Armed Forces.

I have introduced legislation to try to alleviate the burdens currently placed on veterans trying to gain disability benefits, particularly for PTSD.

The VA should be and the country should be of the attitude that our veterans have done enough and should not have to prove that they are suffering.

As long as these men and women can be found without shelter, without jobs, and without hope on our Nation's streets, we have work to do.

Whatever we do here, I want to make sure that it is something that can be counted on by our veterans in the future.

I do not intend by this legislation nor do those who support it to mean, is to minimize or cast aspersions somehow on the value and the bravery of those who have fought in direct combat.

This is an injustice that has gone on six decades too long.

Instead of helping these veterans reach an optimal point of social and emotional homeostasis, VA's procedures are an obstacle to this end--inflicting upon the most noble of our citizens a process that feels accusatory and doubtful of their…

Let me say first that no one comes through a combat experience without some emotional baggage.

The American veteran does not come in for treatment because he feels there is a stigma and he is ashamed of the way he feels.

I believe such a loose standard diminishes the bravery and service of those who faced the fire up close.

I reintroduced my bill the COMBAT PTSD Act, H.R. 952 to try to rectify this wrong.

Congress and the agencies responsible for the care of OEF/OIF veterans must redouble the sense of urgency to develop and deploy a complete array of prevention, early intervention and rehabilitation services to meet their needs now.

Left untreated, PTSD is a significant factor that increases the risk of broken homes, unemployment, drug and alcohol abuse, crime, homelessness, and suicide.

Veterans are realizing that help is available, and that asking for it doesn't place them in some kind of dubious category.

the numbers are going up of the veterans who are being treated for PTSD is a sign that at the very least the outreach is working better.

VA should and could be putting disability benefits into the hands of deserving veterans during the current economic crisis.

I am confident that none of us in this room would actively choose continuous delays or failures that needlessly hurt our veterans.

I applaud Congressman Space and Congressman Walz for urging Chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, John Murtha, to set aside $5 million for the Vision Center.

We need to accurately fund treatment and compensation for veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

But you made it come true. Everything had to go right, and everything did, thanks to your training and execution.

The Combat PTSD Act would make it easier for veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) to receive disability benefits and treatment.