Bernie Sanders: “Yesterday, as part of the managers' package, the Senate approved an amendment that I offered to the Defense…”

“Yesterday, as part of the managers' package, the Senate approved an amendment that I offered to the Defense authorization bill. That amendment would establish a pilot program at the Department of Defense to deal with a very important problem. That problem is that all across our country, men and women are returning home from the war in Iraq, from the war in Afghanistan, they are coming home to big cities, small towns, and rural communities, and they and their families, in many cases, are hurting. These are soldiers and military family members who are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, who are suffering from traumatic brain injury, who are suffering from depression, and who are watching their marriages and their families coming apart. They are suffering nightmares, they are suffering panic attacks and sometimes uncontrollable anger and various physical symptoms. Because of the stigma, many of these brave soldiers do not come forward for help, and others, where the military infrastructure is not strong, simply don't know where to turn. They are hurting, but they don't know how to get help. In my view, we have a moral responsibility to reach out to these soldiers and their families and to help them.”