Speaker Pelosi Visits Carl T. Hayden VA Medical Center

W. J. Hennigan, Phoenix Business Journal - August 15, 2007

U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Congressmen Harry Mitchell and Ed Pastor toured the Carl T. Hayden VA Medical Center in Phoenix Wednesday offering promises for financial relief to recovering soldiers.

The Democrats said the purpose of the visit was to experience the facility and to discuss the different measures being taken to improve veterans' care.

"This is my first visit to the hospital ... but I have visited VA hospitals all over the country and this is outstanding," Pelosi said. "In the military it is said that on the battlefield we will leave no soldier behind and when they come home, we in Congress promise that we will leave no veteran behind."

Pelosi heralded Mitchell and Pastor for helping to appropriate the largest amount of funds in the Department of Veterans Affairs' history and told patients they soon will "be feeling the effects of that increased funding."

Mitchell also mentioned a bill he co-sponsored, the Dignity for Wounded Warriors Act, which is aimed at improving facilities and services for wounded and recovering service members.

During the visit the Democrats walked the facility's halls, dropping in and visiting patients along the way. One patient, Vietnam veteran Ray Hayhurst, received a pleasant surprise when Pelosi stopped to talk with him as he waited for medication.

See the Gavel's Veterans archive >>

The Navy Times reported on the bill at the time it was introduced:

Bill would reform treatment of wounded vets

Rick Maze, Navy Times - March 1, 2007

In the wake of the continuing scandal over the housing and medical evaluation process for wounded service members at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, House and Senate Democrats have unveiled a sweeping bill promising comprehensive reforms of how combat veterans and their families are treated.

Called the Dignity for Wounded Warriors Act, the bill would mandate housing standards for the wounded, overhaul disability review boards, require one caseworker for every 20 recovering service members, extend job protections for service members to include family members who are at their side during recovery, demand that an ombudsmen be available around the clock by phone and in any hospital with more than 100 patients, and create a new independent oversight board to monitor how recovering service members are treated.

Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, a Democratic presidential candidate and a Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee member who is the chief sponsor of the bill, said it is designed to "not only fix problems at Walter Reed but improve conditions at other hospitals."

"We think this is a comprehensive bill," he said.

"This is not window dressing," said Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., one of the co-sponsors. "This is not a new coat of paint."

Rep. Harry Mitchell, D-Ariz., one of the House co-sponsors, said, "It is appalling and absolutely unacceptable for our wounded troops to return from the front lines and receive this kind of treatment. We are going to investigate this and do everything we can to make sure this never happens to our brave men and women again."