Media

From the House Armed Services Committee:

Skelton Statement on Conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center

Washington, DC -- House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton (D-MO) released the following statement today regarding news reports concerning the condition of facilities and treatment of service members and their families at Walter Reed Army Medical Center:

"Although I have visited service members and their families at Walter Reed Army Medical Center's main hospital, I was unaware of the problems at Walter Reed before the recent news reports.

Following up on yesterday's post drawing attention to the plight of physically and psychologically damaged outpatients at Walter Reed exposed by the Washington Post, as well as Rep. Louise Slaughter's letter to Defense Secretary Gates on the subject, today reports illustrate the response to the needs of those who served and sacrificed for our country.

From the Washington Post:

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) asked the House Armed Services Committee to investigate outpatient care at Walter Reed. "The treatment reported in The Post of our troops and our veterans is disgraceful," Pelosi spokesman Brendan Daly said.

And more from The Hill:

The President's escalation plan to send more U.S. troops to Iraq is out of step with the American people and our allies. Why are thousands of additional American troops being sent to Iraq at the same time that British troops are planning to leave?

The President's escalation plan has been rejected by bipartisan majorities in the House and Senate and opposed by Americans all across the country. The announcement by the British government confirms the doubts in the minds of the American people about the President's decision to increase the number of U.S. soldiers in Iraq.

Our first post here, a week before actual launch as we were pre-loading content, captured some highlights from Chairman Henry Waxman's first hearing of the year. It was on Iraq reconstruction and the $8.8 billlion found to be unaccounted for in one audit.

A front page Washington Post piece adapted from "Imperial Life in the Emerald City," by Rajiv Chandrasekaran in 2006 delved into hiring practices for the Coalition Provisional Authority:

Ties to GOP Trumped Know-How Among Staff Sent to Rebuild Iraq

Rajiv Chandrasekaran, Washington Post - September 17, 2006

A week ago we flagged a hearing that was held the following Friday in the Committee on Natural Resources on the Interior Department. Chairman Nick J. Rahall promised that it would be just the beginning of a robust, ongoing effort to monitor the department, which made headlines in connection with the scandal surrounding Jack Abramoff but which has seen much broader management problems:

"This Committee has an obligation, one that it has not pursued sufficiently in recent years, to ensure that the Interior Department is serving the interests of the American people and not the interests of a few well-connected individuals or well-placed bureaucrats."

A story filed after that hearing demonstrates what such a culture, devoid of oversight and therefore even the prospect of accountability, can breed:

On Sunday, the Washington Post published a groundbreaking and tragic report on conditions at Building 18 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, which houses physically and psychologically damaged outpatients.

Soldiers Face Neglect, Frustration At Army's Top Medical Facility

Dana Priest and Anne Hull, Washington Post - February 18, 2007

"he first female speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives came to ASU Monday with an entourage of four fellow U.S. representatives to discuss the cost of higher education. "

During last week's debate, House Democrats made it clear that we will not cut funding for troops serving in Iraq. We also sent a strong message to the President: He will no longer have a blank check for the war in Iraq. In response to Democratic statements on restoring accountability to Iraq appropriations, Republicans have accused Democrats of not supporting the troops. But two recent Pentagon reports demonstrate that our troops are currently paying the price for the Administration's failure to provide them with proper equipment:

U.S. Troops Went Without

Troops Lack Up-Armored Vehicles.

[DOD/IG, Equipment Status of Deployed Forces, 1/25/07]

Troops Lack Communications Equipment.