(Washington D.C.) – In the wake of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center health care scandal, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) today announced a comprehensive plan to correct the Bush administration’s failure to care for our troops. The plan, entitled Honoring and Ensuring Respect for Our Extraordinary Servicemembers (HEROES), was unveiled at a Capitol Hill press conference. Senator Murray has been a Senate leader on tackling shortfalls in veterans funding, inadequate battlefield supplies, and deficiencies in veterans’ mental health care. Her work on these issues, and her disgust with the recent reporting on failures at Walter Reed led her to formulate the comprehensive HEROES plan. Senator Murray was joined by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL), Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Senator Daniel Akaka (D-HI) at the press conference.
“It is our duty to provide care for our troops during battle and when they return home,” said Senator Murray. “Unfortunately, from a lack of body armor and adequate health care to terrible living conditions and bureaucratic nightmares, President Bush has failed to fulfill this duty. Senate Democrats have had enough of the President’s broken promises to our servicemen and women. The HEROES plan will work to reverse these failures and to provide the care our troops deserve, from the battlefield to the local VA and everywhere in between.”
Through oversight and legislative solutions the HEREOS plan aims to force the administration to establish a system that meets the needs of our troops and finds comprehensive solutions for our service members.
For an outline of the problems the HEROES plan seeks to remedy, and the steps Democrats plan to take visit: http://murray.senate.gov/veterans/HEROESPlan.pdf
To view some of the stories about the administration’s failures to care for our troops visit:
http://murray.senate.gov/veterans/HeadlinesSayItAll.pdf
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