Date: 2007-03-07
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I am honored to stand in the well of the House tonight and address conditions at Walter Reed Medical Center. as well as other military medical hospitals. and I would also like to. in doing this. talk about why our soldiers and our veterans are so important to us. I want to start by saying if we are truly concerned." if we are truly concerned about national security. then we have to be concerned about those who secure national security. We have got to be concerned about our soldiers. We have to be concerned about our veterans. Because. in fact. they make it possible for us to have these liberties that we have come to know and to love. Tonight. as I start this explanation. I would like to first use the words of another. Major General John H. Bailey H. and I want to bring his words to our attention. because he has written an ode that really explains why the American soldier. the American veteran. is so important to this Nation and to the wellbeing of this country. His ode is styled from Boston to Baghdad. and his words capture the essence. the spirit of what the American soldier is all about. what the American soldier has done for this great country. His words are: I am the American veteran. I was born in battle on April 19. 1775. I am the total sum of my countrys ethnic and cultural diversity. I am loyal. dependable and patriotic. My motto is. "Duty. Honor and Country." and my battle cry is. "Dont Tread on Me." The tracks of my tears and the stains of my blood can be traced from Boston to Baghdad. I was there at Lexington when the shot heard around the world was fired. saw the whites of their eyes. was battletested at -Bunker Hill. Valley Forge and Yorktown. and won my countrys independence.C] 1920 I earned worldwide respect during the SpanishAmerican War while helping our friends in Cuba gain their independence. Names like Teddy Roosevelts Rough Riders and the 9th and 10th Cavalry became household words. I saw action at San Juan Hill. Guantanamo Bay. and the Philippines. A young Lieutenant John Pershing was heard to have seen "white and black regiment fighters shoulder to shoulder unmindful of color in combat." I was there at the llth hour of the llth day of the llth month. in the year of our Lord 1918. I was crowned in glory at the conclusion of World War I. the war to end all wars and the birth of Veterans Day. During World War II. in response to the attack on Pearl Harbor. the pearl of the Pacific. I rallied a nation. shouldered the weight of the world. defeating the Axis powers. preserving democracy around the world and preventing the annihilation of a race of people who called Germany home. In this country. we call these 6xceptional citizens Jewish people. and we know them as the Jewish community. No words can better describe the effects of our entry into World War H than those of Admiral Hirohito when told by an aide. "Sir. we have scored a great victory." and he replied. "Im afraid we have awakened a sleeping giant." Thank you. World War II veterans. You are the greatest generation. Never before have so few given so much for so many. In support of our friends in South Korea. I saw action at Bloody Ridge. Pork Chop Hill and Heartbreak Ridge. while introducing the helicopter and jet aircraft as battlefield tactics. -actions which changed the course of military history. I went to Vietnam to help the people of South Vietnam maintain the right to choose their own destiny. There I fought at Hue Dong Hai and Hamburger Hill. I refused to fall at the hands of a wellequipped and determined enemy during the 1968 Tet Offensive. During Desert Storm. I engaged Saddam Hussein in his mother of all battles. I destroyed his will to resist. And then there was 9/11. a day which must never be forgotten. a day which must never be repeated. It tested the soul of our Nation in a way not witnessed since December 7. 1941. And due to the atmosphere it created. I was again sent to Iraq as a part of the global war on terror. I am still there today participating in peacekeeping and nation building. My rewards are found in the eyes of children and old people who now have hope. I am the American veteran. I am from New York City. the countryside of Philadelphia. Washington. D.C. Ive come from sea to shining sea. As a participating citizen. I shall continue to fulfill my forefathers dreams of a more perfect union and open my arms and say to the world. send me your tired. your huddled masses. because I know it is that diversity that makes us who we are. In closing. he adds. I leave you with the words of a young John F. Kennedy in his inaugural address. who said. "We will bear any burden. meet any hardship. support any friend. oppose any foe to assure the survival and success of liberty." This pretty much describes the spirit of the American soldier and the American veteran. Mr. Speaker. I share these words because it is important for us to understand the sacrifices not only made by this generation of veterans but the sacrifices made by veterans since the country was founded. since the genesis of this country. if you will. And because our veterans have been so important to us. because they have been there for us. we must be there for them. I regret to say. Mr. Speaker. that we have not been there for them when it comes to military hospitals and facilities and the delivery of health care through the military facilities. We have not been there because recent events have shown us. in transpicuously clear. empirical data. that hospitals are substandard. that some of the treatment received has not been delivered in the kind of fashion and manner that we would have those persons who have given us liberty and justice for all. those persons who have made real the ideals in the Constitution of the people. by the people. for the people. those persons who have given us this opportunity to stand here tonight. we have not made the delivery of health care services as effective and efficient as they should be. So I am here tonight with a colleague. and we are going to talk about not only the problems at Walter Reed but the problems in health care delivery in military facilities. generally speaking. and we are going to also continue to be grateful for the service that our American veterans have rendered to make this country the great country that it is. At this time. I will yield such time as she may consume to the honorable lady from the District of Columbia. a student of jurisprudence par excellence. I might add. one who is a part of the conscience of the Congress and certainly the conscience of Washington. D.C.. who has fought for statehood and continues to fight for the American veteran. She speaks. and when she -speaks. others listen. I am honored to share time with the honorable ELEANOR