Date: 2014-06-18
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. this is a daunting time to be on the floor of the House during Defense Appropriations. and I add my appreciation to the chairman and to the ranking member for the bipartisan approach with which they have treated our men and women. As we speak. there are soldiers who have left our soil. and they are in Iraq protecting our men and women at our embassy. There is never a time that we do not call upon our soldiers to stand and to defend our Nation or our citizens. My amendment recognizes that. My amendment is a budgetneutral amendment. It adds $500.000 by reducing another account by $500.000 for an emphasis on PTSD. for outreach toward hardtoreach veterans. especially those who are homeless or reside in underserved urban and rural areas. Let me congratulate the committee for its hard work in recognition of the crisis of PTSD. but let me also cite that Houston is the third largest military retirement community in the United States. exceeded only by San Antonio and San Diego. California. Houston is the second highest military recruiting district in the United States for all Armed Forces. to include the Coast Guard. and many return back to Houston. Twentythree percent of the Houston adult homeless population are veterans. and nearly 2.500 men and women. I see them every day in my district. I have several homeless facilities that are particularly for veterans. As I interact with them. I see the clear signs of PTSD. Over the years. I have had the privilege of working with this committee in establishing a PTSD center in one of our hospitals that was not a veteran facility. An estimated 7.8 percent of Americans will experience PTSD at some point in their lives. with women 10.4 percent and men 5 percent to develop PTSD. as well. estimates of PTSD from the gulf war as high as 10 percent. estimates from the war in Afghanistan are between 6 percent and 11 percent. and current estimates of PTSD in military personnel who served in Iraq range from 12 percent to 20 percent. Posttraumatic stress disorder is of course something of great concern. and many times I have seen. again. these individuals who are in these very facilities. My amendment will help to ensure that no soldier is left behind and the urgent need for more outreach toward hardtoreach veterans suffering from PTSD. especially those who are homeless and reside in underserved areas. Mr. Chairman. I have been to what we call standdowns. We have a number of them in our community. I started going to standdowns way before I came to the United States Congress. These are street events that soldiers. retirees. or veterans come together. and particularly those who are homeless. I would say to you they are the most moving experiences that I have ever seen. The soldiers. the veterans are glad to see people who care. Many of them are suffering. but many of themall of themput on that uniform and served us. Joe. for example. saw a good deal of active combat during his time in the military. Some incidents in particular have never left his mind. like the horrifying sight of Gary. a close comrade and friend. being blown up by a land mine. Even when he returned to civilian life. those images haunted him. Scenes from the battle would run repeatedly through his mind and disrupt his focus on work. Filling up at the gas station. for example. the smell of diesel immediately rekindled certain horrific memories. At other times. he had difficulty remembering the past. as if some events were too painful to allow back into his mind. He found himself avoiding socializing with old military buddies. as this would inevitably trigger a new round of memories. His girlfriend complained that he was always pent up and irritable. as if he were on guard. and Joe noticed that at night he had difficulty relaxing. When he heard loud noises. such as a truck backfiring. he literally jumped as if he were readying himself for combat. He began to drink heavily. I am glad that this committee has recognized the importance of providing these services for our soldiers. no matter the long range of time that they have been out. that they are now veterans. that they are still important and they still were willing to put on the uniform. In light of our crisis with the Veterans Affairs. I would ask my colleagues to support this amendment providing extra outreach to those veterans who did not think for one moment to put on that uniform and defend their Nation. Lets now provide them with that extra comfort.