Providing For Consideration of H.R. 3159, Ensuring Military Readiness Through Stability and Predictability Deployment Policy Act of 2007

Floor Speech

PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 3159, ENSURING MILITARY READINESS THROUGH STABILITY AND PREDICTABILITY DEPLOYMENT POLICY ACT OF 2007

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Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished gentleman for yielding.

I do rise in opposition to what I consider to be a closed rule. I do support the underlying bill, but I object to the leadership's decision to prevent any substantive debate.

I offered an amendment yesterday that would have credited soldiers with one additional day of leave for every month that they are deployed in a combat zone. All members of the Armed Forces, including those serving the Guard and Reserve, receive 2 1/2 days of leave time per month, regardless whether they are deployed in Iraq or back in the U.S. at their home base.

I developed this legislation, an extra day per month, not from anything out of my mind but in correspondence with a soldier who had been in the combat zone. We feel very strongly that spending time with family and loved ones after returning from deployment is essential to a soldier's mental health, and that is why I prepared the amendment and introduced it.

We think that it is small step to help the troops, but this amendment was denied in the rule. For that reason, I oppose the rule as we have it.

But I am also very disappointed that this House continues to prevent consideration of the Iraq Study Group Recommendations Implementation Act. They are now getting close to 60 Members, almost evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats, who support the concepts in this.

My decision is that the time has come to have the discussion of the Iraq Study Group's recommendations on the floor of the House of Representatives, and I hope that can happen sooner rather than later.
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Mr. CASTLE. In closing, I think both of these amendments are extremely important. I sometimes understand the writing on the wall when it comes to votes on rules, but I would hope that we in this House would consider the amendment that I put forward on the extra day leave in the Iraq Study Group recommendations sooner rather than later. I think it is an important way to move towards actually ending the war.

So I oppose the rule and urge Members to vote against the rule.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this closed rule.

While Members of this body will have differing views regarding the U.S. policy in Iraq and Afghanistan, we can all agree that the American soldiers who have been deployed into these combat zones have bravely risked their lives in the service of their Nation. These men and women have done everything we have asked of them, and as we all know, many returning soldiers experience some form of post-traumatic stress.

Under the current Pentagon policies, all members of the Armed Forces, including those serving in the Guard and Reserve, receive 2.5 days of leave time per month--regardless of whether they are deployed in Iraq or back in the U.S. at their home base. My amendment would have simply credited soldiers 1 additional day of leave time for every month that they are deployed in a combat zone. For example, if a soldier serves 12 months in Baghdad, that soldier would be credited 12 additional days of leave to be used when he or she returns stateside.

Although I am obviously the sponsor of this amendment, I cannot take credit for the idea. My staff developed this legislation after talking with a soldier who as we speak is deployed in a combat zone. Corresponding via e-mail, this soldier shared his experiences in combat and offered his opinion that many of the troops returning home after a deployment would benefit from being credited with additional leave time based on the number of months they served in a combat zone. This soldier noted that the opportunity to spend some time away from military life once returning stateside would be important in terms of both mental and physical recovery.

In fact, the Director of the U.S. Army Medical Command's Office for Behavioral Health has stated that 15 to 30 percent of troops returning home from combat experience post-traumatic stress or other mental health symptoms. While the Army Medical Command notes that this is not unusual after combat, it underscores that in addition to receiving treatment, it is critical for soldiers returning home from a combat zone to ``spend time with family,'' ``avoid a busy schedule,'' and ``resume family routines'' as soon as possible.

It is clear that my amendment would not solve every problem that troops face when they return stateside. Receiving appropriate diagnosis and treatment is also vital in dealing with post-traumatic stress. And this amendment is not meant to diminish the efforts of our military leaders to provide care for soldiers once they return to the U.S. The Army's Medical Command and its corresponding services have in many cases gone above and beyond the call of duty to diagnose, treat, and prevent post-traumatic stress disorder. Still, in many cases spending time away from military life and reconnecting with friends and family is the best way for individuals to prepare to resume their service in the military.

Mr. Chairman, my amendment recognizes the difficulties faced by soldiers who serve time in a combat zone and would assist them in their homecoming by providing additional leave time to help improve their transition. The men and women who have sacrificed so much to serve our Nation in combat have earned this additional time to spend with their loved ones. Unfortunately the rule before us prevented any substantive debate, including debate on my important amendment.

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