Letter to United States President George W. Bush
Letter to United States President George W. Bush
In a letter, Senator Susan Collins today urged President Bush to consider including the parent or the spouse of a wounded service member on a new Presidential Commission that will examine the medical care that wounded troops are receiving after they return from the battlefield.
During a hearing on the poor conditions reported at Walter Reed Army Hospital yesterday, Senator Collins, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, referred to a letter she received from the concerned mother of an injured soldier from Maine that described the difficulties her son experienced receiving adequate care at a military hospital in Texas. Senator Collins said the letter suggests that greater problems exist within the nation's military and veterans' facilities.
Following is the full text of Senator Collins' letter to the President.
Dear Mr. President:
I was pleased with your announcement yesterday of the creation of a Presidential Commission, headed by former Senator Bob Dole and former Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala, to review our military's health care and treatment of wounded service members. This is a positive step toward correcting a system that is, at times, overly bureaucratic and mismanaged and that has left too many of these brave, selfless men and women wanting in such a pivotal time of healing and transition.
As you consider further appointments to this Presidential Commission, I urge you to include the parent or spouse of a wounded service member who has experienced firsthand the military's health care system and the recovery process of a loved one. The difficulties and obstacles that some have faced during recovery were unnecessary and inexcusable, and I believe such a perspective would contribute immensely to your Presidential Commission's review of our military's treatment of wounded service members.
I appreciate your consideration of this request.
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