March 31, 2011

SUPPORT INJURED AND AMPUTEE VETERANS!

Dear Colleague:

There are not many of us who have not heard of the horrific battle ground stories experienced by our young men and women who have served in Operation New Dawn and Operation Enduring Freedom.  These stories reveal a gruesome and difficult war in which servicemembers often sustain long lasting emotional and physical injuries.  Of these injuries, none is more deafening than the amputations undergone by servicemembers as a direct result of the widespread use of road side bombs otherwise known as improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

This class of injury, which has spiked significantly since the onset of the Operation New Dawn, requires special consideration within the Department of Veterans Affairs. After returning home, these individuals must embark upon extensive rehabilitation and special treatment to receive only a shot at living a normal life, and this is why I have introduced  H.R. 805.

All too often, we hear of veterans who are treated like second class citizens while seeking treatment at a VA medical facility.  I am also told that many veterans are not aware of the many benefits and services offered by VA to help them.  

H.R. 805 would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to display an Injured and Amputee Veterans Bill of Rights in all prosthetic and orthotic clinics of the VA.  Furthermore, this bill instructs the VA to reach out to veterans and educate employees at each VA prosthetics and orthotics clinic of the Injured and Amputee Veterans’ Bill of Rights. 
 
If you would like further information or to sign on as a co-sponsor of this important piece of legislation, please contact Jian Zapata of my staff.

Sincerely,
                       
BOB FILNER
Ranking Democratic Member