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Skriven 2007-08-13 23:30:54 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0708133) for Mon, 2007 Aug 13
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President Bush Visits Wounded Warriors and Re-Affirms Support for
Dole-Shalala Commission Recommendations
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For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary August 13, 2007

President Bush Visits Wounded Warriors and Re-Affirms Support for
Dole-Shalala Commission Recommendations Washington DC Veterans Affairs
Medical Center Washington, D.C.

˙ /news/releases/2007/08/20070813-3.wm.v.html ˙˙White House News
˙˙Photos

˙˙˙˙˙ In Focus: Veterans ˙˙˙˙˙ Fact Sheet: Taking Care of America's
Returning Wounded Warriors

11:07 A.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Thanks for coming. It's an honor for me to be here with
Senator Bob Dole, and Secretary Donna Shalala, Secretary Jim Nicholson, and
Deputy Secretary Gordon England. I appreciate the opportunity to come to a
building full of compassion, a place of expertise, where people are
dedicating their time and efforts to help those on active duty and those
who have served before.

Any time there is any doubt in anybody's mind that our veterans are not
getting excellent care, then we in government have a duty to deal with
those doubts. I have asked Secretary Gates and Secretary Nicholson to
review their respective departments and the interface of their departments
-- the Defense Department and the Veterans Department -- to make sure that
any doubt as to whether or not a veteran, or one on active duty, gets the
best care, does so.

I also asked Senator Dole and Secretary Shalala to lead a non-partisan,
independent commission to identify areas where we can do better, and more
importantly, come up with solutions as to how to deal with those problems.
The commissioners conducted a very serious and lengthy review of our
military and veterans health care systems, and they submitted
recommendations to me at the end of July. After Senator Dole and Secretary
Shalala briefed me on their recommendations, I then directed Secretaries
Gates and Nicholson to study and more importantly implement the
recommendations, so we can ensure our severely wounded servicemembers and
their families that they will receive the best possible care.

We've got great health care for our wounded. We just want to make sure that
the system is seamless and that the families are treated with the utmost of
care during these difficult moments. Secretaries Gates and Nicholson and
their departments are working hard to make sure their agencies talk to each
other and collaborate. Equally importantly, they're looking at the
recommendations that the Dole-Shalala commission put forward, and they're
implementing them. In other words, the commission did really good work. The
commission's recommendations are solid, and therefore, to the extent that
we can move without congressional law, we will do so. And not only will we
do so, we will keep the commissioners abreast of the progress we are
making.

Secondly, we want to work with Congress. When they come back in September,
we want to work with Congress to pass that which is necessary to make sure
that the Dole-Shalala commission recommendations are fully implemented. In
other words, there are some aspects of the commission recommendations that
require congressional approval. We believe it's important for Congress to
listen to the commission. We believe the recommendations make a lot of
sense, and we would ask for the Congress to pass those recommendations as
quickly as possible, so I can sign them into law.

There's an amazing -- there's a lot of amazing things taking place here in
this facility. For example, we saw information technology, health care
records that are being passed seamlessly from the Department of Defense to
the VA, to make sure that the care providers here have got up-to-date
access for each patient. We saw volunteers helping the wounded learn to
regain balance and confidence through kayaking programs. I saw physical
therapists -- I heard physical therapists talk about their patients with
the kind of care and compassion that obviously requires a big heart and
strong commitment.

The commitment of this government is this: Anybody who is sent into harm's
way deserves the best possible care. We're dedicated to this goal. If we
find problems, we'll solve the problems. For those who are providing the
care, we thank you. For the soldiers who are receiving the care, we owe you
the best. And for the families who stand by them, we thank you for your
patience.

God bless our troops. Thank you.

END 11:12 A.M. EDT

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