S.Amdt. 2267

SA 2267. Mr. CHAMBLISS (for himself and Mr. Isakson) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill H.R. 1585, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2008 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the end of title VII, add the following:

SEC. 703. SENSE OF SENATE ON COLLABORATIONS BETWEEN THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE AND THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS ON HEALTH CARE FOR WOUNDED WARRIORS.

(a) Findings.--The Senate makes the following findings:

(1) There have been recent collaborations between the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the civilian medical community for purposes of providing high quality medical care to America's wounded warriors. One such collaboration is occurring in Augusta, Georgia, between the Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center at Fort Gordon, the Augusta Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, the Medical College of Georgia, and local health care providers under the TRICARE program.

(2) Medical staff from the Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center and the Augusta Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center have been meeting weekly to discuss future patient cases for the Active Duty Rehabilitation Unit (ADRU) within the Uptown Department of Veterans Affairs facility. The Active Duty Rehabilitation Unit is the only rehabilitation unit in the Department of Veterans Affairs system for members of the Armed Forces on active duty.

(3) As of January 2007, 431 soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines have received rehabilitation services at the Active Duty Rehabilitation Unit, and 26 percent of those treated have returned to active duty in the Armed Forces.

(4) The Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center and the Augusta Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center have combined their neurosurgery programs and have coordinated on critical brain injury and psychiatric care.

(5) The Department of Defense, the Army, and the Army Medical Command have recognized the need for expanded behavioral health care services for members of the Armed Forces returning from Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. These services are currently being provided by the Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center.

(b) Sense of Senate.--It is the sense of the Senate that the Department of Defense should encourage continuing collaboration between the Army and the Department of Veterans Affairs in treating America's wounded warriors and, when appropriate and available, provide additional support and resources for the development of such collaborations, including the current collaboration between the Active Duty Rehabilitation Unit at the Augusta Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Georgia, and the behavioral health care services program at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center, Fort Gordon, Georgia.