Edwards Campaign Press Release - On Day One of "Fighting For One America" Bus Tour, Edwards Outlines Plan to Improve Care For Injured Iraq, Afghanistan Veterans

Calls on Vacationing Iraqi Parliament to Take Responsibility and Come Back to Work as Situation in Iraq Deteriorates

Des Moines, Perry, Jefferson, Carroll, Denison and Onawa, Iowa – As Senator John Edwards and Elizabeth Edwards launched the seven-day, 31-community "Fighting for One America" bus tour, Edwards announced a "Standing by Our Heroes" plan to reform the Veterans' Administration (VA) and make it easier for injured Iraq and Afghanistan veterans to get the care they need. The plan builds on the proposal Edwards unveiled last May to repair our country's Sacred Contract with our veterans and military families by guaranteeing quality health care, supporting military families and providing education and economic opportunities for civilian life. With August turning out to be one of the deadliest months for American troops since the war began, Edwards also called upon the Iraqi parliament to end their four-week vacation and take greater responsibility for the security of their country.

"Elizabeth and I are looking forward to this tour and talking to thousands of Iowans about the challenges we face and our determination to fight for One America where everyone has a chance to succeed," Edwards said. "This will be a great opportunity to hear from the people of Iowa, and to ask for their support in this effort to bring about the real change our country needs. One of those changes is the way we treat the men and women who have served and sacrificed in Iraq and Afghanistan. It's time we had a president who will take responsibility, and make sure that bureaucracy never gets in the way of veterans getting the care they need and deserve."

Edwards also called upon the Iraqi Parliament to take responsibility for the situation in Iraq and end their month-long vacation early. More than 30 American soldiers have been killed in Iraq this month — which tragically puts our country on track for one of the bloodiest months ever. Recently, the group Veterans for Common Sense received information from the Department of Defense through a FOIA request that shows that nearly 67,000 American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have been killed, wounded, injured and sick through July of 2007, with more than 55 U.S. service members killed, wounded, injured, or ill each day. The state of Iowa has seen 313 injuries.

"This month is on pace to have one of the highest casualty rates since our troops have been in Iraq," Edwards said. "Our troops aren't getting a vacation; they are fighting it out in the streets of Baghdad. There is no military solution to the mess in Iraq. We need a political solution and we need the Iraqis to take responsibility for their own future. That can't happen while the Iraqi Parliament is on vacation."

Too often, Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who fought for our country encounter a system that takes months or even years to make decisions and that forces them to fight again for benefits. Edwards believes we can do better through reforms that will help our injured warriors and make government work more efficiently and effectively. As president, Edwards will enact a 5-point plan to help returning service men and women with disabilities by:

• Processing the backlog of disability claims that exists when he takes office by Memorial Day 2009, and cutting the average processing time in half.
• Fixing the disconnect between the Department of Defense and the VA by launching a broad effort to coordinate all DOD and VA functions and by only having the VA make disability determinations.
• Hiring at least 300 more VA caseworkers and implementing an accelerated and targeted training program for them, including family outreach.
• Providing each service member with a comprehensive, standardized medical examination immediately upon leaving the service, and linking that examination with the service member's disability rating.
• Facilitating care for "signature injuries"—post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI), by increasing capacity within the Department of Defense for recognizing and addressing these injuries, increasing counseling resources, permitting access outside of the networks, and ensuring outreach to family members, who can help recognize symptoms.

Over the next seven days, Edwards will talk about his vision for our country. Each day of the bus tour will focus on a different critical issue facing America - ending the war in Iraq, restoring economic fairness to rural America, rewarding work, delivering true universal health care, creating a new energy economy, strengthening education and building a One America where every person has a chance to succeed. For more information on Edwards' "Fighting for One America" bus tour and his plan to stand by our heroes, please visit JohnEdwards.com/Iowa.

Standing by Our Heroes:

John Edwards' 5-point Plan to Help Injured Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans

"I believe in a sacred contract between our country and America's veterans and military families. We must stand by those who stand by us. When our service men and women sacrifice so much to defend our freedom and secure peace around the world, we have a moral obligation to take care of them and their families." - John Edwards

Under George Bush, our government has not lived up to its responsibility to the men and women who have been injured while serving our country in Iraq and Afghanistan - wars that have already generated more than 220,000 disability claims.. The scandal at Walter Reed is only one example of a consistent failure to take responsibility for those who have sacrificed for our country. Too often, Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who fought for our country encounter a system that takes months or even years to make benefit determinations, and that forces them to fight again for benefits. [LA Times, 7/24/2007]

The Washington Post recently reported on Army Specialist Jeans Cruz, one of the team who helped capture Saddam Hussein. He was called a war hero when he came home to his country. He soon suffered debilitating depression from his experiences in Iraq. After filing a claim for disability benefits based on post-traumatic stress disorder, he was turned down by the VA because they said his psychological problems existed before joining the Army. He told the paper, "My experience so far is, you ask for something and they deny, deny, deny. After a while you just give up." [Washington Post, 6/17/07]

John Edwards will not give up on our veterans. He believes we can do better through reforms that will help our injured warriors and make government work more efficiently and effectively.

Edwards has previously announced a plan to repair our country's Sacred Contract with our veterans and military families by guaranteeing quality health care, supporting military families and providing education and economic opportunities for civilian life. Today, Edwards built on his existing Sacred Contract proposal with a new 5-point "Standing by Our Heroes" plan to help returning service men and women with disabilities by:

• Aggressively Resolving the Disability Claims Backlog: The VA currently has a backlog of between 400,000 and 600,000 claims for disability benefits, and wait times for initial determinations of up to 6 months. Edwards would adopt an aggressive, goal-oriented approach to processing the backlog. As president, he will aim to process the entire backlog that exists when he takes office by Memorial Day 2009, and will cut the average processing time in half. [CNN, 2007]
• Facilitating Care for "Signature Injuries": Over 30 percent of these veterans experience psychological problems after returning home. Many veterans suffer from the "signature injuries" of this war—post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI). As president, Edwards will increase capacity within the Department of Defense for recognizing and addressing these injuries by improving training for health personnel to recognize and treat PTSD and TBI, increasing counseling resources within the TRICARE and VA networks, permitting access outside of the networks, and ensuring outreach to family members, who can recognize symptoms. [Department of Defense 2007]
• Providing a Comprehensive Medical Examination: Too often, veterans receive their first medical examination months or even years after they leave the service, which makes it difficult to ascertain whether an injury is service-related, creating difficulties and inefficiencies later. As president, Edwards will create a new system providing each service member with a comprehensive, standardized medical examination before or immediately after leaving the service, and will link that examination with the disability rating. Both will be included in a new "Homefront Redeployment Plan" every veteran will receive.
• Fixing the DOD/VA Disconnect: Today, veterans face a bureaucratic maze with two different agencies and needless overlaps. The Veterans Administration and the Department of Defense have conflicting criteria and overlapping disability determinations. As president, Edwards will have only the VA make disability determinations, and will launch a broad effort to coordinate all DOD and VA functions.
• Increasing Caseworkers and Training: Caseworkers provide an extremely valuable service to veterans facing a thicket of regulations and forms, particularly older veterans unfamiliar with web-based forms. Caseworkers also help families struggling with consequences of an injury. As president, Edwards will hire at least 300 more VA caseworkers, and implement an accelerated training program including family outreach.