I Like Kicking Around Congress As Much As The Next Guy, But...

U.S. Rep. Bill Young is getting personally blamed in some circles -- many of them disgruntled anonymous e-mailers, I have to say -- for not doing enough to fix the problems at Walter Reed Army Medical Center that were revealed recently in The Washington Post. The charge is especially jarring since Young and his wife Beverly have been selfless in their devotion to helping wounded service men and women individually.

The venomous nature of the attack looks like misplaced second-guessing to me. Even if Young (1) had direct knowledge of all the problems revealed in the Post, which he didn't for the most part, and (2) had stood on the steps of the U.S. Capitol to declare the outrage to the world, how much attention would it have really gotten? Members of Congress call news conferences to declare their outrage dozens of times a day on all kinds of important issues and nobody gives a damn. It took the Post expose to grab the nation's attention.

Having said that, of course we should hold our members of Congress accountable not only for Walter Reed, but everything else about the way the federal government runs. That's their job. The whole dang government is their "fault,'' in a general way. We are right to criticize both their priorities, and what they choose not to make their priorities.

It's just the highly personalized, sneering, anonymous nature of modern criticism that stinks -- the seeming claim that Young sat in his office and said, "Heh, heh, I am aware of moldy walls at Walter Reed, but I will uncaringly ignore it because I am an evil do-nothing'' is just... well, just stupid.

Comments

[Susan S]

Howard,
This is a cheap shot at those of us who don't post anonymously. By giving Young (a VERY powerful Congressman who could have made a difference) a pass, you are falling into the same trap in which the mainstream media has spent most of the past six years. Thank goodness there are reporters like Dana Priest who have finally found a spine and are not afraid to expose the hypocrisy of the "support the troops" crowd.

[Howard Troxler]

Thanks for the comment. It's not that I am giving him a "pass" -- as I say, surely we are entitled to hold our members of Congress accountable for the failings of the federal government. But, as in the Mark Foley scandal, folks seem to want to attribute full knowledge and ill will to systemic failures...

I haven't read this morning's Times yet, so forgive me if I repeat something already covered there. We first met Rep. Young in 1972: he attended the Marine Corps Birthday Ball in Tampa, and must have personally shaken the hand of the hundreds of people in attendance. He has taken a personal interest in caring for our military - active duty, retired, and veterans ever since. Since I was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1991 he has helped run interference with CHAMPUS/TRICARE; nothing like a Congressional inquiry to rattle the beaurocratic cages.
The public obviously can't tell the difference between in-patient care and outpatient status. I made nine trips to Walter Reed in the 90s, and the medical care in the hospital doesn't get any better. The infamous building 18 used to be a motel that was bought and operated by Walter Reed. I stayed there a several time. It was virtually identical to a civilian operation, constantly remodeled and cleaned. I can make a good guess at what caused the deterioration: the motel operation was shut down for some period of time, the mold and mildew took over, and then outpatients were dumped in there and anywhere else that could hold a bed. These are outpatients, remember, left to fend on their own. If they miss appointments because they feel like crap it probably wasn't noticed, much less raised any concern. It's a considerable hike from Bldg 18 to the hospital - probably several blocks, even if you know the shortcuts. There used to be shuttle that circled the base, but it didn't cross Georgia Street to the Inn.
After all that the Young family has done for military and their families, it takes a small mind indeed to generate such slimy gossip.
Vel Jaeger, Largo (aka the Gunny's wife)

[David Skaggs]

Mr. Troxler,
I can attest that the Armed Forces has no better ally than the Young family. The Congressman and his wife are very adamant about how service members are treated before, during, and after deployments overseas. Also, when a political official goes to a military installation they are generally surrounded by people who want to soak in the limelight. The figure head is steered away from eyesores and people who are willing to "Tell it like it is." To attempt to blame one congressman is absurd.

[Susan S]

Anybody who has supported the Bush administration's policies on Iraq cannot honestly claim to be a friend to the Armed Forces. George Bush took us into a war based on lies, and due to the incompetence of Rumsfeld and the Coalition Provisional Authority, our soldiers are being asked to do the impossible. Our military is broken. Our soldiers have not had adequate protection in the field, and they are not being given proper treatment or services upon their return to the States. They don't even have a mission, for pete's sake. The lack of Congressional oversight, until the Democrats took over, has allowed much of this to take place. Congressman Young has to share responsibility for all of these failures.

[Winston]

Howard,
I do not believe there is a vetran in the US that does not revere
Bill Young, if only for the fact that he has won the love of Beverly.

So far removed from Hanoi Jane, this is a woman (couple) who care for vetrans on a personal, friendship basis.

Just being a Vet is enough for them to take one into their up close and personal confidence.

Had they the personal time to visit the problem areas, I guarantee heads would have fallen. Beverly has a lot of pull with Bill, and he has a lot of pull in the House. No way, had they known, these despicable quarters would have continued to exist.

They give so much to the ones who have fought for the right of the press and others who now are belittling them. Find one Vet who was visited by them while they lived in government-supplied squalor, and I will some credence to the ones knocking them. I'll bet your search will be futile.

[Bruce Cotton]

Having been born in a military hospital and after spending more time in one than I would like since then, I can attest to the conditions in ALL military hospitals.

The day that one military hospital is a modern, state of the art facility is the day before the earth implodes.

Having said that the military does it's best with the finances it has and the red tape it has to go through. It is still improving base housing after working on the problem for over 20 years.

You can apply this to the equipment situation also. The US has only entered one war in our history with the most and best equipment...that was Gulf War I. It is impossible to be able to predict what equipment we will needed in any certain situation, no less keep enough in inventory to equip every trooper in the field.

But what we do best is adapt to the situation, find out what the troops need and crank it out. During past wars that worked just fine because there was no media scrutiny as we re-armed the troops during the conflict. Today with 24 hour media who jumps to conclusions before the problem is even known.

Take the armor shortage for one example. The media screamed that the troops were not being issued the best body armor and that many were having relatives buy and send armor into Iraq. Well the truth is before we were going into Iraq the army was in the midst of changing body armor to a more effective type and that industry had not caught up with the demand to equip every soldier with it. That meant that the front line infantry units did have it or were slated to get it as soon as it was available and that along with the guard/reserve units would use the older issued armor until industry had caught up and could supply them.

To blame the Bush administration for any these issues just shows the partisanship of the writer. These are situations that have been ongoing since the republic began. Worse yet try to lay a lot of this on Congressman Young is ridiculous. He has always championed the plight of the Soldier/Sailor/Marine and acted in a way he felt was appropriate. He did it internally, then, when that failed he went public with it.

I guess since he didn’t do it as many of our Democratic brethren would have done, leak it to the press, then accuse the administration of dereliction of duty BEFORE they could even know what was going on. How many Democratic Reps/Senators were in Walter Reed and DIDN’T report the conditions? THAT is the question we should be asking before we condemn a public servant who DID do something about it.

[Susan S]

Bruce,
I guess you haven't heard the latest. Apparently there's a "smoking gun" memo written by an aide to one of the generals which details how privatization has caused a mass exodus of staff at Walter Reed resulting in some of the disastrous things we've heard about in the past few days.

Stop trying to cover for the incompetent Bush administration and its GOP allies like Bill Young.

[R. C. Wood]

Am I totally wrong in the assumption that Walter Reed Hospital, like all other veteran hospitals, are funded by the government and the funds are budgeted? If the budget has insufficient allocation for the veterans hospitals and their accomodations and staffing, what are the administrators of these facilities supposed to do? Pull out their wallets and pay for the renovations themselves?

[Susan S]

R.C. Woods,
First, the funding for military spending should be approved by the Appropriations Committee, which until January was chaired by none other than Bill Young. Next, per a huge contract that was awarded last year to AIP, many of the services at Walter Reed have been privatized. Staffing levels have dropped drastically since AIP took over. And just for fun, go to Open Secrets and see if Bill Young took campaign donations from AIP. (I hope I have the acronym correct! Anyway, some of this info has been written about over on the Buzz)

[Grace]

Walter Reed awarded a five-year $120 million contract to IAP Worldwide Services. IAP "is led by a former senior Halliburton official.

I think CW Young should have connected IAP's miserable performance during Hurricane Katrina (they were the ones who couldn't deliever ice).

There's no point in defending a congressman who ignored this kind of thing.

[Bruce Cotton]

Susan I think your partisanship is showing...

You are taking a systemic problem that has existed for decades and laying blame at the feet of politicians you don't like.

Are you also willing to lay the blame for substandard military hospitals at the feet of Pres's Clinton, Carter, Johnson, Truman, Roosevelt and Wilson? They also served when the US was at war and hospital conditions for the troops were deplorable...even more so in the early years of the 20th century.

I would point out the story in today's SPTimes...A section, page 6A "Not Just Walter Reed: More Tales of Poor Care"

The mass exodus at Walter Reed isn't a direct result of privatization, but because the military is shifting its rehab care to a more modern private facility in the D.C. area. This is causing the staff to leave because they suspect the Army is going to close Walter Reed. And they just might be, let's face it Walter Reed is a VERY old facility and the upkeep must be through the ceiling. To modernize it would take a huge chunk out of the military medical budget.

[Susan S]

Bruce,
I've never hidden my partisanship. And, I think it's despicable that our soldiers don't get good care period. Our leaders, Democratic and Republican, should be ashamed of themselves for allowing our military hospitals to be in the shape they're in. It's way past time to start holding our elected officials accountable for their irresponsibility.

Walter Reed is set to close in 2011, but that is no excuse. If it can't be maintained adequately, then it needs to be closed now. Privatization has harmed our efforts in Iraq and it is ruining our efforts to care for the soldiers at home. That is a partisan issue..on the GOP side. Privatization of government services is not in the best interests of our country. We need to run an efficient, effective government that takes care of its military. And while we're at it, maybe it's time for a national healthcare program that will provide care to 12 year old boys so they don't die of toothaches! I am embarrassed that our country, the richest on earth, can't do better.

Suaun,

At least we agree on the care of soldiers. I don't think it's appropriate though to use that issue to further partisan politics, especially with a problem that transends politics.

I agree also that it would be better to shut WR down now rather than waste tens of millions of dollars to refurbish it just in time to tear it down. Which is the probable outcome of the Congressional hearings.I don't think there is any way the Brass come out and say they would like to see their medical budget cut to put a patch on WR when they could use that money in much better ways.

I'm curious, how has privatization hurt our efforts in Iraq? I wasn't aware we were paying mercs to fight instaed of U.S Troops?

As for socialized medicine....you support THAT and you still complain about WR??? If we have socialized medicine in the US get used to MOST hospitals across the US looking like that.

[Bruce Cotton]

Oops...Last post was Bruce. I forgot to put the name in....

[Susan S]

Bruce,
The GOP has played politics with this war and the lives of our troops since 2003. It's only when Demcorats complain or when the Republican leadership is forced to take responsibility for the outcome of their failures that we're not supposed to play politics.

See the movie "Iraq for Sale" and you will understand how the use of contractors has hurt our efforts in that country. We have wasted billions and our troops have been put in danger because of it. The movie shows soldier after soldier, and contractor after contractor talking about the waste and the misuse of our resources, including human resources. One example they described was when our troops were put in harm's way in order for empty trucks to make dangerous runs just so they could charge U.S. taxpayers for the services. Companies like KBR and Halliburton have gotten richer through the spilled blood of our troops and it's sickening. Nothing is less patriotic than the way the Bush administration has handled this war from start to finish.

[David Skaggs]

Susan,
It is painstakingly obvious that you have no true inclination on how the United States wages war. Instead of me attempting to explain in detail, take a trip to any library and check out a book on the "War Powers Act of 1974." This will describe the whole process of "Waging War" from the "Executive Prerogative" to the duties of both houses of Congress. With this information now at your fingertips, you can begin to make an educated and well informed argument. As a whole, citizens of our great nation have no clue as to how their government works. They are more interested in who will be voted the next "American Idol" than they are interested in who will be elected to make important policies and decisions.

[Susan S]

David,
What does your last post have to do with the Bush administration outsourcing the war and the care of our wounded soldiers? I think you'd better turn off Fox News and Rush Limbaugh and educate yourself.

Several writers have the mistaken idea that Walter Reed Army Medical Center is a Veterans Administration facility. It is not - Walter Reed is a Military Treament Facility (MTF). Like all facets of military health care it competes with tanks and bullets for funding from Congress. These MTF commanders receive a bag of money, and they can pretty much spend it however they want. VA hospitals are mostly for disabled veterans (those whose length of service wasn't long enough to earn them a retirement). The VA mail order prescription service is a model of getting the most bang for your buck - they negotiate with the drug companies for prices.
Think of the federal funding of health care as a pair of pants with lots of pockets: military hospitals (MTFs), Tricare/Champus (care by civilian providers for active duty dependents and retirees and their dependents), VA hospitals and clinics, the Federal Employee system, and Medicare - all with different guidelines, run by different organizations - but the money never moves between the pockets. Imagine how many zillions could be saved if their buying power was pooled. The current thinking is to gouge the retirees in every way they can: last year's biggest insult was to suggest an enrollment fee upon retiring to use the civilian providers (the minimum of 25 years of service wasn't enough?).
I am so disgusted that my support of Walter Reed Hosptal was misplaced. I'm glad to see the axe blows landing on the brass for a change, and not some lowly enlisted chump. It took some time to get to this state, and I hope the correction process isn't bogged down in desperate fingerpointing.
As an aside to the writer who claims there isn't a single state-of-the-art military hospital anywhere: you're wrong! Eisenhower Army Medical Center at Ft. Gordon, GA took care of me when the civilian program (Tricare) refused to repair the vertebra in my back that was crushed in a fall. Their high standard of care was obvious; the first time I saw my physician (an interventional neuroradiologist) was when he came out to the waiting room to greet me, and carried my purse while we walked to his office. I wanted to bring him home with me.
Vel Jaeger, Largo

[David]

Susan,
Actually, using KBR for much of the base logistics is an asset. The soldiers can focus on their primary duties, rather than being appointed to do jobs in which they have never been properly trained to perform.
Although there are a few hospitals in the military that are behind their civilian counterparts, the budget they receive would not even pay the salary of the hospital administrators in the civilian sector. The military medical system is an example of why socialized medical care in the US will not work. For this reason, the military has a program known as Community Based Health Care Organization or CBHCO. This allows injured soldiers to live at home and receive health care through providers in their community. Some may view this as a quick fix, but statistics prove that people heal much more quickly when they are closer to friends and family.
There are far too many opinions on "What the military should do" and very few who undertake the challenge. The less than one percent of the United States' population is represented in the five branches of the Armed Forces. What that tells me is that there are a lot of people who are not afraid to open their mouths and spew forth their uninformed, biased, and unwarranted comments and their are a very select few who shrug their shoulders and put their nose to the grindstone and step in when diplomacy and negotiations fail. If you seem to think you can do a better job, then do it. If not, be content just being a sheep.