(R-Maine)
Women have always played an important role in the U.S. military, dating back to the Revolutionary War. And the number of women serving in the U.S. military is growing at an unprecedented rate. While decades ago, a woman’s role in the military was confined primarily to nursing, today, women make up over 14 percent of our active duty and have jobs ranging from crew member on a combat ship, to jet transport pilot, to military truck mechanic.
Women are also serving in more leadership roles. In fact, the Pentagon recently announced that General Ann Dunwoody has been nominated to the rank of four-star General, making her the first woman in our nation’s history to achieve that distinction. Currently, there are 57 active-duty women serving as generals or admirals, five of whom are lieutenant generals or vice admirals. Much of the credit for this advancement goes to Maine’s own Senator Margaret Chase Smith, the first woman to serve on the Senate Armed Services Committee. It was through her efforts after World War II that women secured the right to careers in the regular military. I am honored to hold her seat in the Senate today and to serve on that same committee.
As the number of women in the military has increased, so too has the number of female veterans. There are approximately 1.7 million women veterans, making women the fastest growing subgroup of veterans. But unfortunately, the Veterans Administration (VA) has not kept pace with the changing demographics of our veterans, and the agency is unprepared to meet the unique health care needs of this growing population. It is imperative that the VA has the capacity to provide the best possible care to the brave women who have given so much for our country.
I have joined a bipartisan group of my colleagues including Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) in introducing the “Women Veterans Health Care Improvement Act of 2008,” to expand and improve health care services to women veterans, particularly those who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
This legislation has two major objectives. First, the legislation requires the VA to conduct thorough assessments of the health care needs of women in the military. For example, the bill authorizes two studies of women that have served in Iraq and Afghanistan to determine the effects of these conflicts on their physical, mental, and reproductive health. One study would be conducted by the VA in conjunction with the Department of Defense, and the second would be conducted by the Institutes of Medicine. The results of both reports would be reported to Congress.
The bill also requires the Secretary of the VA to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the barriers that women currently face when they seek care through the VA — such as child care — and it requires the Secretary to study the effectiveness of the specialized programs the VA currently offers to women.
Second, the bill authorizes several new programs aimed at improving the VA’s ability to provide care to meet the physical and mental health care needs of women. The bill would require the VA to implement a new program to train, educate, and certify VA mental health professionals so they are better able to care for women with PTSD.
The bill would further improve the care of women by requiring a full-time women veterans program manager at all VA medical centers; establishing a pilot program that provides child care to women veterans that seek mental health care or other intensive health care services at the VA; and requiring the VA to include on its advisory board women who are recently separated from service. This provision will help the VA better identify the unique and changing needs of women in the military.
This bipartisan legislation has been endorsed by several veterans groups throughout the nation including the Veterans of Foreign Wars and its Ladies Auxiliary, the American Legion, the Disabled American Veterans, and the Paralyzed Veterans of America.
It is my hope that the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee will soon consider this important legislation.
World War II veteran Anne S. (Sosh) Brehm 1 LT, USA, NC said, “Let the generations know that women in uniform also guaranteed their freedom.”
It is time for the VA to ensure that these brave and noble women have the health care they hae earned and deserve.
