March 20, 2007—Congressman Trent Franks (AZ-02) today offered an amendment to the Wounded Warriors Assistance Act and voted to ensure America’s injured and wounded military soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines receive the finest healthcare available through the military health system.  Congressman Franks’s amendment as well as the Wounded Warriors Assistance Act has the support of both Republicans and Democrats. Congressman Franks also spoke in support of Congressman Jeff Miller’s (FL-01) amendment, which would prevent the treatment of wounded soldiers within fifty miles of any facility housing former Guantanamo Bay detainees. Congressman Miller’s amendment failed by a 6-vote margin; however, the bill passed with Congressman Franks’s amendment. 

Franks said, “We go to great lengths to show deference to the religious sensibilities of terrorists who are jailed at Guantanamo Bay. We give them prayer rugs and prayer cloth.  We paint arrows on the floor in each of the rooms and out in the hallways so that they know the direction of Mecca. We feed them special food and broadcast their prayers five times daily-- this, because America, is a humane nation.

He continued, “Shouldn’t we show the same amount of deference for the sensibilities of our own wounded warriors, who individually and collectively, represent this country’s freedom, tolerance, and bravery? They must not be degraded by being cared for side by side with those who represent oppression, intolerance and hate.  I support Mr. Miller’s amendment.” 

Congressman Franks’s amendment helps to bridge the gap between wounded servicemen and Members of Congress on the Armed Services Committee.  It requires that the Secretary of Defense include in each annual report on military medical facilities to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees, any deficiencies in the adequacy, quality, or state of repair of medical-related support facilities raised as a result of information received during the period covered by the report through the toll-free hotline.

H.R. 1538, the Wounded Warrior Assistance Act of 2007, provides the people, training and oversight mechanisms needed to ensure that our wounded warriors receive committed quality care and that the military health system will not fail them.  The legislation also sets the stage for much needed reform of administrative processes that will restore member confidence in the integrity and efficiency of the disability evaluation system and begin the process of achieving a truly seamless transition of service members to the Department of Veterans Affairs programs.

Congressman Franks is serving his third term in the U.S. House of Representatives, is a member of the Committee on Armed Services, Strategic Forces Subcommittee, Committee on the Judiciary, is Ranking Member on the Constitution Subcommittee, and member of the Anti-Terrorism Caucus