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The House Armed Services Committee Tuesday unanimously approved a measure intended to improve the quality of care for wounded service members undergoing treatment at the military's outpatient facilities.

The bipartisan Wounded Warriors Assistance Act (H.R. 1538), which passed 59-0 and is expected on the floor in the next several weeks, is a direct reaction to recent revelations by the Washington Post, which detailed substandard conditions and bureaucratic red tape confronting injured soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan who are being treated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

The bill also would place a moratorium on new reviews under Office of Management and Budget Circular A-76 for potential privatization of operations at military hospitals.

The American Federation of Government Employees praised that move. "The Office of Management and Budget's obsession with privatizing federal employees cannot be allowed to undermine the health of military personnel," said John Gage, president of AFGE, which represents workers at Walter Reed.

Armed Services Personnel Subcommittee Chairman Vic Snyder, D-Ark., called the bill a "first step" in what he hopes will be a broader effort to correct problems at Walter Reed and other military medical facilities.

Indeed, Personnel Subcommittee ranking member John McHugh, R-N.Y., said the problems at Walter Reed are only one example of bureaucratic frustrations and hurdles experienced at the military's many hospital facilities.

Several lawmakers from both sides of the aisle hailed the bill as a chance to make a significant difference for soldiers receiving outpatient care, who are often neglected in the military's healthcare system.

"I am pleased that our committee has moved expeditiously to make the changes we can adopt fairly quickly, such as improving training and reducing case loads for case managers, so service members can get the help they need," Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton, D-Mo., said in a written statement.

Skelton, who bypassed the Personnel Subcommittee to move the bill quickly out of the full committee, said Armed Services lawmakers will evaluate "more comprehensive reforms" as they consider the fiscal 2008 defense authorization bill.

COMMENTS

• I pose a question: if contractors can make huge profits performing the same tasks, why is it that government leaders could not achieve the same, or nearly the same, 'profit' as savings to the taxpayers? I recall having to spend enormous time and resources preparing A-76 documents - time and resources that were diverted from completing the mission and which, oddly enough, contributed to reducing our productivity, making profit-making proposals appear more cost effective. Retired Army Medical Service Corps Officer Posted May 31, 2007 7:09 PM
• It is about time Washington wake up to the fact that not all contracting out (or privatization) will work to the advantage of the people and services affected and in most cases it definitely is not advantageous to the taxpayer. What a terrible price to pay by our military men and women in order for this to come to light. The companies who win the contracts are there to make money from that contract, not necessarily to do a better job than the replaced federal employee, whether it be janitorial, food service, or in the military health systems. GovExec.com reader Posted March 22, 2007 11:37 AM