Waxman Power! Part one..

Is This Any Way to Treat Our Troops? – Part II: Follow-Up on Corrective Measures Taken at Walter Reed

On Tuesday, April 17, 2007, at 10:00 a.m., the Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs held a hearing to examine the Pentagon’s subsequent response to the Subcommittee’s March 5 field hearing on allegations of unacceptable care and living conditions of wounded soldiers housed at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. This hearing explored what is being done about broader systemic problems identified throughout the Defense Department medical care system.

This hearing was the first opportunity for any Congressional Committee to hear from – and to question – the Independent Review Group (IRG), which was set up by Defense Secretary Gates to provide recommendations to fix the problems at Walter Reed, Bethesda Naval Medical Center, and other Defense Department medical facilities. Senior Defense Department and Army officials were present to respond to the IRG report, to discuss implementation of the report’s findings, and to brief the Subcommittee on their own independent corrective efforts.