Norton Bill Filed Today to Reverse Walter Reed Closing Has the Necessary Support - March 8, 2007

Washington, DC-In the wake of testimony by Army officials at hearings onsubstandard outpatient health care and conditions at Walter Reed Army MedicalCenter (WRAMC), including instability and difficulty in hiring and retainingstaff because of a closing plan, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC)today introduced a bill to prohibit the closing of the base. The"Preserve Walter Reed Hospital Act of 2007" would reverse the 2005recommendation of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) to closeWalter Reed and merge it with the NationalNaval MedicalCenter in Bethesda, Maryland. Norton said that the disruptions that have surfaced during hearings and werereported in The Washington Post call for this rare reversal "tostop the proverbial bleeding of staff and talent...and to stop the madness ofclosing the nation's most vital and best military hospital in the middle of ashooting war and the war on terrorism." She said that Rep. John Murtha(D-PA), Chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, had assured herthe necessary language to ensure that Walter Reed does not close will be in hisbill and that the appropriate authorizers had agreed to the necessary language.

Norton questioned top militarybrass Monday at a field hearing of the Oversight and Government ReformCommittee on the base, including Army Vice Chief of Staff General Richard Cody,who said that the planned closure had made it difficult to hire and keeppersonnel. Norton is particularly concerned about the drain on vitalcivilian clinical and medical personnel at a time when Walter Reed is receivinglarge numbers of injured soldiers and a military surge may mean many more.

Since the BRAC recommendation,Norton has doubted that the administration or Congress would come forward withthe required two billion dollars to construct the proposed new Walter Reed in Bethesda in theforeseeable future, and much more for moving costs and new equipment. Nowshe believes a new hospital will not be built in the foreseeable future, giventhe huge and mounting deficit, and "certainly not in the middle of a warwhen funds must be committed to soldiers, their families, veterans and the waritself." Several Members of Congress on the relevant committees havesince publicly agreed.

Norton said that leaving Walter Reedon the BRAC list sends promises Congress cannot keep to build a new hospital by2011. She said that there have been no complaints about care andconditions at the main hospital, "but the hearing laid bare a brokenmilitary health care outpatient system and bureaucracy in need of both longterm and short term remedies," and the hospital's administrativeoutpatient care and facilities have rapidly become "a potent symbol of anational breakdown." A first step to take here, she said, is toreverse the closing of WRAMC to help stabilize personnel who, as the generalstestified, scatter once they believe a base will close. Norton said herbill is necessary because, if Walter Reed is listed for closing, vital clinicaland medical personnel will increasingly leave or avoid the hospital, whichtestimony showed is already occurring.

The Congresswoman also said thatWalter Reed is an essential and integral component of the EmergencyPreparedness Plan for the nation's capital, in close proximity to the WhiteHouse, the Capitol and tourists attractions and is central to plans to treatmass casualties during a possible terrorist attack in the city or region, in contrastto Bethesda, which is separated from the region by distance and traffic.

Acknowledging that reversing aBRAC decision "is and should be rare," Norton said, "thequestion should not be can we take Walter Reed off the closing list but, why wasthis hospital scheduled to close in the first place, as our soldiers wereengaged in a shooting war with no end in sight? Another question should be dowe truly intend to spend billions of dollars on bricks and mortar for a newhospital instead of on our soldiers and their current facilities?"

Norton's full statement ofintroduction follows.

At the Committee on Oversight andGovernment Reform hearing on March 5, 2007 at WalterReed ArmyHospital, I asked the top brass whotestified whether designating Walter Reed for closing in the midst of a war hadcontributed to any instability of personnel at the Walter ReedHospital Garrison. Eachof them responded unequivocally that the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC)closing for Walter Reed, had had a destabilizing effect on the hospital. ArmyVice Chief of Staff General Richard Cody testified "You're trying to getthe best people to come here to work, and they know in three years that thisplace will close down and they're not sure whether they will be afforded theopportunity to move to the new WalterReed NationalMilitary Center...-that causes some issues." This and other testimony, as well as recentWashington Post revelations, have contributed directly to my introduction todayof the "Preserve Walter Reed Army Medical Center Act of 2007."Several senior leaders of the relevant committees have since agreed that WalterReed should be taken off the BRAC list and should remain open.

There have been no complaintsabout the hospital's world-class treatment or the hospital itself, which wasbuilt only in 1977, but the hearing laid bare a broken military health careoutpatient system and bureaucracy in need of both long term and short termremedies. The epicenter of this system is its "crown jewel" Walter ReedHospital, whose physicaland administrative outpatient care have rapidly become a potent symbol of anational breakdown that will require systemic remedies for military and veteranhospitals across the country. However, because the problems are both deep andwide, we must find immediate solutions at each facility while the militaryoutpatient systems are freed from knotted bureaucratic tangles.

A first step to take to stop theproverbial bleeding of staff and talent is to reverse the madness of closingthe nation's best and most vital military hospital in the middle of a shootingwar and the war on terrorism. This bill to reverse the closing of the WalterReed base will help stabilize personnel who, as the generals testified, scatteronce they believe a base will close. At a time when Walter Reed isreceiving large numbers of injured soldiers and a military surge may mean manymore, closing the nation's premier military hospital should be unthinkable.

Moreover, leaving WalterReed on the BRAC list has become increasingly untenable because closing thehospital carries with it a promise and an intention to build a new hospital by2011. In the foreseeable future, no one expects the administration or Congressto come forward with the required two billion dollars to construct the proposednew Walter Reed in Bethesda, Maryland, and much more for moving costs and newequipment, given the huge and mounting deficit, and certainly not in the middleof a war when funds must be committed to soldiers, their families, veterans andthe war itself. Nevertheless, a repeal bill is necessary because, if WalterReed continues to be listed for closing, Congress will continue to send asignal to personnel to make their career decisions accordingly. As is alreadyoccurring, Walter Reed will find it increasingly difficult to retain and hirepersonnel, including vital civilian clinical and medical personnel,particularly the very best; who the nation expects will work at Walter Reed toattend to the most seriously injured military men and women.

Further, Walter Reed is an essentialand integral component of the Emergency Preparedness Plan for the nation'scapital. The hospital is located just 5 ½ miles from the White House, 6 ½ milesfrom the Capitol and 6 miles from the Washington ConventionCenter. Its location in the city is strategicallyimportant. If moved to Bethesda,traffic and distance would place Walter Reed outside of the homeland securitysystem here that has been developed specifically to take account of thelocation of the top-tier federal presence, officials and employees. Because ofthe location here Walter Reed is essential to treat mass casualties in the caseof a terrorist attack. The hospital is part of the Emergency Preparedness Planfor the District, a system for treatment of acute illness or trauma of peoplerequiring hospitalization from a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear orexplosive incident. The specialized needs are above the District's hospitalcapacity. Thus, the District needs Walter Reed's available resources in orderto comply with this Department of Homeland Security mandate.

I fully recognize that reversinga BRAC decision is and should be rare. However, particularly after what we havelearned about unmet needs for injured members of the military returning homefrom Iraq and Afghanistan, this step is minimally necessary to stabilizeoperations at the nation's most important hospital base for caring for our mostseriously injured members of the military. Far from establishing aprecedent, no other military facility stands on the same footing or has socentral a mission. The question should not be can we take Walter Reed off theclosing list but, why was this hospital scheduled to close in the first place,as our soldiers were engaged in a shooting war with no end in sight? Anotherquestion should be do we truly intend to spend billions of dollars on bricksand mortar for a new hospital instead of on our soldiers and their currentfacilities?

Walter Reed, like other militaryhospitals, will not be what it should be immediately. However, we canimmediately demonstrate that Congress means business by moving to stabilize thenation's premier military medical hospital and then getting on with the rest ofthe job.