Senator Promotes Military Traumatic Injury Benefit

Craig said he got the idea for the bill from the veterans groups and that Ryan Kelly, a veteran who lost his leg during an ambush near Baghdad, was the principal author of the draft of the bill.

“It is widely known that due to the incredible advances in medicine, servicemembers who may not have survived life-threatening injuries in previous wars are now making it back home alive from Iraq and Afghanistan,” Craig said. “That is the good news. The bad news, however, is that they must live with injuries that may have left them without their limbs, sight, hearing, or speech ability, or even more. All of my colleagues have likely met these brave young men and women in their home visits or right here in Washington, D.C., at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.”

Servicemembers have an acute need for cash during the rehabilitation period, while they are waiting for other benefits to kick in, Craig said.

Many members of the Guard and Reserve suffered a severe drop in income when they entered active service, and long recovery periods add to their financial stress, Craig said.

“In addition,” Craig said, “family members of injured soldiers bear the burdens necessary to travel from great distances to provide the love and emotional support that is absolutely essential for any successful rehabilitation. Spouses quit jobs to spend time with their husbands at the hospital, or husbands quit jobs to spend time with their wives. Parents spare no expense to be with their injured children.”

Spending $10 million per year to provide an immediate cash benefit would be a small price pay to meet the needs of seriously injured servicemembers, Craig said.

Links to the text of S. 806 and other information about the bill are on the Web at http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:s.00806::