Senate To Hold Hearings On Walter Read

Why doesn't Congress take some responsibility for creating the problem. More than 2 years ago the BRAC (base realignment and closure) committee decided that Walter Reed was to be closed and they cut off funding for the hospital. Now they are blaming the military for following orders. With no congressionally mandated funding for repairs, updates or maintanence, naturally deterioration would take place and the care of the soldier would get worse. Now Congress has decided that the military is at fault for following instruction. They should either close the site completely and built a modern state of the art facility or appropriate funds to rebuilt Walter Read into the flagship of Army medicine it once was.

The hospital is overwhelmed by the influx of causulties and does not have the funds to either improve the facility or to properly care for the soldiers. Congress needs to accept responsibility for creating the problem and do something about it, not just look for someone else to blame.

Former military doctor