Posted on 10/19/2004 3:58:25 AM PDT by TFine80
TEXT: Text that appears in UPPER CASE identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor.
[*S7685] MR. KERRY. MR. PRESIDENT, RECENTLY CBS NEWS BROADCAST A REMARKABLE TELEVISION DOCUMENTARY ENTITLED "THE WALL WITHIN," WHICH FOCUSED ON VIETNAM VETERANS IN WASHINGTON STATE WHO ARE VICTIMS OF POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER, OR PTSD. THESE VETERANS ONLY REPRESENT A SMALL MINORITY OF ALL VIETNAM VETERANS, YET THEIR PROBLEMS ARE REAL. THIS POWERFUL AND HARD-HITTING DOCUMENTARY WAS FOLLOWED UP BY A REPORT ON "60 MINUTES" WHICH DETAILED THE LACK OF RESPONSIVENESS OF THE VETERANS' ADMINISTRATION TO VIETNAM [*S7686] VETERANS, ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO ARE STILL SUFFERING FROM THE AFTER-EFFECTS OF THE VIETNAM COMBAT EXPERIENCE.
NO ONE SHOULD DRAW THE CONCLUSION FROM THESE PROGRAMS THAT ALL VIETNAM VETERANS ARE MALADJUSTED OR SUFFERING FROM EMOTIONAL PROBLEMS. THIS IS FAR FROM THE TRUTH. MOST VIETNAM VETERANS ARE SUCCESSFUL, PRODUCTIVE MEMBERS OF SOCIETY. BUT THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF VIETNAM VETERANS, ALTHOUGH SMALL, WHO DO SUFFER FROM EMOTIONAL AND OTHER HEALTH PROBLEMS CAUSED BY THEIR VIETNAM EXPERIENCE. POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER [PTSD] IS THE CLINICAL TERM USED TO DESCRIBE THE PSYCHOLOGICAL AFTERSHOCKS OF THE VIETNAM WAR WHICH AFFECT THESE VETERANS.
THE VIETNAM EXPERIENCE STUDY, WHICH WAS RECENTLY RELEASED BY THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL, SHOWED THAT VIETNAM VETERANS SUFFER FROM SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER THAN NORMAL RATES OF EMOTIONAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS, INCLUDING ALCOHOL AND DRUG ABUSE AND ADDICTION, NERVOUS DISORDERS, DEPRESSION, ANXIETY, AND OTHER PSYCHOLOGICAL DYSFUNCTIONS. THESE PROBLEMS ARE CLEARLY LINKED TO THEIR VIETNAM SERVICE. YET THE VETERANS' ADMINISTRATION HAS BEEN UNRESPONSIVE TO THE NEEDS OF THESE VETERANS.
THE VA HAS MADE CONTINUAL ATTEMPTS TO DOWNPLAY AND DENY THAT VIETNAM VETERANS SUFFER FROM PROBLEMS RESULTING FROM THEIR VIETNAM SERVICE, WHETHER FROM CANCERS CAUSED BY EXPOSURE TO AGENT ORANGE IN VIETNAM, OR EMOTIONAL PROBLEMS DUE TO PTSD. THE VA HAS CONSISTENTLY TRIED TO KILL OFF THE VET CENTER PROGRAM, WHICH HAS BEEN THE MOST SUCCESSFUL METHOD OF OUTREACH TO VIETNAM VETERANS. THE VET CENTERS HAVE PROVIDED A PLACE FOR VIETNAM VETERANS TO GO WHERE THEY CAN FEEL COMFORTABLE, AND WHERE THEY CAN OPENLY AND HONESTLY DISCUSS THEIR PROBLEMS AND RECEIVE APPROPRIATE COUNSELING. FOR REASONS BEST KNOWN TO THIS ADMINISTRATION, THE VA HAS CONDUCTED A KIND OF "SEARCH AND DESTROY" MISSION AGAINST THE VET CENTERS. LAST YEAR, THE SENATE HAD TO PASS LEGISLATION TO PREVENT THE VA FROM CLOSING DOWN EIGHT VET CENTERS, INCLUDING ONE IN AVON, MA, WHICH HAS BEEN HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL.
I KNOW THAT THERE HAVE BEEN CONCERNS RAISED THAT, BY SHOWING THESE DOCUMENTARIES, CBS HAS PERPETUATED OLD STEREOTYPES ABOUT VIETNAM VETERANS. I BELIEVE THAT THESE CHARGES ARE UNWARRANTED. I AM VERY CONCERNED BY SOME OF THE STEREOTYPES ABOUT MALADJUSTED AND EMOTIONALLY DISTURBED VIETNAM VETERANS WHICH HAVE BEEN PORTRAYED IN SOME FILMS AND TV SHOWS. BUT THERE ARE SOME VETERANS WHO DO HAVE CONTINUING PROBLEMS AND CONTINUING NEEDS WHICH THE VA HAS FAILED TO ADDRESS. THESE CBS PROGRAMS HAVE DONE A SERVICE BY CALLING ATTENTION TO THE NEEDS OF VIETNAM VETERANS, AND THE CONTINUING LACK OF RESPONSE BY THEIR GOVERNMENT.
I ASK THAT THE TRANSCRIPTS OF "THE WALL WITHIN" AND THE "60 MINUTES" SEGMENT BE PRINTED IN THE RECORD.
I posted the entire transcript: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1249241/posts
For more information on the first 1988 Rathergate: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1218053/posts
Kerry and Rather have been in bed together, a long time.
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