S.Res. 71 — Agreed to in Senate

III 113th CONGRESS 1st Session S. RES. 71 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES March 7, 2013 Mr. Burr (for himself and Mr. Sanders) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to RESOLUTION Designating the week of March 4 through March 8, 2013, as Military and Veterans Caregiver Week. Whereas more than 2,400,000 members of the Armed Forces have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan since October 2001, 6,640 have been killed in action, more than 50,000 have been wounded in action, and 1,715 have undergone an amputation for a battle-related injury; Whereas the signature wounds of members of the Armed Forces who have served in Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation New Dawn are traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder; Whereas, between January 1, 2000, and August 20, 2012, 253,330 cases of traumatic brain injury were diagnosed among members of the Armed Forces, and approximately 6,500 cases were classified as severe or penetrating; Whereas studies have shown that the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder among veterans who served in Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom ranges between 15 and 20 percent, and reports from the Department of Veterans Affairs show that 29 percent of veterans who served in Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom and sought health care during fiscal years 2002 through 2012 had post-traumatic stress disorder; Whereas many of the members of the Armed Forces and veterans who served in Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom and suffered these injuries require assistance from a family caregiver to complete activities of daily living such as bathing, dressing, and feeding, or instrumental activities such as transportation, meal preparation, and health management; Whereas as many as 1,000,000 spouses, parents, and children of veterans have served or are currently serving as family caregivers to veterans who served in Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom, according to a study of military caregivers conducted by the RAND Corporation; Whereas section 1672 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (Public Law 110–181; 10 U.S.C. 1071 note) introduced an expansion of medical care available to family caregivers, and the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2010 (Public Law 111–163) facilitated a new program for access to health insurance, mental health services, caregiver training, and respite care by family caregivers of veterans who served in Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom; Whereas the program provided under the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2010 (Public Law 111–163) is limited to veterans enrolled in the Veterans Health Administration, who sustained a serious injury in the line of duty after September 11, 2001, and who require at least 6 months of personal care services because of an inability to perform activities of daily living or who require supervision due to neurological impairment; and Whereas the primary caregivers of members of the Armed Forces and veterans injured in the line of duty make tremendous sacrifices of their own, saving the United States millions of dollars in health care and potential institutionalization costs: Now, therefore, be it That the Senate— (1) designates the week of March 4 through March 8, 2013, as Military and Veterans Caregiver Week; (2) honors caregivers of members of the Armed Forces and veterans for their service and sacrifice to the United States; and (3) calls upon the people of the United States— (A) to observe the week with appropriate activities and events; and (B) to participate in activities that will show support to military families and the sacrifices endured by those families in service to the United States.