Despite COMBAT PTSD Act, Congress is Falling Short in Providing for Veterans With PTSD

In a speech last week to military veterans and medical students at Virginia Commonwealth University, First Lady Michelle Obama announced that U.S. medical schools will be increasing their efforts to educate future doctors in treating mental-health issues affecting America’s new wave of combat veterans.

The First Lady’s remarks and the associated educational program represent progress in improving public awareness of the challenges facing the hundreds of thousands of veterans suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI). But while attention to psychological disorders affecting our veterans is at an all-time high, action in the form of legislation has been painfully slow. Despite whatever good intentions may exist, Congress is failing in its obligation to provide for injured veterans in the timely fashion they deserve.

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