We're here for them.

Most of you have probably heard some of the reports about the shameful conditions at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center's outpatient facilities and maintenance problems at Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals and clinics.

Not only was I outraged, but my heart sank when I read about the situation at Walter Reed because the young men and women who have sacrificed so much for our nation deserve better. And the DAY immediately, and forcefully, called upon Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to take urgent action to provide decent, sanitary housing for recuperating soldiers and to correct deficiencies in the discharge and medical retirement out-processing.

It should be noted, however, that in news reports and during congressional hearings on the matter, the injured soldiers and members of their families publicly praised the DAV's full-time representative at Walter Reed Army Medical Center as the one person they could count on when they needed information and help with the red tape and paperwork in the separation process.

The DAV's services and outreach for soldiers and other servicemembers who've become injured in Iraq and Afghanistan are second to none. And it took months of hard bargaining with military officials and all the way up the line to the Secretary of Defense to gain access to the injured soldiers at Walter Reed so our National Service Officers could provide free services to these brave men and women.

But even then our efforts to visit the wounded were severely restricted as to where we could go. Our NSOs were escorted at all times while in the facility, and all contact with patients was closely monitored by the escort. Those overly broad restrictions on patient access inhibited the ability of our NSOs to provide the wounded servicemembers the vital information they and their families need in order to obtain the medical care and benefits many of these veterans will depend on for decades to come.

With regard to VA facilities, the maintenance problems were detailed in a review of facilities ordered by Secretary of Veterans Affairs R. James Nicholson. And to his credit, the secretary has been duly responsive and has ordered immediate corrective actions.

The DAV has been aware of maintenance problems at some hospitals and clinics for some time. Over the past few years, staff at some VA facilities have informed DAV that they have had to defer maintenance and instead channel those resources into patient services because of budget shortfalls in veterans health care. The DAV repeatedly has brought those concerns to the attention of Congress and the Administration. On numerous occasions, the DAV has testified before the authorizing committees as well as the budget and appropriations committees about the need for additional funding for VA. And while Congress has increased appropriations somewhat over the years, those funds have not been sufficient to meet the needs we have identified.

You may recall that in June 2005, the VA admitted that it faced a critical $1 billion budget shortfall in veterans health care for fiscal year 2005, although officials told Congress they had known about the problem since April. Then in July 2005, the VA asked Congress for an additional $2 billion to cover a shortfall in its proposed fiscal year 2006 budget.

The DAV had informed Congress that the need for additional funding was obvious long before the Administration's revelations. As early as December 2004, news reports began appearing that some VA medical facilities were running out of money and faced huge deficits.

As an organization created and sustained by disabled veterans, we know that for those who bear the scars of war, the battle never ends. When the stories of concern have been moved off of the front pages of newspapers and magazines and the lead stories of nightly news casts, the DAV will still be here fighting for the benefits our disabled veterans have earned and deserve. The shortfalls in funding for veterans health care and disability claims backlogs are not news to the DAV. We have been crying out to lawmakers, the Administration and the media for years about these issues.

So, where has the DAV been? Right there all along looking out for the interests of America's injured and disabled veterans. And we will continue to do everything in our power to hold the nation's military and civilian leadership accountable for their policies and treatment of those who have given so much of themselves to protect and preserve our precious freedoms.