Authorizing City Council's Committee on the Disabled and the Handicapped to urge Pennsylvania's Senators, Arlen Specter and Robert Casey, Jr. to call upon the United State Senate's Committee On Veteran's Affairs to immediately hold hearings in Philadelphia to address the gross injustices and indignities suffered by the disabled veterans of the Delaware Valley; and to investigate and determine the feasibility of having the Delaware Valley certified by the United States Congress as a Regional Rehabilitation Hub with a rehabilitation medical facility that would be certified by the United States Congress as the regional rehabilitation provider in the Delaware Valley.

WHEREAS, The number of returning disabled veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan War has been grossly underestimated by the Bush Administration; and

WHEREAS, Walter Reed Army Medical Center has failed to live up to its mission of service to the many displaced veterans, especially disabled veterans, from around the Country, including the Delaware Valley; and

WHEREAS, The rehabilitative and medical needs of the disabled veterans must be addressed by skilled and competent rehabilitation experts; and

WHEREAS, There are more than 91,018 Pennsylvania veterans, alone, who receive full or partial medical compensation due to military service; and

WHEREAS, More than 125,360 veterans receive disability compensation from the Veterans Administration just in Pennsylvania; and

WHEREAS, The road to recovery is often very long and arduous requiring our young men and women to be away from their families, friends, and other support people for periods of time often exceeding one year; and

WHEREAS, Rehabilitation can be hastened by the presence of friends, family and other support people; and

WHEREAS, The speedy recovery and return to the mainstream of society by veterans of the Delaware Valley, and Philadelphia in particular, improves and enhances the quality of life throughout the Region; now therefore

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That Council's Committee on the Disabled and the Handicapped to urge Pennsylvania's Senators, Arlen Specter and Robert Casey, Jr. to call upon the United State Senate's Committee On Veteran's Affairs to immediately hold hearings in Philadelphia to address the gross injustices and indignities suffered by the disabled veterans of the Delaware Valley; and to investigate and determine the feasibility of having the Delaware Valley certified by the United States Congress as a Regional Rehabilitation Hub with a rehabilitation medical facility that would be certified by the United States Congress as the regional rehabilitation provider in the Delaware Valley.

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