Washington House Democrats

Jan. 4, 2008

VANCOUVER – The Legislature’s Joint Committee for Veterans & Military Affairs will meet in Vancouver on Monday afternoon, Jan. 7, from 1:30 to 3:30.

State Rep. Jim Moeller, co-chair of the panel’s executive committee, said the meeting will be held in the Clark County Board of Commissioners hearing room in the Public Service Center, 1300 Franklin Street.

“Our agenda includes a discussion of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other issues that are terribly important for veterans and their families,” said Moeller, D-Vancouver.

Moeller explained that PTSD is an anxiety disorder that afflicts many people after they have been exposed to a terrifying ordeal or event. A war, for example, can send soldiers home, if they do survive and get to go home, with terrifying memories and experiences that haunt them for the rest of their lives.

“All too often, the severe and ongoing emotional suffering of PTSD is the only legacy our military personnel are guaranteed,” Moeller said.

The committee meeting will also include an update on the Clark County veterans’ relief fund, the veterans’ family fund, and the proposed Camp Bonneville Cemetery.

The joint committee is a bipartisan group of representatives and senators. Moeller’s executive-committee co-chair is state Sen. Pam Roach, R-Auburn.