Tom Rooney Calls for Purple Heart Benefits for Fort Hood Victims

U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney, R-Fla., joined fellow congressmen on Friday to sponsor the Justice for Fort Hood and Little Rock Heroes Act to ensure servicemen wounded in the Fort Hood attack and in the attack at a recruiting station in Little Rock receive the same benefits as members of the military wounded in combat.

These are American soldiers who were attacked on base, by an enemy of this country, for doing their job, said Rooney who served at Fort Hood. We have a moral obligation to make sure they get the care and benefits they need, but we have run into repeated objections from the Department of Defense on how to achieve that goal. After exchanging letters with the Army and meeting personally with DoD representatives, Im confident that this new legislation addresses their concerns while ensuring the victims of the Fort Hood attack get the full range of benefits they deserve.

Rooney expressed his continued disagreement with the Army over whether these were terrorist attacks.

I disagree with the Armys concerns and firmly believe we should designate the Fort Hood shooting as a terrorist attack, Rooney said. However, with this bill we have found a way to set that debate aside, work together and make sure the victims and their families get the care they need.