Lawmaker Looks Beyond Walter Reed Fix (AP)

Mar 5, 2:47 PM (ET)

By JOHN HEILPRIN

WASHINGTON (AP) - Substandard living conditions found at the Army's flagship veterans hospital likely exist throughout the military health care system, the head of a House panel investigating Walter Reed Army Medical Center said Monday.

"We need a sustained focus here, and much more needs to be done," Rep. John Tierney said of a scandal enveloping Walter Reed. Charges of bureaucratic delays and poor treatment there have produced calls in Congress for quick reform.

Tierney said he is afraid "these problems go well beyond the walls of Walter Reed," adding that "as we send more and more troops into Iraq and Afghanistan, these problems are only going to get worse, not better."

Former Walter Reed Medical Center head Maj. Gen. George Weightman testifies before a House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee hearing at Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington Monday, March 5, 2007, to discuss care and conditions of wounded soldiers at the hospital. (AP Photo/Dennis Cook)

A House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee hearing Monday at the hospital brought a wide range of apologies from top-level Army officers and the Army's No. 2 civilian. "We have let some soldiers down," said Peter Geren, the undersecretary of the Army.

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