Legislation funding a joint Fort Hood-Waco Veterans Affairs Hospital project researching the causes and treatment of post traumatic stress disorder passed the full U.S. House of Representatives Thursday.

The $3 million project, introduced by Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco, was part of an $85.2 billion spending bill for veterans programs and military construction that now heads for the Senate. The money would become available on Oct. 1.

"This is important for military families and veterans returning from Iraq," Edwards said in a statement. "As a state-of-the-art psychiatric hospital, the Waco VA Hospital's expertise in treating post traumatic stress disorder should be utilized as soldiers from nearby Fort Hood return to civilian life after serving in Iraq."
Edwards said the funding would "help us better understand the root causes of PTSD, and develop enhanced screening techniques while working toward new and improved treatments."

The Waco VA Hospital, currently under scrutiny for possible downsizing or a change in its medical mission, offers more long-term psychiatric care than any other veterans medical center in the nation. Supporters have sought to expand its PTSD services recently.

Edwards and other civic leaders championing the hospital's psychiatric services have highlighted a recent Army study that indicates one in six veterans returning from combat in Iraq suffers from symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder.