Lieberman to give weekly Democratic speech
HARTFORD, Conn. --Sen. Joe Lieberman, who won a fourth term last year as an independent after losing the Democratic nomination to an anti-war candidate, is scheduled to deliver the Democrats' weekend radio speech on Saturday.
In his prepared text released Friday, Lieberman, I-Conn., calls for improving care for wounded U.S. troops who have served in Afghanistan and Iraq.
"For instance, soldiers with brain injuries have gone weeks without being able to get doctors appointments," he said. "There is not enough staff with the right skills to treat and care for the severely injured troops. And rooms where some soldiers lived were found to be moldy and infested with rodents."
Disclosures of substandard conditions for wounded Iraq soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington prompted the Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey to step down Friday, a day after he fired the two-star general in charge of the medical center.
Lieberman, who caucuses with the Senate's Democratic majority, backs President Bush's Iraq war policies and received strong Republican support in his 2006 re-election race. He has rejected speculation that he would caucus with Republicans.
He said recently, however, that switching to the Republicans -- and tipping the Senate's balance of power to the GOP -- is a remote possibility.
Citing national security issues, Lieberman also has said he may vote for a Republican presidential candidate in 2008.
The last time Lieberman gave the Democratic radio address was in September 2002, a spokesman said. 