Washington, D.C. ? They want more than a bandage.

Lawmakers promised a quick response and sought an independent commission as they expressed outrage Sunday over the poor conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center for soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“I’m worried about if it’s this bad at the outpatient facilities at Walter Reed, how is it in the rest of the country? Because Walter Reed is our crown jewel,” said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.

In a letter Sunday to Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Sunday, Schumer asked for an independent commission, possibly headed by former Secretary of State Colin Powell, to investigate all post-combat medical facilities and recommend changes.

“To think that men and women are serving their country in the most honorable and courageous way possible and all we give them is a dilapidated, rat-infested, run-down building to recover is a disgrace,” Schumer wrote.