FORT DRUM — In a return to Northern New York following her presidential bid, U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., had nothing but praise Tuesday for the wounded soldier unit at Fort Drum. She also announced a legislative package to increase home heating relief.

While at Fort Drum, she toured the transition unit facilities, where wounded soldiers are assigned after an injury, and met with soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, 85th Infantry Regiment, which is a Warrior Transition Unit. She talked with them at length about their experiences as they go through the transition process, which has fallen under scrutiny since last year when the conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., were exposed.

"There was a hearing in the Congress about a week ago on these Warrior Transition Units, and the biggest concern, which is what I heard here from Col. Penner, is just personnel and resources," Mrs. Clinton said. Col. Jerome Penner III is the commander of U.S. Army Medical Department Activity at Fort Drum that oversees the unit. "We need the people to be able to do the job that they have been asked to perform."

Transition units have come under increased pressure to become more efficient; at the same time, it has been revealed that staffing these units has been troublesome. A House Armed Services subcommittee in June determined Fort Drum had staff to handle only 250 soldiers in the unit that contained 530 troops.

But that didn't stop the praise from Mrs. Clinton, who said Fort Drum is a model for the Army when it comes to soldier care, and from the soldiers who were given the chance to speak with her.

"It was great to have somebody like her come here to identify the problems so they can be addressed immediately," said Sgt. Tommy R. Cruz, formerly of the 10th Brigade Support Battalion, 1st Combat Brigade Team, who joined the Warrior Transition Unit only a month ago. "Soldiers in this unit are getting what they need and it really is an example for other WTUs."

Mrs. Clinton echoed this sentiment and said she would take what she saw at Fort Drum's transition unit and work to have it applied throughout the Army. She recognized, however, there was still a long way to go before the transition units are where they should be.

"We've got a good start, but we still have a way to go," Mrs. Clinton said. "I really want us to improve our information systems. I heard from the soldiers earlier today the same thing I heard when I was here two years ago and met with a group of 50 or so wounded warriors. Medical records are still getting lost."

After meeting with the soldiers, Mrs. Clinton announced that she has sent a letter to Gen. George W. Casey, the chief of staff for the Department of the Army, requesting an update on the staffing problems plaguing transition units.

While on post, she also had a video teleconference with Maj. Gen. Michael L. Oates, commander of the 10th Mountain Division, who is in Baghdad. Gen. Oates discussed with Mrs. Clinton the condition "on the ground" in Iraq.

Mrs. Clinton said speaking with the general reinforced her belief Iraq must hold provincial elections this fall that would include the Sunni population. She said she believes such an election will be a "big step forward to a stable and functioning Iraqi government."

Following her Fort Drum visit, Mrs. Clinton met with community leaders for a discussion of issues particular to the north country. Those at the meeting included Watertown Mayor Jeffrey E. Graham, state Sen. Darrel J. Aubertine, D-Cape Vincent, and representatives from the Greater Watertown North Country Chamber of Commerce, Fort Drum Regional Liaison Organization and Development Authority of the North Country.

The concern on most minds at the meeting was energy costs. Despite the fact that winter is months away, Mrs. Clinton addressed her work to help low-income and middle-class families in New York with their heating costs this winter.

"People who are middle-income are increasingly spending 10 to 15 percent of their income on heating costs," said Mrs. Clinton, as she discussed the HEATR Act. She is Senate sponsor of the bill introduced in the House by Rep. John M. McHugh, R-Pierrepont Manor, that would provide a $500 tax credit for families facing heating bills greater than $1,500 for the season.

Along the energy line, Donald C. Alexander, interim director of the Jefferson County Job Development Corp., spoke of Northern New York's opportunities in alternative energy.

"We are one of the few areas in the state that is an exporter of energy and we have only scratched the surface on what the potential is," Mr. Alexander said. "What we don't have is a clear understanding, either at the federal or state level, as to how we can make it happen that some of that generation is reserved for local economic development."

Mrs. Clinton also announced her push to increase funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program and the Weatherization Program. She wants to increase funding for the energy assistance program to $5.1 billion for fiscal year 2008 and bring an additional $250 million to New York's low-income families. She also wants to increase funding for the weatherization program to $750 million, an increase of $522.8 million, that would help low-income families make their homes more energy efficient.