House Passes Veterans Mental Health Bill, Senate Yet To Act
By Christine Kern, contributing writer
The Bill would work to reduce the 22-deaths-a-day suicide epidemic among military veterans.
The House of Representatives unanimously approved a bill geared towards reducing the current suicide epidemic that claims the lives of 22 military veterans each day, according to ABC News. Rep. Jeff Miller, (R-FL), chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, said, “Despite record mental health staffing and budget levels at the Department of Veterans Affairs, today’s veterans are falling victim to the invisible wounds of war all too often.”
Miller called the current veterans suicide rate “a heartbreaking statistic that has remained unchanged for more than a decade,” and explained that in passing the bill, “the House took an important step toward putting an end to this grim status quo.”
Named after a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan from Houston who committed suicide in 2011, the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act would require the Pentagon and Veterans Affairs Department to submit to independent reviews of their respective suicide prevention programs. The $22 million bill requires annual evaluations of mental health programs at both the VA and the Defense Department, and also authorizes the VA to collaborate with veterans’ services organizations and mental health nonprofit organizations to improve quality of mental healthcare for all at-risk veterans.
According to The Washington Times, Hunt initially received a 30 percent disability rating because of his post-traumatic stress disorder following two deployments in the infantry. Then, when he couldn’t hold a job because of his severe anxiety and depression, he decided to appeal the decision to have it raised. Before he received the verdict in his appeal, Hunt died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the age of 28. Five weeks later, his family received notice that his appeal had been approved and he’d been rated 100 percent disabled.
“We can’t afford to lose people like Clay Hunt. Clay Hunt is our leader, he’s our future leaders, he’s our business leaders,” Rep. Timothy J. Walz (D-MN), a key sponsor of the bill, is quoted by The Washington Times as saying. “He would, at some point, have been in this chamber.”
Although lawmakers acknowledge that the bill will not completely eliminate the issue of veteran suicide or cure all of the VA’s difficulties, it does make some important strides forward in the support and treatment of active-duty troops and veterans.
“The Clay Hunt SAV act will not single-handedly halt the scourge of suicide,” said Miller. “The problems VA faces and [the] wounds of our veterans are far too deep for any single solution to solve, but it is an important first step and a step that we owe Clay.”
The bill also establishes a pilot program for the Department of Veterans Affairs to offer student loan repayment incentives to recruit and retain psychiatrists, one of the most understaffed specialties at the VA. The doctors must stay at the VA for at least two years to receive the benefit.
“Providing mental health care for our veterans should not be a political fight,” IAVA CEO and Founder Paul Rieckhoff said in a statement. “As it goes to the House floor, we urge every representative to sign on as a co-sponsor and show that they have veterans’ backs.”
It is unclear whether or not the Senate will take up the bill for consideration before the end of session, or whether the $22 million price tag would prevent them from approving it.