U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) announced a bill she cosponsored to prevent veteran suicides has passed the Senate and now heads to President Obama's desk to be signed into law.
An estimated 22 veterans commit suicide each day, adding up to more than 8,000 deaths each year. Klobuchar is an original cosponsor of the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans (SAV) Act, which will help expand access to mental health services for veterans by establishing a loan repayment program to help the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recruit more psychiatric specialists, enhancing resources for veterans transitioning to civilian life, and improving the VA's ability to address traumatic brain injuries. Congressman Tim Walz (D-MN) led the bill in the House.
"Our veterans served us on the front lines, and we must serve them with the support and resources they need when they return home," Klobuchar said in a news release. "Too many returning veterans are suffering, and too many tragically turn to suicide in their darkest hours. We must do better. That's why Congressman Walz and I have continued to fight for this bill, and while there is still more work to do, today's action is one step forward in the effort to deliver veterans the suicide prevention and mental health care treatment they deserve."
Klobuchar introduced the Service Member Mental Health Review Act in 2013 to help veterans who may have been discharged with improper mental health diagnoses get their records corrected and their benefits restored. She introduced the Armed Forces Suicide Prevention Act in 2008 to provide post-deployment services for troops and their families and help recruit more uniformed mental health professionals.
U.S. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) said Senate passage of a veterans suicide-prevention measure is an important step toward ending the suicide epidemic that takes the lives of an average of 22 veterans every day.
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The SAV Act will expand access to needed mental health care services for veterans and provide the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) with added resources to deal with increases in traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or depression. The legislation is named in honor of Marine Cpl. Clay Hunt, a veteran of both Iraq and Afghanistan who succumbed to suicide in 2011 at age 28.
"Unfortunately, our veterans' battles don't always end when they come home," said Franken in a news release. "Because so many return with mental and physical wounds incurred while protecting our freedoms, we have a special duty to ensure they and their families get the care and support they need to cope. There should be no higher calling for our nation than to do what's necessary to end the epidemic of suicides among our veterans."
Last year, Franken and Rep. Tim Walz (D-Minn.) met with local veterans, veterans' families, and veterans' advocates to explore ways to improve mental health care and other support for returning veterans. Rep. Walz was a chief author of the legislation which passed the U.S. House of Representatives last month.
The measure will now go to President Obama, who is expected to sign it into law in the coming days.
