Last night, the House passed under Suspension of the Rules the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for America’s Veterans Act (H.R. 203), also known as the SAV Act, to help prevent veteran suicide and raise awareness of mental healthcare for our veterans. Specifically, H.R. 203 would: • Improve oversight of mental health programs at both DoD and VA; • Require the VA to create a one-stop shop website that will provide veterans with information on all the mental health care services available to them through the VA; • Establish a pilot program for loan repayments of psychiatrists who commit to working at the VA for a set period of time; and • Create a new community reintegration program to assist veterans transitioning from active duty and improve their access to mental health services. The House passed the SAV Act in December 2014 (H.R. 5059) but the Senate did not consider that legislation before the end of the Congress. I will continue to push VA to use all available resources and work to provide additional resources and incentives so that we can provide our veterans the care they deserve. If you or a loved one is in crisis, please contact the Veterans Crisis Line at 1-800-273-8255 and press 1; or Text to 838255; or chat online here (veteranscrisisline.net/) to speak confidentially to a qualified, caring healthcare professional.
Posted on: Tue, 13 Jan 2015 13:22:30 +0000
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