At least 22 veterans commit suicide each day,
according to the Veterans Affairs Department. This adds up to more than 2,000
veterans killing themselves so far this year alone, and the military community
is facing what advocates refer to as a suicide epidemic.
To help address the growing problem, Democratic Sen.
John Walsh of Montana introduced legislation last week that includes provisions
to force the Pentagon to reexamine troops who were discharged for PTSD-related
behaviors—which can include nightmares, flashbacks, changes in personality,
sleeping disorders, and suicidal thoughts.
The bill also expands veterans' eligibility to
enroll in VA health care from five to 15 years after leaving the military. The
current system doesn't take into account the fact that some veterans have a delayed
reaction to trauma after they leave the service, according to veterans'
advocates.
Walsh, who is one of the first Iraq War combat
veterans to serve in the Senate, is also a member of the Iraq and Afghanistan
Veterans of America, which backs the bill. Fifty-one percent of Iraq or
Afghanistan War veterans know someone who has attempted or committed suicide,
according to a recent Washington Post/Kaiser Family Foundation survey.
"Red tape and government dysfunction have
blocked access to the care that saves lives," Walsh said in a statement.
But a key hurdle remains for Walsh's legislation:
how to pay for it.
A cost estimate has yet to be released from the
Congressional Budget Office, but when asked about how Walsh planned to pay for
the legislation, his spokesman said that Walsh has described the bill as part
of "the cost of war."
But this approach is similar to the "paid in
full" slogan Senate Democrats attached to a failed proposal earlier this
year from Sen. Mark Pryor to reverse roughly $6 billion in cuts to veterans'
pensions. And in Congress's fiscally conscious atmosphere, Republicans demanded
that funding be offset by something.
Walsh is, however, open to adding a pay-for to his
legislation.
A stalled omnibus veterans bill by Sen. Bernie
Sanders of Vermont also has mental-health provisions, including extending
combat eligibility and focusing on education and training for mental health
professionals.
But senators blocked Sanders's legislation in
February, with Senate and House Republicans alike criticizing the use of war
funding to pay for the veterans bill.
Walsh's bill is the first part of a three-step,
yearlong outreach program kicked off last week by IAVA to raise awareness about
the suicide crisis.
IAVA President Paul Rieckhoff hopes President Obama
will issue an executive order before Memorial Day by pressing the Pentagon and
the Veterans Affairs Department to integrate electronic health records. He also
hopes the president will create a standardized method for tracking suicides and
suicide attempts among veterans and military family members.
National tracking of veterans suicide rates is
unreliable at best. Even the VA—whose 22-per-day estimate has become the go-to
standard—had to build its nationwide statistic with information available from
only 21 states.
The veterans advocacy group will also spend the year
reaching out to communities across the country to help raise awareness.
Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki told
members of the Senate that the department is broadening how it tries to reach
veterans, such as by expanding "telemental health capabilities,"
including a 24/7 crisis line—which the VA says has saved more than 35,000
lives. It's also available via text message. VA staffers respond
to veterans who text on a range of issues including chronic pain,
anger, and depression.
"It's getting the veterans who reach out where
they are, in whatever medium is comfortable to them," said Caitlin
Thompson, the VA's deputy director of suicide prevention.
The Department of Veterans Affairs requested a
slight increase in its mental health funding in the 2015 budget request—up to
$7 billion from $6.9 billion in fiscal 2014. The VA expanded its mental health
funding by 64 percent between 2009 and 2014. It's also increased its mental
health force by 2,400 people since 2012.
Thompson added that the VA has found that veterans
who aren't in VA care are more likely to commit suicide than those who aren't.
Of the 22 veterans that commit suicide every day, the VA estimates that only
one in five of them are in VA health care.
Zach McIlwain, who served two combat tours with the
Army in Iraq, is a part of that outreach. McIlwain, like many veterans,
returned to the United States suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder.
McIlwain also pointed out that communities can do
much more to help veterans adapt to civilian life.
"It's not just Congress, it's not just the
president—it's back in the local communities, welcoming these service member
back home."
Attempting suicide is currently considered a crime
under the military's rules, and something IAVA is hoping to get changed.
"A big piece of this is removing stigma ,"
McIlwain said. "There's concerns about,
'Is this going to affect my employment, is this
going to affect my security clearance when I'm in the military?' "
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