[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 6 (Tuesday, January 13, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E60]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         CLAY HUNT SUICIDE PREVENTION FOR AMERICAN VETERANS ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, January 12, 2015

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 203, 
the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans (SAV) Act, which 
will help stem the epidemic of veteran suicide.
  Tragically, an estimated 22 veterans commit suicide each day--more 
than 8,000 each year.
  Of the more than 2 million Americans who have served in combat in 
Afghanistan and Iraq, it is estimated that one-third, roughly 600,000 
men and women, have traumatic brain injury, PTSD or Depression.
  Mr. Speaker, combatting the epidemic of veteran suicide must be one 
of the nation's highest priorities.
  The bill before us is important to our nation and critically 
important to my home state of Texas, which has one of the highest rates 
of veteran suicide in the country.
  According to an analysis conducted by the Houston Chronicle, suicides 
among Texans under the age of 35 who had served in the military 
``jumped from 47 in 2006 to 66 in 2009--an increase of 40 percent.''
  According to that same analysis, ``last year, suicides made up nearly 
25 percent of the deaths of Texans younger than 35 who served in the 
military. That percentage is more than twice the rate of suicide in the 
comparable civilian population.''
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 203 expands access to mental health services for 
our nation's veterans and increases the capacity and efficiency of VA 
care to deal with the more than one million veterans returning from 
war.
  Our veterans deserve to have our support. These individuals put their 
lives on the line for our country to stay safe.
  Specifically, H.R. 203, which enjoys broad and deep bipartisan 
support:
  1. Establishes a peer support and community outreach pilot program to 
assist transitioning service members with accessing VA mental health 
care services.
  2. Requires the VA to create a one-stop, interactive website to serve 
as a centralized information source regarding all mental health 
services for veterans.
  3. Takes steps to address the shortage of mental health care 
professionals by authorizing the VA to conduct a student loan repayment 
pilot program aimed at recruiting and retaining psychiatrists.
  4. Requires yearly evaluations--with interim reports due in the first 
two years and a final report due the third year and every year after--
conducted by a third party, of all mental health care and suicide 
prevention practices and programs at the VA to find out what is working 
and what's not working and to make recommendations to improve care.
  Passing H.R. 203 is an essential first step in ensuring that our 
veterans are receiving the help and care they need.
  I strongly support this legislation and urge all Members to join me 
in voting to pass H.R. 203.

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