[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 71 (Wednesday, April 26, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2555-S2556]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. FLAKE (for himself, Mr. McCain, Mr. Hatch, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. 
        Lee, Mr. Tillis, Ms. Murkowski, Mr. Tester, and Mr. Manchin):
  S. 946. A bill to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to hire 
additional Veterans Justice Outreach Specialists to provide treatment 
court services to justice-involved veterans, and for other purposes; to 
the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
  Mr. FLAKE. Mr. President, Arizona is home to more than a half million 
veterans. They have served in every conflict from World War II to 
present-day operations in the Middle East. Nothing makes me prouder 
than to shake the hand of one of these veterans and to call them an 
Arizonan.
  Fortunately, many of these veterans have the support of friends and 
family, as well as their fellow veterans with whom they served, but far 
too many who have served our country lack a support system that can 
help them successfully make the transition back to civilian life.
  For those who have post-traumatic stress or traumatic brain injury, 
this could be particularly difficult. Studies have shown that veterans 
often do not seek out medical health treatment due to concerns about 
stigma, negative career prospects, lack of awareness, or logistical 
challenges in accessing care. For those who go without treatment, it 
can lead to substance abuse and, in some cases, run-ins with the law.
  While there is no justification for criminal behavior, it is 
important to recognize when certain actions may be symptomatic of the 
harrowing experiences a veteran has endured during years of service. 
This is something the criminal justice system often fails to deal with. 
By not providing treatment that actually addresses a veteran's 
underlying service-connected issues, our criminal justice system 
sometimes creates a vicious cycle. It overcriminalizes service-
connected mental illness, undertreats incarcerated veterans, and 
increases recidivism.

  To address the problem, the VA created the Veterans Justice Outreach 
Program in 2009. The program was established to remove veterans from 
the regular criminal justice process and to provide specially tailored 
treatments to address many of these underlying issues. These veterans 
treatment courts have a proven record of preventing initial 
incarceration and reducing recidivism.
  The lifeblood of the program is the veterans justice outreach 
specialists, VJO specialists, who link veterans to available court 
services. These outreach specialists identify veterans in jails and 
local courts, they assess their health status, and they help them 
develop the rehabilitation treatment program specific to each of their 
needs.
  I recently had the opportunity to observe the veterans docket and 
meet with some of these dedicated specialists while visiting the Mesa 
Municipal Court earlier this month. Let me tell you, there is no 
substitute for seeing this firsthand. Even though it is a courtroom 
setting, there is a comradery and collaboration that you don't see in 
traditional courtroom proceedings. I was amazed at how many

[[Page S2556]]

organizations there are to help these veterans--to help them 
successfully transition and help them with treatment.
  The collaboration I am talking about comes from having a judge and 
hard-working staff who have served in the military themselves. They 
understand the hardship of multiple deployments for servicemembers and 
their families. They understand the mental and physical tolls of 
combat. They understand that the transition back to civilian life can 
mark the beginning of a new battle for veterans.
  The program has experienced remarkable success. The unfortunate 
reality is that the VA doesn't have enough outreach specialists to 
ensure access to already available treatment for justice-involved 
veterans. Demand for VJO specialists is outpacing the program's ability 
to serve eligible veterans. This means future veterans treatment courts 
can't be established, existing courts will go understaffed, and 
veterans will go unserved. That is not right.
  That is why today I am introducing the Veterans Treatment Court 
Improvement Act to ensure our veterans receive swift and appropriate 
access to justice. This legislation will provide 50 additional VJO 
specialists for veterans treatment courts nationwide. By increasing the 
number of dedicated specialists at these facilities, Congress can 
ensure that more veterans have access to the treatments they have 
earned with their service. This is bipartisan legislation. I will work 
to inform my colleagues about the need for this program and additional 
VJOs in the coming weeks and months.
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