[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 11]
[House]
[Pages 14801-14804]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]





                       VETERAN SUICIDE PREVENTION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 6, 2015, the Chair recognizes the

[[Page 14802]]

gentlewoman from Arizona (Ms. Sinema) for 30 minutes.
  Ms. SINEMA. Mr. Speaker, I am very happy to open the Special Order 
this evening with my colleague and friend, Congressman Dan Benishek of 
Michigan.
  We have some colleagues who are joining us here this evening to 
continue the discussion we have been enjoying for the last hour of 
talking about the scourge of veteran suicides and how to stop this 
scourge.
  We know that there are brave whistleblowers around this country who 
have told us and the Nation about the problems at the VA.
  If it weren't for brave whistleblowers, we may not have learned about 
the tragedies at my VA, the Phoenix VA, and we could have lost even 
more lives than we have lost already.
  In order for the VA to change, it has to put its veterans first and 
change the culture. We believe that VA employees must continue to speak 
up and speak out.
  Brandon Coleman, a Marine Corps veteran, has seen firsthand the 
important role the VA can play in helping veterans. A decade ago he 
received help from a dedicated VA counselor, who helped him overcome 
substance abuse issues and get his life back on track.
  Wanting to help his fellow veterans, Brandon began working as an 
addiction counselor with the Phoenix VA in 2009.
  In January of this year, Brandon approached his supervisor after, 
over the course of a single week, five suicidal veterans walked out of 
the Phoenix VA hospital without getting the help they needed from the 
emergency room.
  After coming forward with his concerns about how the VA handled 
suicidal patients, Brandon was placed on administrative leave for 
adverse behavior and his program was shut down.
  Mr. Speaker, no one should fear the risk of losing his or her job for 
speaking out. That is why we introduced the VA Accountability Act, a 
bipartisan bill to hold poor-performing employees accountable and to 
increase protections for whistleblowers.
  Empowering whistleblowers helps our veterans and their families get 
the answers they deserve. The VA must respond to this challenge with a 
culture of accountability that protects veterans, not its own 
bureaucracy.
  Brandon testified before the Senate Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs Committee earlier this week on improving 
accountability within the VA. He is committed to fixing the VA to 
ensure that all veterans get the same help that he got.
  I would like to take some time now to turn the podium over to the 
gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Russell).
  Mr. RUSSELL. I thank the Congresswoman.
  Mr. Speaker, it is a serious issue that our Nation faces when we 
imagine the sacrifice that our veterans make only to see them become 
casualties in a battle with the mind.
  Those of us who have borne the burden of battle carry the weight of 
that burden the rest of our lives. As a warrior, I have seen the worst 
things that human beings can do to one another. I have had to take 
human life. I have had to watch fellow warriors lose theirs. I have 
caressed wounded brothers as they have been bleeding.
  We recall these things and carry these things, and, as warriors, we 
attempt to process it all when we come home. When we do come home, 
others attempt to interact with us not quite knowing how that 
interaction should play out or how to treat the Americans we really 
are.
  So, as we address this issue of veteran suicide and as we stand here 
to speak in support of the many good measures that we have heard today, 
Mr. Speaker, I would also like to provide a couple of things worth 
noting with which we could reach out to the community at large, to our 
States, to all of America.
  For the population that deals with returning battle veterans, purpose 
matters. We don't want to come home as victims. We don't want to be put 
in some special class.
  We have maintained the stresses of battle, and we have fought our 
Nation's wars, but purpose matters as we come home.
  If that purpose is somehow denied us because of fear of capacity or 
fear of being able to interact with other Americans in employment or in 
whatever it is that we put our hand to, then we will miss a great 
opportunity early on to engage returning veterans in things that will 
help them heal.
  Secondly, we should treat our returning veterans as the Americans 
they really are. We somehow unintendedly imagine them as damaged goods, 
or maybe they have had something happen to them that does not make them 
quite like we are. That is a mistake.
  Thirdly, when we look at the stresses of battle and how they shape 
our lives, we must remember this, that post-traumatic stress is 
treatable. As we deal with those who have faced battle as they struggle 
through this, it is important to note that the returning warrior has 
not lost his mind or her mind. It is treatable.
  Mr. Speaker, one can easily relate when you think about, in my home 
State, maybe surviving a tornado or maybe, across America, being in a 
horrific car accident or losing a loved one in some capacity.
  It creates stress on the human being, yet no one in that scenario 
would say, ``Well, they have been through quite a lot, so I am not sure 
that they can engage with the public anymore and be employed'' or, ``I 
am not sure they will be able to handle the daily stresses.''
  Instead, we look at them, and we realize that these are life-altering 
experiences, whether it be through a car accident or a tornado, and we 
say, ``Wow, that is terrible, but they have really bounced back, and 
they have done a good job of recovering.'' We need to look at it in the 
same capacity.
  I am no physician, but I am a warrior who has come home. For the 
warrior, as he or she does come home, Mr. Speaker, we must urge all of 
our warriors, especially as they face insurmountable pressure about 
``Does life have a purpose?'' to not live in isolation, and we must 
understand that the adrenalin of survival at our peak in battle, which 
is all around us--every sense alive to protect us as we survive--
physiologically doesn't instantly change when we come home.
  Those levels of adrenalin stay, and we crave them. That is why your 
returning veteran may ride his motorcycle at 120 miles an hour or 
pursue a dangerous activity. As the warrior processes it, he must 
understand as well that it takes time to abate that and to adjust.
  I also want to point out, Mr. Speaker, that our returning veterans 
should band together with their fellow warriors. Above all, don't quit. 
Only we can take ourselves out of that fight.
  To all of us, I think it is best to recall what Solomon tells us in 
Ecclesiastes in that two are better than one because they have good 
reward for their labor, for, if they fall, the one will lift up his 
fellow; but woe to him that is alone when he falls, for he does not 
have another to help him up.
  Again, if two lie together, then they have heat. But how can one be 
warm alone? And if one prevails against him, two shall withstand him, 
and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
  As we attempt here in government to bind up the wounds, we must also 
realize it is not the government's sole responsibility. As an American 
community, we need to bind together as those wounds are bound up to 
heal.
  Ms. SINEMA. Thank you so much, Representative Russell, for your 
thoughts and your participation.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Lamborn).
  Thank you for being here this evening.
  Mr. LAMBORN. I want to thank my colleagues Representative Sinema and 
Representative Benishek for their leadership on this issue today and 
for organizing this time together.
  I also want to thank Representative Russell for his hard-earned 
insights that he has shared with us.
  Mr. Speaker, it is critical that we raise awareness for veteran 
suicide prevention. Unfortunately, this much-needed awareness comes too 
late for one of my Colorado Springs families.
  I would like to tell you the story of Noah, a former marine, who 
served

[[Page 14803]]

with honor in Iraq in 2009 and in Afghanistan in 2011. I will not use 
his last name, but his parents have offered the use of his picture.
  After leaving the Marine Corps, Noah began working on a business 
degree at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, and started his 
own online business.
  Now, Noah comes from a military family, his dad having honorably 
served for 23 years. He chose to put off college so that he could serve 
this great Nation.
  Unfortunately, his parents are appalled by the care their son did not 
receive from the VA. They believe their son would still be alive had he 
received better care. Noah was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress 
disorder and received a 50 percent disability rating due to PTSD.
  On April 2 of this year, he went to the Colorado Springs VA clinic, 
where medical notes from his visit state that he had had suicidal 
thoughts.
  Noah was prescribed a psychotropic drug and was sent on his way. He 
was not referred for suicide prevention; he was not offered counseling; 
and there was no follow-up from the VA.
  He went missing on May 4 and was found dead from an apparent suicide 
on May 12 of this year. As you can imagine, his family is devastated. 
They are asking a lot of serious questions.
  I had the opportunity to ask some of their questions on their behalf 
during a June 10 hearing by the Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on 
Oversight & Investigations.
  During the hearing, two top-level VA officials stated that they would 
personally look into the case and ``make sure this family had been 
reached out to directly.''
  However, a month after the hearing, no contact had been made, and my 
office had to once again engage the VA on behalf of this grieving 
family.
  The VA has since stated that Noah should have been seen within 2 
weeks of his medical appointment and that they are modifying their 
procedures to, hopefully, make sure this doesn't happen in the future.
  It should not take the death of a marine to get procedures right in 
regards to suicide prevention. We owe it to our veterans to get it 
right the first time.
  Hopefully, this Special Order and the added awareness of veteran 
suicide will help prevent another tragedy like Noah's.
  Ms. SINEMA. Thank you, Congressman Lamborn, for your contribution 
this evening.
  Mr. Speaker, before we close this evening, I yield to the gentleman 
from Michigan (Mr. Benishek), my friend, who has been gracious to 
cohost our Special Orders this evening.
  Mr. BENISHEK. Yes. It was great. It was a wonderful Special Order 
this evening.
  I want to thank all of my colleagues who took the time to come down 
and talk about this serious issue that faces our country.
  Mr. Lamborn discusses a case of suicide that he is very familiar with 
in his district. That story moves each and every one of us, and it is 
emblematic of the 22 suicides that occur every day amongst our 
veterans.
  There are stories as moving as this one and as tragic as this one as 
Mr. Lamborn brings up the fact that this patient was seen at the VA and 
was not helped at the VA.

                              {time}  1715

  We need to make sure that the Veterans Administration and this 
administration puts our veterans not on the back burner as something 
that is ongoing, but make this a crisis. This is an emergency.
  This needs to be dealt with now not with reassurances from 
bureaucrats that it is all going to be better or ``We are changing our 
policies.'' They have been changing their policies for a long time and 
nothing has happened. This needs to be an emergency response.
  As friends and family members of our veterans and those serving our 
country, there are some things that we can do. We can work to recognize 
the symptoms that could indicate serious problems and identify where 
and how to get assistance when we may need it.
  To all veterans struggling with whether to take your own life, know 
that there is no shame in asking for help. You are not broken, and God 
has not forgotten you.
  You have volunteered to go to war for us, and we have failed to 
provide you adequate support when you have returned home. That is 
changing. I beg you to reach out to your local VA, your veterans 
center, your veterans service organization, or your Congressman to ask 
for help.
  I mean, I had two calls today on my cell phone, which I give my 
number out freely, from veterans that did not get appropriate help at 
the VA, and I refer them to my staff to get the ball rolling, get 
moving.
  Together we can begin to turn the tide on veterans' suicide. 
Everyone, though, can help fight this epidemic and be there for those 
that were there for us.
  I thank my colleague from Arizona (Ms. Sinema) for closing this 
Special Order hour for us.
  Ms. SINEMA. Thank you so much, Congressman Benishek.
  Before we close, we have one more person who has joined us.
  I yield to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Coffman).
  Mr. COFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to voice my unrelenting 
support for our Nation's veterans who are suffering, often silently, 
with depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and profound emotional 
pain. It is absolutely vital that we, as a Nation, address the crisis 
of veteran suicide.
  As a Marine Corps combat veteran, I can tell you firsthand that 
returning home to civilian life can be a difficult transition. Many 
troops used to the constant daily support of their comrades come home 
feeling isolated and alone. Many find themselves needing help that too 
often isn't there.
  Some units are hit particularly hard, like the 2nd Battalion, 7th 
Marine Regiment, a group that saw intense combat in Afghanistan and has 
continued to suffer casualties to suicide years after they have 
returned. 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, has seen a suicide rate 14 times 
higher than that of all other Americans.
  It is essential that, when our men and women in uniform return to the 
civilian world and need to reach out for help, somebody reaches back.
  We need to ensure that veterans get the mental health care they need, 
when they need it, not after waiting weeks or months for an 
appointment.
  We need to ensure that veterans who need medication get it and 
veterans who don't need medication aren't unnecessarily prescribed 
drugs with volatile side effects.
  We need to ensure that, when a veteran calls the VA's Veterans Crisis 
Line, somebody is available on the other end to listen.
  But I don't believe this is a problem that begins and ends with the 
Department of Defense or the Department of Veterans Affairs. Veterans 
are in all of our communities, our schools, our places of worship, and 
our social clubs. All Americans should be willing to lend a hand when a 
veteran may be suffering silently.
  I share the sentiment expressed by VA Secretary McDonald earlier this 
year, and I know it is a statement in which my colleagues on both sides 
of the aisle would uniformly agree: ``Losing just one veteran to 
suicide is one veteran too many.''
  Ms. SINEMA. Mr. Speaker and Members, before I close with the closing 
statements, I want to take a moment and honor and thank Congressman 
Benishek not just for the work he has done tonight or the work he has 
done on the Veterans Committee, but for the great work he has done in 
Congress for the last three terms.
  We are sad that you are retiring. We will miss you. But we have one 
more chance to do this Special Order again next year, and I look 
forward to that time. So thank you for your help and for your service.
  Congressman Benishek has not just been a partner to me in the work 
that we have been doing to help and support veterans, he has been a 
leader in the Veterans Committee and in his conference and in this 
House of Representatives.

[[Page 14804]]

  I know, when he leaves this body, he will continue to be a shining 
light for veterans around this country. Thank you, Congressman.
  I want to close with a story about a veteran in my district. We 
recently received a call from David, a constituent of mine who is an 
Army veteran and a survivor of two suicide attempts.
  David told us: My mind was plagued with feelings that my parents and 
siblings would be better off without me because of who I had become as 
a person. I felt savage and inhuman. No matter what good I did, I 
couldn't face going back to a normal existence. I had never felt more 
alone in my life.
  Through much time and assistance from organizations like the Wounded 
Warrior Project and mental and physical rehabilitation programs, David 
gained a new mission in life. He is helping his fellow veterans 
navigate a daunting system and reintegrate back into civilian life.
  David wants his fellow warriors to understand that suicide is a 
permanent solution to a temporary problem.
  His mission of supporting veterans led David to Rally Point, a 
Phoenix nonprofit veteran service organization working to assist 
veterans in crisis.
  Rally Point employs veterans like David who understand the unique 
needs of fellow veterans, servicemembers, and their families. These are 
the kinds of solutions we need to ensure that no veteran ever feels 
like he or she has nowhere to turn.
  We have made some progress. In February of this year, the President 
signed the Clay Hunt SAV Act into law, an important step toward 
improving mental health services for veterans and their families.
  This bipartisan legislation requires annual third-party evaluations 
of the VA's mental healthcare and suicide prevention programs to 
determine which programs are successful and to recommend improvements.
  It also requires collaboration on suicide prevention efforts between 
the VA and nonprofit mental health organizations, and it establishes a 
pilot program using peer support and community outreach to assist 
veterans transitions from Active Duty.
  We cannot leave our heroes to fight their toughest battles alone.
  Thank you again to all of our colleagues who joined us this evening. 
Our thoughts are with all the families who have lost a loved one to 
suicide. Each of us can do something to raise awareness, to be that 
light for a struggling veteran in our community.
  Businesses can display signs to let veterans know that help is always 
available. Mental health professionals can volunteer with organizations 
like Give an Hour to provide free counseling to veterans and their 
families. We can all learn to recognize the signs of crisis by visiting 
veteranscrisisline.net and reaching out to the vets in our life.
  Here in Congress, we can do more. We need a VA that provides real and 
meaningful help to veterans in need that puts veterans first and works 
aggressively with community providers to improve the quality and 
accessibility of care.
  We need a VA that is transparent and open to restore the trust and 
credibility it has lost. We, who enjoy freedom every day thanks to the 
sacrifices of our military servicemembers, must all step up to end the 
epidemic of veteran suicide.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

                          ____________________