[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Pages 1512-1514]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




         CLAY HUNT SUICIDE PREVENTION FOR AMERICAN VETERANS ACT

  Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, I want to give you a stark fact and 
figure. Every year 8,000 American veterans take their own lives and 
commit suicide. That is more people, more veterans than were killed in 
all the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
  We have a major epidemic in America's Armed Forces because of soft 
tissue issues of PTSD and TBI. This Congress, both Committees on 
Veterans' Affairs--in the House and Senate--have acted, and tomorrow 
this Senate will vote on the Clay Hunt suicide prevention bill. I want 
to talk about it for a few minutes because it is critically important.
  When these men and women go overseas and volunteer to serve America 
and lay their lives on the line for us, many come back with terrible 
injuries, prosthesis, an inability to walk, some in wheelchairs. But 
the stealth disease, the one that hurts the most, the one that 
permeates the most, is PTSD and TBI. We have been doing as much as we 
could but not enough within veterans health care.
  Secretary McDonald has committed himself to improving the services of 
mental health to our veterans. I have committed myself. Senator 
Blumenthal has committed himself. Senator Boozman from Arkansas, 
Senator McCain from Arizona, who will speak later--all are committed to 
see to it that we have a better program for our veterans.
  What the Clay Hunt suicide prevention bill does is create incentives 
for more psychiatric professionals to come into the VA health care 
system because psychiatry is the best physician expertise you need to 
deal with PTSD and TBI. But it also has external audits of the VA to 
make sure they are doing what needs to take place in terms of veterans 
health care and in terms of mental health for our veterans.
  The tragedies are daily, the tragedies are compounding, and we must 
find an end to it. A lot of people think these tragedies are with 
veterans of the gulf war, our Operation Iraqi Freedom, or our battle in 
Afghanistan. But, quite frankly, a lot of them are our Vietnam 
veterans. We looked the other way and did not recognize PTSD and TBI 
for a long time, but now we have recognized it front and center, and it 
is the major injury from the battles in Afghanistan, Iraq, and other 
conflicts in the history of the United States of America. We owe it to 
our veterans to have the best mental health available to them.
  In my hometown of Atlanta, on August 21, 2013, I called a field 
hearing at Georgia State University and brought in all the VA experts 
on suicide prevention because, quite frankly, we had had three suicides 
in the Atlanta VA within a very short period of time that got high-
profile headlines in our newspaper.
  As it turned out, we found that we really did not have the followup, 
the follow-through, and the continuum of care that mental health needs 
and deserves, and we had some veterans who had fallen through the 
cracks--not just in Atlanta but around the United States of America. In 
fact, as recently as last week there was a tragic death in Atlanta. We 
do not know yet the root cause of it, but we know the individual may 
have had mental health problems and was a veteran of the war in 
Afghanistan and took their life and the life of their children. We do 
not know whether PTSD or TBI was the contributing cause or whether we 
had done anything wrong in terms of veterans health care. But we know 
this: Four more lives were taken from the stealth disease called tragic 
brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder.
  So I am very pleased as the chairman of the Veterans Affairs' 
Committee to tell you that the House unanimously passed this bill 3 
weeks ago on the floor of the House, the Senate Veterans' Affairs 
Committee unanimously passed it 2 weeks ago in committee, and the bill 
we will vote on tomorrow can go directly from the floor of the Senate 
to the desk of the President of the United States and be signed.
  Very quickly, I want to make two points for anybody who is listening 
that remembers last year. This bill failed last year. It failed for two 
reasons:
  One, Members questioned whether we could afford it because it had a 
price tag of $24 million. We have fixed the price problem by taking 
internally generated funds of the VA to pay the $24 million. That is 
done.
  Secondly, some said: Well, this is a duplicative service. We already 
have mental health services and suicide prevention at the VA.
  We have some, and we do not have enough. It is not duplicative. It is 
absolutely necessary and essential that we do what we are doing.
  Mr. President, I am proud to come to the floor of the Senate on 
behalf of all of our veterans and tell them: Washington is watching. We 
are listening. We feel your pain. We understand the problems you have. 
And we are going to do everything we can to see to it that the Clay 
Hunt suicide prevention bill becomes the law of the land, that the VA 
is held accountable for its policies and procedure in mental health, 
and that we put an end and stem the tide of the tragic number of 
veteran suicides that take place every single day.
  I would like to now yield to my ranking member on the Veterans' 
Affairs Committee, the Senator from Connecticut, who has done an 
overwhelmingly great job to see this through from beginning to end, Mr. 
Blumenthal.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Connecticut.
  Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, I begin by thanking the chairman of 
the Veterans' Affairs Committee, Senator Isakson, and really giving him 
immeasurable credit for his courage and his fortitude in addressing 
this bill that he could have allowed to languish on the agenda of the 
Veterans' Affairs Committee. In fact, he made it the very first agenda 
item--the very first issue--that we would confront on the Veterans' 
Affairs Committee at our very first meeting, and it passed unanimously 
through the Veterans' Affairs Committee because of his leadership--and 
I really mean his leadership in making it happen.
  So on behalf of the veterans of America, he deserves due credit, and 
so do my colleagues on the Veterans' Affairs Committee, Senator Boozman 
and Senator Sanders, who championed this bill, along with Senator Burr.
  During the last session I was pleased to argue for it on the floor in 
the closing days of the session, and unfortunately it failed to pass.
  There is no reason to look back and try to blame others for that 
failure.

[[Page 1513]]

What is important is to look forward and to give credit to both sides 
of the aisle--most especially to my colleague, Senator McCain, who, of 
course, dwarfs us in his service to our Nation in the Armed Forces. He 
literally is a giant in his service and sacrifice for our Nation while 
serving in the Navy. I have felt very privileged and proud to work with 
him and to introduce this measure, the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for 
American Veterans Act or the Clay Hunt SAV Act, as it is called, that 
basically provides for suicide prevention services and, even more 
importantly, pioneers and champions mental health care for our VA.
  I thank all of our colleagues who have worked on this bill over the 
past year or so because this measure gives us a tremendous opportunity 
to set a direction for the VA and for the Senate. If I may be so bold 
and perhaps presumptuous, I say this measure is truly bipartisan. It 
provides a template for bipartisan action to help our veterans, our 
military men and women who serve now, and to set a real lodestar for 
action by this body.
  Very fittingly, we are on the floor when the Democratic leader, 
Senator Reid has returned. I am tremendously heartened by his presence 
here and by the President's budget today, which provides a proposed 
increase in health care spending and, most especially, mental health 
care spending, to $7.4 billion from last year's expenditure of $6.7 
billion. It is significant, again, in the context of a bipartisan 
approach to this issue.
  This legislation is named for Clay Hunt, a marine, a patriot, a 
veteran who served bravely in Iraq. His mom, Susan Selke, is a real 
hero. She came before the Veterans' Affairs Committee during the last 
session.
  Her testimony was not only as a patriot and an advocate of veterans 
but as a family member. There have been too many family members forced 
to grieve the loss of their loved ones who have succumbed to suicide, 
as did Clay Hunt in March of 2011, after struggling valiantly and 
courageously with post-traumatic stress and the inadequate care of his 
local VA hospital.
  Far too many of Clay Hunt's fellow veterans, 22 per day, have 
succumbed to suicide, including a friend of mine, Justin Eldridge of 
southeastern Connecticut.
  Justin braved mortar fire and sniper attacks in Afghanistan to return 
to southeastern Connecticut and to his family, his children, and his 
wife Joanna. Suffering from post-traumatic brain injury and post-
traumatic stress, tragically, like so many others, Justin slipped 
through the cracks of his local VA facility and eventually succumbed in 
his fight against those inner demons and invisible wounds when he took 
his own life. As brave as Justin Eldridge was on the battlefield, he 
could not win that war at home.
  How Justin and Clay fell into that black hole of depression and 
despair I certainly will never understand, but we grieve for them and 
we hope that their example of courage will inspire us to face this 
issue.
  All too often, the response to suicide--whether it is among veterans 
or others--is denial. It is to turn away, to look in the other 
direction because sometimes it is too painful or there is stigma or 
shame in mental health needs.
  We can conquer that stigma and shame. To its credit the military is 
doing more every day. The VA has raised awareness and is increasing its 
commitment.
  This bill is a tremendous opportunity for the VA to be a pioneer and 
champion in mental health care, just as it has been in other areas of 
health care, such as amputee rehabilitation, prosthetics, and traumatic 
brain injury.
  This bill is a downpayment. It is the beginning--not the end--of our 
commitment and our solutions to problems. It is a worthwhile measure to 
take limited, targeted steps--less than we must eventually do--to keep 
faith with our veterans and their mental health needs.
  I hope the committee and this Congress will continue in this great, 
bipartisan spirit.
  I look forward to a continuing partnership with my friend Senator 
Isakson, who is such a leader in this area, as we work on these issues 
and seek to make progress as quickly as possible. As we do so--remember 
all of our efforts from all of the years of conflict and war in this 
country--Senator Isakson is absolutely right that post-traumatic stress 
and mental health needs are hardly limited to the veterans of Iraq and 
Afghanistan.
  I have worked hard to help veterans of the Vietnam and Korea eras. In 
fact, I successfully championed the needs of our veterans of earlier 
eras when they have been burdened by less-than-honorable discharge 
resulting from post-traumatic stress, from an era when post-traumatic 
stress was nonexistent as a diagnosis.
  Post-traumatic stress was unknown for our Vietnam and Korea veterans. 
It was not unknown as a condition. It was not nonexistent. It was 
simply unknown has a diagnosis. It was not called post-traumatic 
stress. It may have been called shell shock or battle fatigue. But the 
horror, the nightmares, the cold sweats, the headaches, and the 
crippling mental issues have plagued many of our veterans over many 
eras and many wars.
  Today we take a step to recognize this Nation's obligation to Justin 
Eldridge, to Clay Hunt, to all of our veterans and to Joanna Eldridge, 
Susan Selke, and to the countless family members who have struggled and 
borne that burden side by side when their heroes have awakened at night 
with the nightmares and the battles they continue to fight against 
post-traumatic stress, the invisible wounds, and the inner demons that 
have come back with them from their service.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. President, on March 21, 2010, Deborah Johnson of 
Sherwood, AR, answered a call no parent should ever receive. Her son, 
23-year-old Army Private Jeremy Andrew Johnson, was dead from a drug 
overdose.
  Private Johnson was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder 
after his deployment to Afghanistan. Deborah said she thought he was 
getting the proper care he needed during the transition out of the 
military, but when she received a goodbye text from him, she knew he 
needed more help.
  The family made his commanders aware of his suicidal thoughts and 
Private Johnson was put on suicide watch. Three days later Deborah 
answered that horrible call.
  Deborah shared her family's story with me in hopes that other 
families can be spared the anguish of losing a loved one to mental 
illness.
  Deborah understands Congress has an opportunity to deliver help to 
veterans living with mental illness and prevent suicides by passing the 
Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act. This 
legislation would improve mental health care and suicide prevention 
resources for veterans by increasing access to mental health programs, 
providing incentives to recruit and retain psychiatrists to treat 
veterans and enhancing resources for members of the military 
transitioning to civilian life.
  The VA estimates 22 veterans commit suicide every day. This trend is 
tragic and it is unacceptable. We need to provide the VA with the 
personnel, services, and proper tools to help veterans facing mental 
illness struggles. These invisible injuries are why we struggle to 
identify at-risk individuals.
  As a member of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, my 
colleagues and I are working to fully understand the scope of mental 
illness in our veteran community. In the meantime, we are paving the 
way for improvements.
  Two weeks ago the Veterans' Affairs Committee met for its first order 
of business in the 114th Congress--approving the Clay Hunt SAV Act. I 
am proud to say the committee approved this bill

[[Page 1514]]

with a bipartisan vote of 15 to 0. Our veterans deserve this care.
  The VA needs to evaluate its mental health programs using metrics 
common to mental health practitioners to determine the success of its 
programs. This legislation will do that. It will help the VA more 
efficiently use the taxpayer funding it receives to support the 
programs most effective for our veterans.
  The House approved this bill in January and I am confident the Senate 
will follow its lead. Deborah Johnson says she wishes Congress would 
have taken up legislation to improve mental health services years ago. 
As the President of the Arkansas chapter of Gold Star Mothers, Deborah 
hears similarities from other families who have suffered a loss because 
of suicide. She admits that a one-size-fits-all approach will not 
adequately address mental health struggles, but she is hopeful the Clay 
Hunt SAV Act will help prevent other families from suffering the pain 
hers lives with.
  We owe it to Deborah and others like her who have lost loved ones to 
this battle, as well as servicemembers and veterans coping with mental 
health issues, to make this one of the first bills the 114th Congress 
sends to President Obama to sign.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Ms. WARREN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Ms. WARREN. Mr. President, I come to the floor in strong support of 
the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act.
  Our men and women in uniform serve our country with honor and 
courage. They put themselves in harm's way day in and day out to 
protect us. I have a special appreciation for how much servicemembers 
and their families contribute to our country, and how important it is 
that we honor their service. All three of my brothers served in the 
military, and my oldest brother was career military. He flew 288 combat 
missions in Vietnam.
  When you grow up in a family with someone in the military, you know 
how lucky you are to see them come home safely. But that doesn't mean 
the sacred trust with our servicemembers ends the moment they step off 
a plane. We owe our servicemembers the very best, and that means 
ensuring they always have access to high-quality services and care, 
including mental health care.
  The Clay Hunt SAV Act, introduced in the Senate by Senators John 
McCain and Richard Blumenthal, would strengthen critical mental health 
care services and suicide prevention resources for our country's 
veterans. We have heard the deeply troubling statistics. The VA has 
reported that 22 veterans die each day from suicide. Data collected in 
the BackHome project shows that while 10 percent of Americans served in 
the military, veterans make up 20 percent of all suicides in the United 
States. These statistics tell us something is deeply wrong and that we 
need to make significant changes.
  The SAV act calls for an evaluation of the mental health services and 
suicide prevention efforts of the Department of Veterans Affairs and 
Department of Defense, and launches a pilot program to provide 
education loan repayment for psychiatrists who work at the VA. It also 
helps build stronger partnerships between the VA and nonprofit 
organizations working with veterans in our communities.
  The SAV act is named for Clay Hunt, a marine veteran from Texas who 
served in Iraq and Afghanistan and was a strong advocate for improved 
services for his fellow veterans. He struggled with post-traumatic 
stress, and when he was unable to access the care he needed from the 
VA, he took his own life.
  As Clay's mother Susan Selke said in her testimony at the Senate 
Veterans' Affairs Committee hearing last summer:

       Not one more veteran should have to go through what Clay 
     went through with the VA after returning home from the war. 
     Not one more parent should have to testify before a 
     congressional committee to compel the VA to fulfill its 
     responsibilities to those who served and sacrificed.

  She went on to say:

       The reforms, evaluations, and programs directed by this 
     legislation will be critical to helping the VA better serve 
     and treat veterans suffering from mental injuries from war. 
     Had the VA been doing these things all along, it very well 
     may have saved Clay's life.

  I am proud Massachusetts has taken steps at the State level to help 
improve suicide prevention resources for veterans, such as establishing 
the Statewide Advocacy for Veterans' Empowerment Program, or SAVE.
  The SAVE team is comprised of veterans who work directly in the 
community to connect veterans and their families to services provided 
by the Commonwealth and by nonprofits. I have also visited several 
outstanding community organizations in Massachusetts, such as Veterans 
Inc. in Worcester, Soldier On in Pittsfield, and the New England Center 
for Homeless Veterans in Boston, that work tirelessly to help 
servicemembers access the full range of services they need and deserve, 
from housing and education to health care.
  In August, I met with veterans in Framingham, MA, at a mobile vet 
center. One of the veterans I heard from was Army MAJ Justin Fitch, who 
was working at the Natick Soldier Research Development and Engineering 
Center. Justin, who is battling terminal cancer and has had his own 
struggles with depression, is retiring from the Army just this week, 
but he is still a powerful and relentless voice fighting to improve 
care and prevent suicide among veterans fighting depression and 
psychological stress after returning home from war.
  Justin told me:

       Too many veterans are suffering in silence. Twenty-two a 
     day is a lot. One is too many.

  Justin is right. Our armed service men and women are tough, smart, 
and courageous. They make huge sacrifices to keep our families safe, 
and we owe them all a true debt of gratitude for their service. But 
gratitude isn't enough. We must do more to protect our men and women in 
uniform who devote their lives to the service of our country.
  It is clear that Congress has more work to do to bolster our Nation's 
commitment to supporting veterans and providing the mental health care 
services they deserve. The Clay Hunt SAV Act is an important part of 
this effort. I hope my colleagues will join me in voting to pass this 
legislation in the Senate.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Coats). The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________