[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 3]
[House]
[Pages 3253-3257]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




         VETERANS WHO RETURN HOME WITH THE MENTAL WOUNDS OF WAR

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Buck). Under the Speaker's announced 
policy of January 6, 2015, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Zeldin) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.


                             General Leave

  Mr. ZELDIN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
to include extraneous materials on the topic of this Special Order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. ZELDIN. Mr. Speaker, tonight I rise on behalf of our veterans who 
return home with the mental wounds of war.
  For generations, we have sent our sons and daughters into harm's way. 
For generations, they have served this country honorably. They don't 
come home in the same way they left. There were generations who came 
back to the United States who didn't even receive a ``thank you.'' 
There was not even a handshake or a hug waiting for them.
  For our Vietnam veterans who are watching at home, we say to this 
day, ``welcome home,'' because when they first came home, they were 
spat on. Fortunately, we have learned a lesson from that generation. 
For me and my generation, as we return from Iraq and Afghanistan, there 
is a ``thank you,'' but there is so much more that needs to be done.
  That is why we are here tonight for this Special Order. It is on 
behalf of our veterans who return home with the mental wounds of war.
  Each and every one of our congressional districts is home to these 
veterans. For me, I represent Suffolk County, New York, on the east end 
of Long Island. We are proud of not only having the highest veterans' 
population of any county in New York, but of having the second highest 
veterans' population of any county in the country.
  We have veterans who come home to family, to friends, and to people 
with whom they work who don't understand what it is their loved one or 
colleague is going through. Isolated and alone, too many of our 
veterans are losing their struggles with posttraumatic stress disorder 
and traumatic brain injury, and there is so much more that each and 
every one of us can do on their behalf.
  Tonight is a bipartisan Special Order. We are joined by my colleague 
from

[[Page 3254]]

Arizona, who has led the fight on a national level on behalf of men and 
women from all corners of this country who are struggling with 
recoveries from suicide attempts, and who has led in the effort to 
prevent that attempt in the first place.
  I yield to the gentlewoman from Arizona (Ms. Sinema).

                              {time}  1645

  Ms. SINEMA. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Zeldin for organizing 
this Special Order hour and for bringing attention to this important 
issue.
  An estimated 22 American veterans die by suicide every day. These men 
and women are our neighbors and our friends, our sons and our 
daughters, our mothers and our fathers.
  Veteran suicide is too important an issue to be overshadowed by 
bipartisan politics. It is why we have come together tonight to show 
our commitment to veterans who have given so much to keep America safe.
  We must do more--Congress, the VA, the American public--to end the 
epidemic of veteran suicide and to ensure veterans and their families 
have access to the best possible mental health care. This is a 
responsibility we all share.
  That is why I support Congressman Zeldin's legislation, the PFC 
Joseph P. Dwyer Veterans Peer Support program, to expand access to 
peer-to-peer counseling for veterans.
  A battle buddy can open the door to the care and support a veteran 
needs, and we must support efforts to expand the availability and 
accessibility of mental health care. No one who returns home from 
serving our country should ever feel like he or she has nowhere to 
turn.
  I have often shared this story of a young veteran in my district, 
Sergeant Daniel Somers. Sergeant Somers was an Army veteran with two 
tours in Iraq.
  Diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress 
disorder, Sergeant Somers ultimately took his own life after struggling 
with the VA bureaucracy and not getting the help he needed in time.
  Together with the Somers family, we have worked to develop 
legislation to ensure that all veterans, including those with 
classified experiences, get immediate access to mental health services 
in the appropriate care setting.
  The Daniel Somers Act was combined with Congresswoman Julia 
Brownley's Female Veteran Suicide Prevention Act and passed unanimously 
by the House of Representatives.
  Senator Jon Tester introduced companion legislation in the Senate, 
and we continue to work to get this bill signed into law.
  I pledge to continue working with my colleagues to ensure that no 
veteran feels trapped like Sergeant Somers did and that all of our 
veterans have access to appropriate mental health care.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Zeldin for his work on behalf of our 
veterans and for hosting this bipartisan Special Order on veterans 
mental health care.
  Mr. ZELDIN. Mr. Speaker, I commend Representative Sinema for her 
efforts on behalf of the Somers family.
  We lose a lot of our sons and daughters in harm's way, and there is 
reflection for that family as to what that sacrifice accomplished. I 
guess it depends on the year, the place, the circumstances.
  But the Somers family knows that they have a champion here fighting 
on their behalf so that the sacrifice was not for naught. A legacy is 
left behind that those who struggle moving forward might have a helping 
hand.
  I thank Ms. Sinema for her advocacy not just on behalf of the Somers 
family in her district, but for all of our veterans who need more help 
all across America.
  At this time, I would like to recognize the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Rothfus) and thank him for his efforts in his home 
State and for joining this cause tonight on behalf of our veterans who 
not only are going to benefit from the immediate effort of this Chamber 
with all the different ideas that are before it now, but really for the 
decades and generations still to serve ahead.
  I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Rothfus).
  Mr. ROTHFUS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York for his 
service to this country, having himself put on the uniform prior to his 
coming to this Congress.
  He is one of the greatest assets we have in this Chamber. It is just 
a real pleasure to have gotten to know him over the last year and a 
half and to call him a friend.
  When this country makes a decision to send people to war, we need to 
understand that the people own that decision. What does that mean?
  It means, when we put people out in harm's way, our servicemen and 
servicewomen, we better be there when they come home. It is the 
principle of solidarity. They stand for us. We have to stand for them.
  I am joining this Special Order today because I want to again bring 
attention to this serious issue that should trouble everyone's 
conscience.
  We have been made painfully aware in the past several years that the 
VA has failed in a number of ways to adequately serve our Nation's 
veterans. As I understand it, while most Americans are patriotic, too 
few have taken the time to develop empathy for what our veterans go 
through, especially in combat.
  Mr. Speaker, everyone in America needs to be engaging our veterans. 
This is all hands on deck. We all know veterans. It is good to ask them 
about their service and to walk with them.
  As I have talked to veterans across my district, I asked for some 
emails from them because I knew I was going to be coming to have this 
Special Order.
  ``The United States isn't united in purpose,'' one veteran explained 
to me. ``We're divided, fighting a global war with a peacetime mindset. 
Americans have never been farther away from our Nation's veterans . . . 
from what it takes to defend our Nation's freedom. The true cost of war 
is lost on most.''
  The failure to understand what veterans have gone through is not just 
characteristic of the broader population, but it is also a problem at 
the VA, an agency that should strive to fully understand the experience 
of our servicemen and -women so that they can better serve them.
  Many veterans suffering with mental health issues as a result of 
traumas experienced during their service have too often been left to 
fend for themselves.
  In fact, the VA has come up short so often it has risen to the level 
of a scandal, with an estimated 22 veteran deaths per day, or over 
8,000 annually, as a result of mental health issues.
  One young veteran told me about the condescending and patronizing 
language used by some--let me emphasize some--VA staff.
  There are VA staff on the front lines who are very dedicated and very 
committed to serving our veterans. It is disturbing that we would have 
some who don't see it that way.
  He told me that one staff stooped so low as to call veterans bums 
when they were seeking financial assistance during hard times.
  It is outrageous and painful to think that men and women who are 
willing to die for this country are not being treated with the utmost 
dignity and respect. But that is the tragic reality, and it is 
unacceptable.
  The good news is that we can and must do better. I have heard 
directly from veterans in my district about what they believe can be 
done to improve this startling trend.
  I have been working to reform the VA throughout my time in Congress 
to improve its standards and ensure quality service for our veterans by 
increasing accountability within the agency. Beyond this, however, 
there are commonsense and innovative ways we can help veterans.
  One of them is to facilitate veteran peer support programs. Veterans 
want to help each other. Because while many VA employees may have never 
served in the military, the men and women of our Armed Forces have 
experiences in common that civilians do not share.
  Less than 1 percent of Americans serve in the military and fewer 
still see combat. They truly understand each

[[Page 3255]]

other. They speak each other's language, so to speak. The VA should not 
be an obstacle to veterans coming to each others' aid.
  Another veteran told me this: ``Peer-to-peer counseling for combat 
veterans is a critical aspect of a multifaceted approach to healing an 
invisible wound that lacks a universal fix.
  ``The universal nature of recognizing that the veteran is not alone: 
acknowledgement other veterans have faced the same problems and 
situations, and hope from their stories of triumph over their demons, 
enables the combat veteran to take the critical steps of admitting to 
themselves they have a problem.''
  It helps them take the ``seemingly hardest step of admitting they are 
not in a hopeless situation,'' this veteran told me.
  He also told me, ``Peer-to-peer counseling helps the counselor as 
much as the counseled via preservation of camaraderie and the 
fulfillment of helping their own.''
  Far too many veterans experience hopelessness and isolation even 
though they do not have to. This needs to change, and I am sure that we 
can do better for the men and women who risked everything to protect 
our way of life.
  Mr. Speaker, the VA's inadequacies are unacceptable, and the agency 
should embrace commonsense solutions to provide veterans with higher 
quality, effective treatment and opportunities for healing.
  I laud my colleague, Representative Zeldin, for his PFC Joseph Dwyer 
Veterans Peer Support program. As I looked at this legislation, 
inevitably, you go look at who Joseph Dwyer was.
  I would encourage this country to look at that and to look for the 
other Joseph Dwyers, to look and reach out to those who have served 
empathetically.
  To our veterans who may be watching today, you are not alone. Thank 
you for your service.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Zeldin for his service and for 
his work on this important piece of legislation. I look forward to 
further consideration by this House.
  Mr. ZELDIN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman literally for every 
single word and for his passion and advocacy on behalf of all the 
veterans not only in his district, but in mine and elsewhere.
  It is so incredibly important for the words that we just heard to be 
echoed throughout this Chamber and inspiration to be found for some of 
what are great ideas to actually come into effect.
  Because while there is one Joseph Dwyer who served our country, as 
the gentleman just pointed out, there are numerous Joseph Dwyers all 
around America who have not yet lost their struggles.
  Now, it is interesting because we so often call those who lose their 
bouts with the mental wounds of war--we call it suicide. Joseph Dwyer's 
last words were, ``I don't want to die.'' He was huffing, trying to get 
temporary relief from his pain.
  The struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder led to him losing 
his life, and he left behind a young widow and a 2-year-old daughter.
  There are Joseph Dwyers all around America who have not yet left 
behind young children and young widows. It is our duty in this House to 
fight for them with whatever energy and inspiration that we can find 
within us to ensure that what starts as a good idea becomes law.
  The PFC Joseph Dwyer Veterans Peer Support program is not a new idea. 
It may be a new idea for this Chamber. We created it in New York State 
back in 2012. At that time, I was in the New York State Senate, and we 
created it as part of the 2012-2013 State budget.
  As we just heard from the gentleman from Pennsylvania, veteran-to-
veteran peer support, veterans helping veterans, is the key.
  We started the program in four counties in New York: Suffolk County, 
which is my home county; Jefferson County, home of the 10th Mountain 
Division, Fort Drum; Rensselaer County; and Saratoga County.
  The program was so successful in these four counties and, by the way, 
operating at just $200,000 per county. Here in Washington, we talk 
about programs in the billions, the trillions, and the hundreds of 
millions.
  In my home county, we helped hundreds of veterans in just that first 
year. Hundreds of veterans were helped, over 400, and $200,000.
  We know firsthand how many lives were saved as a result. It was so 
successful. It started in four counties and expanded to over a dozen. 
In New York State, we are so proud of the Dwyer program.
  I just came to Congress. This is my first term. I was sworn in 
January of 2015. There may be no other mission during my time here in 
this Chamber that will be more satisfying for me personally than to do 
my part to hopefully save at least one veteran's life. But there are so 
many more that can be saved if this Chamber takes up this bill and 
makes it law.
  It doesn't matter whether you live in one of the most populated 
counties in America of veterans, like Suffolk, or if you live in a 
county that might not be that well populated overall anywhere else in 
this country.
  If you raised your hand and you are willing to lay down your life in 
protection of our freedoms and liberties for that flag, for everything 
that makes our country great, to protect it and defend it, when you 
come home, you should have shoes on your feet.

                              {time}  1700

  There should be food on your table. There should be a roof over your 
head. Some come home with the physical wounds of war; others come home 
with the mental wounds of war.
  Our veterans are fighting for us, all of us--not just for their 
family or friends, but for strangers, too. Isn't it our duty while we 
are here, as elected representatives, to be fighting for not just those 
veterans with the mental wounds of war whom we know, but the countless 
others who are under the radar right now? They are under the radar 
because they don't know where to go for help.
  Within our communities, we have veterans. We have veterans service 
organizations--you know, like the VFW, the American Legion, the Vietnam 
Veterans of America, the list goes on--and we have mental health 
professionals who want to offer their services. We have others who may 
want to provide a venue for a meeting, others who may want to provide 
food.
  The setting is not that hard to put into place. For someone from our 
community who may live around the block from any Member of this 
Chamber, the setting is not that hard to put together for that veteran 
to go to that room and be with maybe 8, 10 veterans, understanding the 
struggles that they are going through so that they can share each 
other's stories and help each other cope with what are the mental 
wounds of war. It is our duty; it is our opportunity to be able to 
bring these veterans together and to save lives.
  As was noted earlier, the statistics are staggering: an estimated 22 
veteran deaths per day--22. That is 8,000 in a year. It was just about 
a month ago when the Department of Veterans Affairs indicated that 17 
of these 22 individuals weren't even in the VA system.
  Some don't go for help because they don't know where to go; others 
might fear the consequences. What is so important is, with the Dwyer 
program, maintaining confidentiality so our veterans won't fear that 
they might lose their job because they are going for help. That is 
incredibly important as well.
  A recent New York University Medical Center report indicated over 
270,000 Vietnam-era veterans still suffer from post-traumatic stress 
disorder. These figures are alarming. They are disturbing. The VA 
doesn't currently offer what we are talking about. This is different.
  We are hearing about how some of our veterans are being helped 
because of pets--dogs, horses--fishing, other activities. Let's think 
outside the box. Let's not think of just the same way of doing things 
that have not worked inside the Department of Veterans Affairs. Let's 
do something different. We are not starting from scratch.
  I would encourage any Member of this House to look at what we are

[[Page 3256]]

doing in my home county of Suffolk. I am proud to say that we are 
leading the way in America, and there is a model there that works and 
should be replicated everywhere.
  Staffing shortages, untrained support staff, lacking family support 
services and access to services during nonbusiness hours are just some 
of the problems that have been reported at the Department of Veterans 
Affairs.
  I recently introduced legislation, H.R. 4513, which would expand 
nationally the PFC Joseph P. Dwyer Veterans Peer Support program. PFC 
Joseph Dwyer was from my district. His home was Mount Sinai, New York.
  A lot of people know Joseph Dwyer because of an iconic photo from the 
start of the Iraq war. This picture was on national news. It was on the 
front cover of magazines. It was that iconic picture of that American 
soldier post-
9/11 at the start of the war holding a wounded Iraqi boy as his unit 
was fighting its way up to Baghdad.
  It looked like Joseph came home in one piece, a hero. While it may 
have seemed that he came home in one piece because he didn't have some 
of the physical wounds of war that we unfortunately see from other 
heroes, he came back with post-traumatic stress disorder.
  PFC Dwyer died in 2008. Matina, his young widow, was left behind. 
Meaghan, his 2-year-old daughter, was left behind.
  This was an effort that was launched in his honor, the PFC Joseph P. 
Dwyer Veterans Peer Support program. It is for our veterans with post-
traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. It provides a 
safe, confidential, and educational platform where all veterans are 
welcome to meet with other veterans to build vet-to-vet relationships 
in support of one another's successful transition from military life to 
post-service life.
  We were able to conduct 148 group sessions, serving 450 veterans in 
my home county of Suffolk, just in the first year. Since 2013, the 
program has helped, now, into the thousands, as we count veterans from 
across New York with PTSD and TBI.
  Through my bill, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs would be 
authorized to make grants to State and local entities to carry out 
peer-to-peer mental health programs. The bill would secure $25 million 
over a 3-year period to establish a grant program at the VA that will 
provide up to $250,000 in funding for all selected entities, such as 
nonprofits, congressionally chartered VSOs, or State or local agencies 
to implement the peer-to-peer program.
  Let's think about that--$250,000. The Denver VA Hospital construction 
project, originally budgeted for just over $600 million, is operating 
$800 million to $900 million over budget--$800 million to $900 million 
over budget.
  The Department of Veterans Affairs came to a Committee on Veterans' 
Affairs hearing, which I am proud to serve on that committee, and they 
said that they are operating off what they referred to as an artificial 
budget. Has anyone ever heard of an artificial budget?
  I had one colleague who was asking for when she was going to get a 
timeline of when we would have an actual budget. Unable to get an 
answer, she asked the follow-up question, not trying to embarrass the 
Department. She ended up asking the follow-up question of when she was 
going to get a timeline of when she was going to get a timeline of when 
we were going to have an actual budget.
  When $800 million to $900 million ends up getting spent over budget, 
think of the hundreds of veterans in one county alone who could be 
helped for just $200,000. The money is there.
  When the Secretary of the VA, when the Department of Veterans Affairs 
signs off on a relocation and incentive bonus for one of their own, 
whose position is in Washington, D.C., and she wants to go to 
Philadelphia, where her family is, and take over a position in charge 
of their Veterans Affairs hospital, she arranges a move to get the 
person, the gentleman in charge of the Philly VA hospital moved to Los 
Angeles. So now she gets the job she wanted. She is closer to family, 
and she gets herself a relocation and incentive bonus over $200,000.
  The Office of Inspector General was outraged. They made a report 
recommending that this gets referred to the Department of Justice. The 
Department of Veterans Affairs was so outraged at this report from the 
inspector general that they ended up turning on their own inspector 
general, not referring anything to the Department of Justice.
  One of the responsibilities of this House is oversight. You look at 
our Constitution. Article I is long, all the powers granted to 
Congress. Look at the powers of the President and the executive. It is 
short. Within that article, it talks about the oversight of this body, 
oversight to make sure that money is being spent appropriately, wisely, 
efficiently, and that people are held accountable when they are not 
doing the right thing on behalf of our veterans.
  My bill would effectively and efficiently, as it has proven, provide 
24/7 peer-to-peer mental health services by trained peer specialists 
for veterans, Reservists, and National Guardsmen wherever and whenever 
they are needed.
  In addition, the Dwyer program will provide group and individual 
meetings to help foster a greater sense of inclusion and community 
amongst our veterans and, as I mentioned earlier, the program also 
addresses the many privacy concerns that veterans and other 
servicemembers have, as the Dwyer program representatives themselves 
will be veterans and would not be responsible to the Department of 
Veterans Affairs, therefore easing reporting concerns.
  This is a bill that I have been working on since I took office in 
January 2015, working closely with the House Committee on Veterans' 
Affairs that I serve on, the American Legion, other VSOs, the National 
Disability Rights Network, various healthcare providers on Long Island, 
as well as my Veterans Advisory Panel, which is made up of 
representatives from veterans groups and veterans themselves.
  I want to thank the Dwyer family for all the inspiration the 
sacrifice of Joseph has provided to so many in our community and our 
country, and for me included. There would not be a Dwyer program in the 
State of New York without the sacrifice of Joseph Dwyer.
  I want to thank the county of Suffolk and specifically Tom Ronayne, 
who runs the Veterans Service Office, for the countless hours and the 
love that he and his team have put into this effort that we talk about 
here tonight on the House floor; to Chris Delaney, Joseph's friend, who 
has served our country as well as Tom has and has done so much through 
his work with
9/11 Veterans and also serving on my Veterans Advisory Panel.
  I think of so many individuals who have given so much of their 
personal time to make this work. It is an honor to be here on behalf of 
that team advocating for this cause.
  I unapologetically love my country. I believe that we live in the 
greatest Nation in the world. I will say that the highlight of my day 
during my time in Iraq was going back to my tent at the end of the day. 
There would be care packages waiting for us from strangers--8-year-
olds, 9-year-olds from other corners of the country--with pictures of 
tanks and flags and soldiers, cards saying, ``Thank you for your 
service.'' The generation that came before me didn't get that 
treatment.
  Just think. Right now we have servicemembers in Iraq, Afghanistan, 
and elsewhere who were 4 years old on 9/11. Their entire generation, it 
is all they know. They went through their entire life, from 4 years old 
to today, knowing exactly what they were signing up for; and actually 
knowing what they were signing up for gave them all the motivation and 
inspiration in the world they needed to put on that uniform.
  It is a great feeling the first time you get to put on our Nation's 
uniform. For me, it wasn't a feeling that I had about myself when I 
looked in the mirror and I saw myself wearing a uniform. It was 
thinking of those generations who came before us, like our Nation's 
Greatest Generation. It is a challenge

[[Page 3257]]

for our generation to earn the title of our Nation's next Greatest 
Generation. Maybe that generation is now serving here in this Chamber 
where 31 Members of the House are under the age of 40, including new 
Members who have come in who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

                              {time}  1715

  As I think about that 8-year-old and 9-year-old who wrote that card 
to that stranger they did not know and as we stand here today enjoying 
our freedoms, we think of those who are in harm's way--strangers--we 
don't know them--they are going to come back after seeing things none 
of us would ever want to see in our lives. And will we be there for 
them?
  Mr. Speaker, there is one other bill that was filed in this Chamber 
called the Fairness for Veterans Act. An Iraq veteran from Long Island, 
Kristofer Goldsmith, received a general discharge, which is a less-
than-honorable discharge.
  As a result, he doesn't have the same veterans benefits that someone 
who is separated with an honorable discharge would receive. He came 
back with post-traumatic stress disorder. He attempted to take his own 
life.
  When your post-traumatic stress disorder ends up leading to a 
discharge with a less-than-honorable discharge, isn't it our 
responsibility to ensure that they have the ability to diagnose and 
treat their post-traumatic stress disorder?
  What if they are applying for an upgrade of their discharge status? 
Should we put the burden on that veteran to prove that the 
circumstances that led to their discharge is connected to their post-
traumatic stress disorder? No.
  This bill addresses that by putting the burden on the government to 
show that the circumstances weren't connected to what led to that 
discharge.
  We must fight for all our veterans who are willing to fight for us. 
My bills will bring much-needed support--the Dwyer Program and the 
Fairness for Veterans Act--to millions of veterans, if you think of all 
those not only serving now, but in the future, and their families.
  Passing these bills and others to address veterans' mental health is 
of the highest priority for many of us in this Chamber. I will work 
every day in Congress to spread awareness of these two bills and gather 
cosponsors and the support of veterans groups and mental health 
organizations from all across the country so that we pass this bill as 
soon as possible.
  One last word about our families. We often say thank you to our 
veterans, as we should. We say thank you to our first responders, our 
law enforcement, our volunteer firefighters, our EMTs.
  There are so many people who try to give back and who believe in 
service because they love their community, their State, their country. 
They want to give back. They want to leave this place better than they 
found it.
  When I was in Iraq this past Christmas, I met the Command Sergeant 
Major for the 82nd Airborne Division. He is on his 11th deployment. I 
spoke earlier about that veteran who was 4 years old on 9/11. We also 
have that Command Sergeant Major of the 82nd Airborne Division who was 
on his 11th deployment.
  My daughters were born 14\1/2\ weeks early. They were less than a 
pound and a half when they were born. They spent their first 3\1/2\ 
months in the hospital. After they came out of the hospital--I was 
stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, at the time--I came across 
this woman who had three sets of triplets. She lost one from each set. 
All six of her kids had special needs.
  Her shopping cart was full. Her husband was on another deployment to 
Iraq. With a smile on her face, with a very positive attitude, she is 
telling my wife and I all the resources that were available to us at 
Fort Bragg so that we could be better parents.
  That was the last time my wife or I would ever have the nerve to feel 
sorry for ourselves for what we were going through with our daughters. 
They came home with about a dozen medications and heart monitors. They 
were going through a hard time.
  But this woman, with her husband on another deployment, her shopping 
cart full, with six special needs kids with her as she is walking 
through the Fort Bragg commissary, with that positive attitude and a 
smile on her face, helping us be better parents, I realized that, when 
she was going to go home, no one was going to be waiting with an 
outstretched hand and a hug and say: Thank you for your service.
  These bills and this effort tonight are for our veterans and their 
families in need, and it is the way that we give back. This is how to 
say a proper thank you.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. COSTELLO of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, last year, Congress took 
an important step towards improving mental health services for our 
veterans. The Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act 
was a landmark, bipartisan effort that improved suicide prevention 
programs and mental health care at the Department of Veterans Affairs 
(VA). I was proud to cosponsor and to vote in support of that 
legislation, but more needs to be done.
  You do not have to look hard to see the need for critical mental 
health care and services for our veterans. Among servicemembers 
returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, nearly 20% suffer from post-
traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or depression, and during deployment, 
18.5% report experiencing a traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, only 
50% of servicemembers seek treatment. As a member of the House 
Veterans' Affairs Committee, I am working tirelessly to help those 
returning from the battlefield who face these mental health challenges.
  Mr. Speaker, Congress can combat PTSD and TBI through greater 
awareness, prevention, and research. We can work with the VA and 
interested stakeholders to take commonsense steps to address staffing 
shortages, improve family support services, and increase access to 
services during non-business hours.
  Likewise, we need to allow our veterans the freedom to receive mental 
health care at non-VA facilities. We cannot allow bureaucracy to stand 
in the way of veterans receiving the critical treatment and services 
they need. H.R. 1604, the Veterans Mental Health Care Access Act, 
introduced by Congressman MacArthur, would do just that. I am proud to 
cosponsor this legislation.
  Congressman Zeldin has introduced H.R. 4513, the PFC Joseph P. Dwyer 
Veteran Peer Support Program, to provide 24/7 peer-to-peer mental 
health services for veterans, reservists, and National Guardsmen. Our 
men and women in uniform deserve a strong support system, and this is 
one way we can ensure they have a trusted sense of community whenever 
they need it.

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