This afternoon, Congresswoman Annie Kuster (NH-02) helped introduce the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act. She helped introduce the legislation after families who lost their loved ones due to suicide testified during a House Veterans’ Affairs Committee hearing this morning.

During this morning’s hearing, Kuster heard from witnesses about the delays and other issues their loved ones experienced while attempting to receive mental health care treatment at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).  The bill Kuster helped introduce would work to address these issues, and would provide oversight at the VA to ensure all veterans can access the comprehensive mental health services they need.

“I was deeply moved by the stories of the families I heard from during today’s hearing, and I’m horrified that some of our own veterans, who served our nation so honorably, had trouble accessing high-quality mental health care services at the VA,” said Congresswoman Annie Kuster. “Many of our veterans go through unfathomably traumatic experiences while serving in the military, and mental health services are crucial for helping these veterans move forward so they can integrate back into civilian life when they return home. No veteran should ever face obstacles to this care – no matter what. That’s why I’m proud to help introduce new legislation that will provide strict oversight at the VA to help ensure that all mental health services offered at VA medical facilities are easily accessible and effective.”

The bill Congresswoman Kuster helped introduce today, the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act, is named after Clay Hunt, an Afghanistan and Iraq war veteran who tragically faced barriers to receiving mental health care at the VA, and whose Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome led to his suicide. In his honor, the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act would implement a comprehensive, community-based approach to suicide prevention among former service members, and would provide much needed oversight at the VA. The bill would require a third party to annually evaluate both the Department of Defense and the VA mental health and suicide prevention programs, and it would require the VA to develop an interactive website for mental health services that is integrated with the National Guard Bureau. The bill also addresses the deficiency of mental health professionals at the VA by creating an education loan repayment pilot program to entice new practitioners to the VA.

Since allegations of long wait times at the Phoenix VA were first discovered by the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, Congresswoman Kuster has repeatedly called for increased oversight and immediate action at the VA to prevent any further mismanagement. She called for a thorough, nationwide audit of all VA medical centers, and she continues to call for additional audits to immediately identify and fix any problems at VA centers across the country. She has also provided strict oversight over the VA medical centers serving New Hampshire, and she has called on the New England VA Network Director to conduct a complete review of wait times and to provide whistleblower protection for staff who come forward with information about mismanagement. She also held a roundtable discussion with Veteran Service Organizations and veteran leaders to hear about their experiences at the VA medical centers, and she continues to monitor their care in New Hampshire.

###