Rep. Zeldin's Legislative Fix for VA's Suicide Hotline Signed into Law
Press Release
Congressman Lee Zeldin (R, NY-1), member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, announced today that the bipartisan legislative solution he proposed to ensure that veterans receive immediate assistance from a trained professional when they call the Veterans Crisis Line (VCL) was included in H.R. 5325, which was signed into law by President Obama on September 29, 2016.
Congressman Zeldin's effort, which he led with other Members of Congress, was launched in March of 2016, following the release of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Inspector General report which detailed that calls to the Veterans Crisis Line operated by the VA in 2014 were transferred to a backup call center voicemail system and never returned.
The language that Congressman Zeldin proposed, which was included in H.R. 5325, reads as follows, "The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall ensure that the toll-free suicide hotline under section 1720F(h) of title 38, United States Code -- (1) provides to individuals who contact the hotline immediate assistance from a trained professional; and (2) adheres to all requirements of the American Association of Suicidology." The American Association of Suicidology standards mandate that crisis center responders "be available to answer a dedicated phone number 24 hours a day, 7 days a week."
Congressman Lee Zeldin said, "Each and every struggling veteran who contacts the suicide hotline should receive immediate support from a trained VA responder. After sacrificing so much for our country, there is absolutely no justifiable reason that a veteran who calls the suicide hotline should ever be sent to voicemail. I am proud to have secured passage of this new law ensuring that a trained professional is available to take an incoming call on the suicide hotline 24 hours a day, 7 days a week."
Last week, Congressman Zeldin voted for the No Veterans Crisis Line Call Should Go Unanswered Act (H.R. 5392), which passed the House by a vote of 357 to 0. You can read more here.
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