Veterans Comprehensive Prevention, Access to Care, and Treatment Act of 2020

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. KELLY of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I rise to urge my colleagues to support H.R. 8247, the Veterans COMPACT Act. This important package will help veterans struggling with mental health and slow the alarming rate of veteran suicides in this country.

This package includes my bipartisan bill, H.R. 7747, which implements reporting requirements for the VA Solid Start program. The Solid Start program is a new transitional program designed to contact veterans three times during the first year after departing military service.

Veterans are often at their most vulnerable as they transition to civilian life. From waking up to a less structured day to having to navigate the often-frustrating VA benefits system, veterans can feel alone or overwhelmed. But we can change that.

The proactive engagement from this program has already produced positive results. In its first year, VA representatives have helped more than 750 veterans apply for disability benefits, and several veterans in crisis were immediately connected to suicide prevention services.

We need to build on that success. Sometimes all it takes is a friendly voice on the other end of the line to make a difference.

I hope all of my colleagues will join me in supporting the Veterans COMPACT Act so we can give our veterans the support they deserve.

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith). My friend is the previous chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee and a great advocate of our Nation's heroes.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. First of all, Madam Speaker, I want to thank Chairman Takano. I give a special thanks to him and the ranking member, Dr. Roe, for including my bipartisan bill, H.R. 2435, the Accelerating Veterans Recovery Outdoors Act, into the COMPACT Act that is before the House today.

Madam Speaker, introduced 17 months ago, I am especially grateful for the work of my good friend and colleague, Adam Smith from Washington, the lead Democrat cosponsor, and all 135 cosponsors of this legislation.

I give special thanks to the veterans service organizations, outdoor groups, and a big, big shout-out to the Sierra Club for the groundbreaking work that they have done to advance outdoor recreation as an extraordinarily effective form of healing for veterans suffering from PTSD and other psychological consequences from their service.

The legislation requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish an interagency task force on the use of public lands to provide medical treatment and therapy to veterans through outdoor recreation. Specifically, the task force duties include, first, to identify opportunities to formalize coordination between the Department of Veterans Affairs, public lands agencies, and partner organizations regarding the use of public lands or other outdoor spaces for health and wellness for veterans; second, to identify barriers that exist to providing veterans with opportunities for health and wellness through the use of outdoor recreation on public lands or other outdoor spaces; and, third, to develop recommendations to better facilitate the use of public lands or other outdoor spaces for promoting wellness and facilitating the delivery of health care and therapy for veterans.

After an exhaustive--hopefully, an exhaustive--analysis, it will provide recommendations to Congress within a year.

Madam Speaker, research has increasingly shown that outdoor recreation can be an effective form of treatment and healing for veterans. While many nonprofit organizations, VSOs, and other private companies have used the outdoors to help heroes to heal, providing greater coordination among key Federal agencies will open up new opportunities for veterans on public lands and other outdoor spaces.

Blake, Madam Speaker, is a combat-wounded veteran who served in Iraq. By the time he was 20, Blake was suffering severe depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. He made three visits to the VA psychiatric wards and a substance abuse rehab. But it was a backpacking trip led by the Sierra Club Military Outdoors that changed his entire perspective.

With growing hope, Blake began participating in backpacking trips to Yosemite, Ansel Adams, and Big Bend. He says the shared experiences in the outdoors taught him purpose, self-reliance, and the healing powers of nature. Blake reports that ``in every Texas sunrise in the desert or a sunset next to an alpine lake, I found more beauty and serenity than I thought existed. I found camaraderie with other veterans in sharing our stories on the trail. The darkness of what I had experienced couldn't compare to the light I saw in watching a trout swim in the Merced River with Half Dome looming nearby. And when the depression, anxiety, and everything else that comes with PTSD creeps back into my life, I know just what to do: Strap on a pack and get outside.''

Madam Speaker, I urge support for the legislation, and I thank my friends for including it in this bill.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source