Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act of 2019

Floor Speech

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Ms. HOULAHAN. Madam Speaker, I want to thank the chairman for bringing this bill to the House.

Madam Speaker, I rise as well to speak in favor of S. 785.

This comprehensive package of legislation complements the other VA bills we considered yesterday and today. I want to highlight two pieces of this bill, in particular.

This bill aims to improve the mental health medical workforce at the VA. The vast majority of veterans who get their care at the VA love their experience, and that is because of the dedicated VA workforce.

However, we do need to address head-on the issue of staffing shortages. According to the most recent VA report, there are roughly 50,000 vacant positions at the VA at any given time, many of which are slots for healthcare providers.

This bill would require the VA to create a plan to address the staffing of mental healthcare providers at its facilities, and ensure that each medical center, like the one in Coatesville in my district, is staffed with a suicide prevention coordinator.

This bill also includes the Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program, which would push funding for suicide prevention services out to vetted community organizations. This is a similar one that was proposed in the Improve Act, which I was proud to help lead with my colleague across the aisle, General Bergman.

This will really help us reach the millions of veterans who do not use the VA for healthcare, or who are more comfortable talking about their mental health concerns in a nongovernmental setting. It will also ensure that these organizations can refer veterans to the VA when needed, ensuring that there is a warm hand-off, which is so critical when someone is in crisis.

Madam Speaker, I do want to take this opportunity to thank Chairman Takano for his leadership on this critically important issue. The fact that the House is poised to pass not only S. 785, but also the chairman's Veterans COMPACT Act, and a variety of other related bills, is truly a testament to his laser-like focus on this issue.

Representative Brownley, who leads the Women Veterans Task Force, also has been especially attentive to the barriers that women veterans face as well. VA research recently found that the share of women veterans using the VA has grown nearly 15 percent in 10 years, and we need to ensure that this VA is adapting and continuing to be the veterans' first choice for quality mental healthcare regardless of gender.

Madam Speaker, it has been a pleasure to work with General Bergman on the Improve Act, given our common background in service. General Bergman and I quickly connected last year over the importance of ensuring that we use all of the tools in our toolkit, the VA, community organizations, peer support groups, and more, to reach veterans in mental health crisis where they are and where they feel comfortable.

Madam Speaker, I thank General Bergman and Ranking Member Dr. Roe for their leadership in getting to this moment as well.

I would like to end by saying, it is okay to not be okay. If you are experiencing a crisis or know someone who is, please dial 1-800-273- 8255, and press 1. Again, 1-800-273-8255, and press 1.

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, first of all, we have heard numerous speakers today speak eloquently about the problems we have with veteran suicide in this country and active duty servicemembers, I mean, a horrific number of 20, which we have not changed at all in the last 20 years.

Two decades and we are still having this problem, no matter how much money, so it was time to think outside the box, which I believe this did. No one bill, Madam Speaker, is going to solve this problem.

We have read numbers to call. Look, reach out to a friend. If you have a friend or a pastor or someone who you trust, reach out to them if you are in a dark place, and then we will get you the help you need. We will get you the resources you need because most of these decisions, many of these, are impulsive decisions that once they are avoided, that person can lead a fruitful, bountiful life.

That is what we want. We want you to reach out, and we will get you the help you need to get you from the place you are to a place of a productive, helpful life.

I thank all the Members, especially the chairman, who made this his primary goal, suicide prevention. I thank him for that.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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