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

Floor Speech

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Mrs. LEE of Nevada. Madam Speaker, I want to thank the chairman for bringing this bill in front of the House. And I stand today in support of S. 785, the Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act.

In addition to making critical updates related to VA transition assistance, mental healthcare, and care for women veterans, this bill also includes an important provision that I championed here in the House in the form of the VA Telehealth Expansion Act, which would provide entities with grants expanding telehealth capabilities to serve veterans throughout the VA.

We know the stat that over 20 veterans take their life by suicide every day, and not one suicide is acceptable. And many of those veterans are not accessing VA care. We know that telehealth is another venue to allow those veterans increased access, whether a veteran is homebound, in a rural community, in a community without access to a VA clinic or a hospital, or as we have seen now during this pandemic, at high risk of dying if they catch COVID-19. This pandemic has shown us just how critical it is for our veterans to be able to access healthcare through telehealth.

In my home State of Nevada, on the week that southern Nevada began responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of veterans in the southern Nevada healthcare system who had telehealth visits, the number was just under 150. Fast forward to just the week of July 19, we were providing over 2,000 video visits to veterans in their homes via the VA Video Connect. That means that the telehealth video visits increased by over 1,000 percent.

It is abundantly clear that telehealth has provided improved access in healthcare for so many veterans, and we must continue to invest in the VA's telehealth capacity, and S. 785 does just that.

Madam Speaker, finally, I want to give a special thank you also to Congressman Roe, the ranking member, for his leadership on this committee. I have only been working with him for one term, but without a doubt, I want to thank him for his commitment to our veterans.

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, I appreciate the kind words and those of Congressman Lamb also. It is very much appreciated.

Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Bergman), from the Upper Peninsula where there are more deer than there are people. General Bergman has served our country as a marine, in private business as a pilot, and now as a Congressman, and I am indeed fortunate to call him my friend.

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