Stop Excessive Energy Speculation Act of 2008--Motion to Proceed--Continued

Floor Speech

STOP EXCESSIVE ENERGY SPECULATION ACT OF 2008--MOTION TO PROCEED--Continued -- (Senate - July 22, 2008)

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

VA HOTLINE

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, we have had a very important debate today about energy which I spoke about earlier today. I come to the Senate floor this afternoon to talk about another issue that is also important; that is, to raise awareness about one of the most heartbreaking and alarming consequences of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In the 5 years since we invaded Iraq, we have seen a disturbing increase in the number of young men and women who are returning home, struggling with the psychological impact of the war and then, sadly, take their own lives. About 1,000 war veterans who are being treated by the VA attempt suicide each month. It is a problem that is affecting many communities across the country.

Earlier this month, we lost a young man in my home State of Washington, just hours after he went to the VA in Spokane to ask for care. He was, in fact, the sixth veteran in that community to take his own life this year. Currently, the Spokane VA is investigating all of those cases. I have spoken to Secretary Peake, and he has assured me his team is on the ground taking a hard look to see what went wrong and what they can learn from that case. But while I appreciate the work Secretary Peake and the Spokane VA are doing, the fact is this is a serious problem across the country.

Every suicide is a tragedy. Those young men and women are someone's son or daughter, someone's best friend, possibly someone's spouse or even a parent. Our hearts go out to all of those families and their friends. These deaths are an urgent reminder that we have to keep our eye on the ball. We owe it to all of our servicemembers and veterans to demand that the VA and the Department of Defense make it a national priority to bring those numbers down.

I acknowledge that the VA is taking steps to reach out to our veterans and their families to let them know that help is available. This week, in fact, the VA is rolling out a public service campaign in Washington, DC. It is part of a 3-month-long pilot program, and the VA is going to be running a series of ads on TV, on buses and trains, and on the subway. Those ads are going to highlight the VA's 24-hour suicide prevention hotline. The number for that is 1-800-273-TALK. It will help assure our veterans it is OK to ask for help. I truly applaud the VA for that effort because it is a good step. We have to absolutely get the word out to veterans and their families. If this helps prevent one tragedy, then it is more than worth it.

I applaud the VA. I hope the Defense Department will also publicize that number among its Active-Duty troops so when they leave the service, they will already be aware of it. But this is only a step. An ad campaign is only as good as the resources that are there when our servicemembers call and ask for help.

If we truly are going to make a difference, we need a much bigger effort. We have to do more to reach out. We have to do more to break down the barriers to those seeking mental health care. We need to back up those efforts with enough resources and money to ensure that when a veteran goes into the hospital asking for help, the VA offers the best care possible.

While I applaud the idea of publicizing the suicide prevention hotline, I believe the military and the VA must reach out long before our young men and women pick up that phone and call for help. That is going to take creativity and leadership.

The VA and the Defense Department can't keep doing things the way they have always done them because the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are not like any we have fought before. Our All-Volunteer Force has been on the ground in these two countries for longer than we fought in World War II. Troops get very little downtime. Many of them are serving their third or fourth and sometimes fifth deployments. This is a stress that is taking a toll on everyone.

For many of them, it gets worse when they come home to the pressures of everyday life or financial strains or family problems. That is especially true for members of the National Guard and Reserves because, unlike Active-Duty troops who return from battle to go to a military base where there is a support network, many of our Guard and Reserve members go home right away to family pressures and to civilian jobs they need to start right away.

The military and the VA have to update their resources and outreach efforts to match the challenges our troops face when they return. That safety net has to be in place before they ever leave the military. That means we must have creative programs that help our servicemembers transition from that battlefield back to the home front. It means providing family and financial counseling to any servicemember who needs it, and it means developing a way for the military or the VA to follow up with our servicemembers, especially those who have already asked for help with psychological needs. We have to also encourage our servicemembers and veterans to seek care when they need it by breaking down the barriers that prevent them from asking for help.

The VA and the Defense Department have to take strong steps to change the military culture so that servicemembers no longer fear that seeking care will be viewed as some sign of weakness or one that could hurt their career. Even more important, servicemembers and veterans must be convinced if they ask for help, doctors and staff will take them seriously and provide the care they need.

I personally have heard too many tragic stories about veterans who have gone to the VA in distress, only to face a doctor who underestimated their symptoms and sent them home to an end in tragedy. When someone with a history of depression or PTSD or other psychological wounds walks into one of our VAs and says they are suicidal, it should set off alarm bells for everyone. We can't convince veterans or servicemembers to get care if they think they will be met with lectures and closed doors. That is simply unacceptable. At the very least, we have to ensure that staff at military and VA medical centers have the training to recognize and treat someone who is in real distress.

Finally, we have to provide the resources to back up all of these efforts, starting with making sure that the suicide prevention hotline is staffed with enough trained professionals to provide real help to someone in need. I hope that will be the case. Unfortunately, this administration has failed for 8 long years to make good on its promises and provide the resources for our veterans to carry them out. Time and time again it has taken leaks and scandals to get the administration to own up to major problems at the VA--from inadequate budgets to rising suicide rates about which I am talking today. Its response to rising costs has been to underfund research and cut off services for some of our veterans. We have to do better than that. Service members and veterans need more than an 800 number to call. They need psychiatrists and psychologists who understand the horrors of war and the stresses our troops feel.

We also have to make sure we have the facilities and systems set up to accommodate the troops who will be entering the VA system in the next decade. We have to fast-track research into the signature injuries of this war, such as traumatic brain injury or post-traumatic stress disorder, so we understand how to diagnose and treat those conditions. We need to speed up efforts that will enable the DOD and VA to share records so that fewer service members slip through the cracks as they transition from Active Duty to veteran status. Now is the time to invest in research and infrastructure. We cannot afford to wait.

Many of us are familiar with the story of Joseph Dwyer, a young Army medic, made famous in a photo taken during the first week of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. In that photo, we have seen Joseph running toward safety with an injured Iraqi child in his arms. It is an epic image of bravery and compassion.

When he came home, Joseph struggled to fit back into civilian life. He suffered from PTSD and, tragically, earlier this year, he died of what police are treating as an accidental drug overdose. That photo of Joseph Dwyer captured the incredible work our troops are doing every single day. But, sadly, Joseph's story is also now an example of what far too many veterans face when they come home. The photo of Joseph was taken during the first week of this war. Now, more than 5 years later, we ought to have the resources in place to treat the psychological wounds of war as well as we do the physical ones. But we don't.

I ask my colleagues to put themselves in the shoes of a parent or spouse who has lost a child, a husband or a wife, or someone they know to suicide. I want them to think of all the questions they might be asking. We might not be able to provide all the answers, but we should at least be able to say we are doing everything we can to address the problem.

We know there are many dedicated, hard-working VA employees who spend countless hours providing our vets with the best treatment possible. We also have to recognize the system is still unprepared today for the influx of veterans coming home. As I have told my colleagues before, a recent RAND study shows that one in four veterans is struggling with PTSD. It is the duty of the VA and of a grateful nation to be prepared to care for their unique wounds. In order to do that, we need strong leadership and attention to detail in Washington, DC, in Spokane, WA, and everywhere in between.

At the end of day, this is not about bureaucracy. It is not about protecting turf. It is about saving lives. I am glad the administration plans to increase its outreach. It is a pilot program. It is only a small step. We have to make this a national priority to address this tragedy.

The administration has to back up its efforts by reaching out to our service members veterans, and their families. We have to break down the barriers that prevent our service members and veterans from seeking and getting mental health care, and we have to provide adequate resources.

No matter how anyone feels about this war, our troops are heroes. They have done everything we have asked of them--and more. It is time our commitment measured up to theirs.

Mr. President, I yield the floor.

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