Congresswoman Duckworth's Statement on President's Signature of Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans (SAV) Act
Press Release
Duckworth attended signing ceremony at White House for legislation she co-introduced that helps prevent Veteran suicide
Today, Congresswoman Duckworth attended a ceremony at the White House where President Obama signed the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans (SAV) Act into law. The SAV Act, which was introduced in the House of Representatives by Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth (IL-08) and Representatives Tim Walz (D-MN) and Jeff Miller (R-FL), unanimously passed the House and Senate.
"I am so proud that this bipartisan legislation was signed into law at the White House today," said Duckworth. "Just as Veterans remained faithful to our country on the battlefield, it is our turn as lawmakers to remain faithful to them. This responsibility includes ensuring that when our service men and women make the brave decision to seek help, they get the quality assistance and treatment they deserve in a timely manner. I applaud my colleagues in Congress on this accomplishment and look forward to implementation of the SAV Act."
The SAV Act will take a multi-faceted approach to improve mental health services for Veterans. The bill will establish a peer support and community outreach pilot program to assist transitioning service members with accessing VA mental health care services. To ease access to services, the bill will require the VA to create a one-stop, interactive website to serve as a centralized source of information for all mental health services for Veterans. Included in the legislation is a student loan repayment pilot program aimed at recruiting and retaining psychiatrists. This will help address the shortage of mental health care professionals. To improve care, the legislation will require an annual, third-party evaluation of all mental health care and suicide prevention practices and programs at the VA to find out what's working and what needs to be improved.
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