Or maybe not. I don’t know. There is this.

Oct 01 2007
Bill to Strengthen VA Suicide Prevention Programs Passes Senate

Legislation that seeks to address the high rate of suicide among U.S. veterans moved within a step of final congressional action late Thursday after a GOP senator lifted his hold on the measure.

The Senate passed its version of the bill (HR 327) by voice vote and returned the measure to the House for final action.

Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., had held up passage of the legislation until its supporters removed a section that called for the Veterans Affairs Department to conduct “appropriate tracking of veterans.”

Coburn’s staff said that the senator was concerned that the tracking provision could allow the VA to share health data with other federal agencies — such as the Justice Department — and that veterans with mental illness could then be barred from purchasing handguns.

The 1993 Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (PL 103-159) requires states to send to the FBI’s instant criminal background check system the names of persons barred from possession of handguns, such as convicted felons and anyone “adjudicated as a mental defective.” But federal regulations interpreting that phrase explicitly exclude people who voluntarily seek care in a mental institution.

In another change, a section of the bill that said that the VA “shall provide for a mental health screening of veterans who receive medical care at a Department medical facility” was altered to state that the VA “shall direct that medical staff offer mental health in their overall health assessment when veterans seek medical care at a Department medical facility.” Coburn spokesman John Hart said that the change would effectively create an “opt-out” for veterans who do not want mental health screening and treatment.

The bill is named after Joshua Omvig, an Iraq War veteran who served in the Army Reserve and killed himself in December 2005 after an 11-month deployment. Omvig’s parents have pushed for improved readjustment procedures for returning service members.

Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, the sponsor of a similar bill (S 479) approved by the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, had tussled with Coburn over the hold in floor debate earlier this month. He praised passage of the bill in a statement Friday.

“I am heartened to see that after many months of talking about preventing suicide among our veterans, Congress finally took action,” Harkin said.

The House is expected to clear the bill with little opposition. The original version passed 424-0 on March 21.

The bill would require the Veterans Affairs Department (VA) to provide training to employees and contractors to make them aware of suicide risk factors and protocols for crisis intervention with veterans at risk for suicide. It also would authorize a family outreach program to address stigmas about mental illness and encourage veterans to seek treatment.

The suicide prevention program authorized in the bill also would require the placement of suicide prevention counselors at VA medical facilities, as well as peer support counseling. Another provision would authorize a 24-hour toll-free mental health care hotline — a step that the VA has already taken.

The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the bill would have little or no cost because the “VA already has or soon will implement all the specific requirements of the bill.”