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By Miriam Raftery
February 3, 2015 (San Diego's East County) - It’s rare for members of Congress to agree on anything these days. .Both both the House and Senate voted unanimously to approve the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act. The measure now heads to President Obama’s desk for signature.
The bill is named after a veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars who took his own life. He was one of over 8,000 veterans who commit suicide every year.
The measure calls for external audits of suicide prevention programs in the departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense to find out which programs are succeeding and which should be scrapped. In addition it will establish a website on mental health services for veterans. It will also create a pilot program to repay student loan debt for students in psychiatric medicine who agree to work at the VA.
The cost of the bill is $24 million, and legislators did voice differences on whether those costs should be offset or if funds should come from VA funds already allocated, the Hill reports.
The measure is expected to help address issues of traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder which have contributed to the high rate of suicides among returning veterans.
Clay Hunt’s mother, Susan Selke, issued a statement thanking the Senate for passing the bill. “While we are a little bittersweet, because it is too late for our son Clay, we are thankful knowing that this bill will save many lives,” she concluded.
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