Rep. Holt is seeking increased funding for mental health programs for returning service members. Holt was a part of a bipartisan group of 60 Members of Congress who wrote the Chair and Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense. "We must increase funding by at least $700 million in FY 2011 to permanently move away from years of 'pilot programs' and finally implement a comprehensive post-deployment screening program for all service member by trained mental health professionals. Once mental health care is made more accessible, the stigma behind seeking help for mental injuries will also dissipate."  To read the full text of the letter, click here.

This letter is part of Holt's efforts to improve military suicide efforts. Earlier this year, the House passed an amendment Holt introduced in memory of an East Brunswick man, Sergeant Coleman Bean, who took his own life after serving two tours in Iraq. Holt's amendment would fill a void in the military’s suicide prevention efforts among members of the Individual Ready Reserve and for other soldiers who are designated as Individual Mobilization Augmentees. Read more here.