House action coincides with release of mental health report from Pentagon task force
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords joined a bipartisan majority of the House of Representatives today in supporting the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act (HR 2642), a bill that will provide much-needed resources to care for America's veterans, including more mental health services.
“Ongoing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan are creating a new generation of veterans,” Giffords said. “Repeat deployments and short intervals at home are putting tremendous strain on military families and possibly contributing to high levels of post-traumatic stress disorder among U.S. troops. This legislation is an important part of our mission to address the mental health crisis among our nation’s heroes.”
HR 2642 dedicates $109 billion to care for the needs of America's military and veterans. This legislation allocates $2.9 billion for veterans' mental health care, $100 million more than 2007. It also provides better barracks, housing and training facilities when troops return from combat through a $21.4 billion investment in military construction and family housing.
Adequately funding mental health care is a top concern for Giffords, a member of the House Armed Services Committee. In March, Giffords learned that the rate of post-traumatic stress disorder among Iraq war veterans may be as high as 20 percent. In response, the congresswoman added a provision to the Wounded Warrior Assistance Act requiring the Department of Defense to develop a tracking system to identify early warning signs of post-traumatic stress disorder among service members receiving outpatient medical care.
Giffords noted that today's passage of the VA spending bill coincided with a new Department of Defense report on the state of mental health care services for service members and their families. Prepared by a DoD Mental Health Task Force, the report found that service members and their families are experiencing difficulties accessing mental health care because of poor funding and a “pervasive” stigma about seeking psychological help.
“Today's Pentagon’s report on mental health shows we have a long way to go to improve mental health services for our men and women in uniform,” said Giffords.
The bill also includes funding to improve essential veterans' health care services such as care for veterans with traumatic brain injuries, upgrades of veterans' health care facilities, and the hiring of more than a thousand caseworkers who will help reduce the backlog of 400,000 veterans' claims. It allocates $37.1 billion for the Veterans Health Administration; these funds will be used to treat an estimated 5.8 million veterans next year, including 263,345 veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Arizona is home to over 550,000 veterans, many of whom will benefit from this legislation. Its passage is being enthusiastically welcomed by veterans like Bob Berry of Green Valley. “This is great news for America's veterans,” said Berry a retired U.S. Air Force master sergeant. “The House is providing the VA with funding they've needed for years.”
A pdf of the DoD report can be found online at http://www.ha.osd.mil/dhb/mhtf/MHTF-Report-Final.pdf.