JOHN WALSH

(U.S. SENATE)—Senator John Walsh today urged the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee to extend combat eligibility for returning veterans this year.

Walsh, the first Iraq War combat veteran to serve in the Senate, told the Committee that extending combat eligibility for healthcare services at the VA is an essential reform needed to address the rise of mental health wounds related to combat service.  Walsh said that increasing combat eligibility from five to ten years would improve access to care for the thousands of veterans who show delayed signs of PTSD and other mental health wounds.

“As the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq wind down, many American families are welcoming back sons, daughters, husbands, and wives who are changed people,” Walsh told the Committee.  “These men and women were willing to sign their names on the dotted line. They were willing to give the last full measure of devotion. And we owe them the opportunity to heal, whether their wounds are seen or unseen.”

“Extending the combat eligibility for prioritized care at the VA is an immediate and affordable option that we should pass this Congress.  I close by urging my colleagues to support—this year—extending combat eligibility to ten years. We shouldn’t wait another day.”

According to the National Comorbidity Survey, only 7% of people with PTSD seek treatment within one year of the initial trauma event and the average time it takes to seek treatment is well beyond the current 5-year combat eligibility period.

Walsh introduced the Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act, SAV Act, this year to improve suicide prevention in the VA by increasing the number of mental health professionals in the VA system, requiring annual reviews of suicide prevention programs, extending the eligibility period for combat-related medical treatment, and reviewing wrongful discharges from the armed services.