JOHN WALSH

(U.S. SENATE)—Senator John Walsh today called President Barack Obama’s executive orders a step in the right direction to fulfilling the promises made to America’s veterans and outlined his continued effort to improve veteran services:

“The President’s action today is a win for veterans and their families. There is more to do to prevent suicide among veterans, and Congress needs to step up to do our part, but I'm pleased to see the Administration moving the ball forward. My bipartisan bill, the Suicide Prevention for America’s Veterans Act, includes several elements that the President has moved forward today, including greater standardization between DOD and VA drug formularies, improved health record sharing between agencies, greater training to identify veterans at-risk of suicide, a new focus on recruiting more mental health care providers, and accountability measures to track the success of the VA's mental health care programs.

“But even with today’s actions, we still must extend combat eligibility for veterans who have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan beyond the current 5-year period. We must also recruit and retain more mental health care providers in the VA through programs like the student loan repayment component of my suicide prevention legislation.

“I thank our bipartisan group of Senate co-sponsors and House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Jeff Miller and Ranking Member Tim Walz for working with me to bring attention to the plight of veterans suffering from the invisible wounds of war and look forward to continuing to work with them this fall to pass the Suicide Prevention for America’s Veterans Act.”

Obama’s actions include increasing resources to treat mental health illness, requiring the standardization of electronic records, recruiting and retaining more health professionals to serve in the VA system, and requiring the Administration to periodically update the public on VA operations.