Blumenthal, Boozman, Sullivan, Hirono & Brown Introduce the Reach Every Veteran In Crisis Act
Bipartisan Reach Every Veteran in Crisis Act would require VA to improve the operation, oversight, and evaluation of its suicide prevention media outreach campaigns.
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Today, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) led U.S. Senators John Boozman (R-AR), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) in introducing legislation that would require the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to improve the operation, oversight, and evaluation of its suicide prevention media outreach campaigns. The Reach Every Veteran in Crisis Act adopts several recommendations from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), which reported in December 2018 that the VA’s suicide prevention outreach activities had “dropped off in 2017 and 2018.”
Blumenthal, Boozman, Sullivan, Hirono, and Brown are all members of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee.
“The Department of Veterans Affairs has a moral obligation to fight the scourge of veteran suicide with all the resources Congress has authorized, an obligation it is failing to meet with fatal consequences,” said Blumenthal. “VA must replace rhetoric with meaningful action and address the significant shortfalls in their suicide prevention media outreach campaigns. This bill provides an action plan to hold VA accountable for ensuring all veterans and their families are aware of the support services available during their time of need.”
The December 2018 GAO report Improvements Needed in Suicide Prevention Media Outreach Campaign Oversight and Evaluation, found that VA had failed to establish targets to evaluate the efficacy of its campaigns, that leadership turnover led to a dramatic decline in media outreach activities; and that VA spent $1.5 million of their $6.2 million budget for suicide prevention media outreach in Fiscal Year 2018. This astonishing report came even as the VA’s “highest clinical priority” is preventing veteran suicide and an average of 20 veterans die by suicide daily.
Blumenthal has been a champion of veteran suicide prevention for many years. Beginning in 2014, Blumenthal partnered with the late-U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) to introduce and champion the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act to improve and modernize suicide prevention programs and ensure that VA is held accountable for providing quality, effective mental health care. The bill was signed into law in 2015.
“Many of our brave men and women in uniform return home with unseen wounds of war – internal struggles that too often lead to suicide,” said Sullivan. “As an officer in the Marine Corps, both on active duty and in the reserves, I have personally witnessed these struggles – at times tragic – that some of our servicemen and women undergo. This legislation will make sure that the VA’s mental health and suicide prevention efforts are effectively targeting those vulnerable populations in the veteran community.”
“The VA has indicated that suicide prevention is its highest clinical priority and, with the alarming number of suicides in the veteran community, it absolutely must be. Congress is appropriating resources and the VA is turning that into action, but the numbers continue to trend in the wrong direction. This is why it is vital that we have metrics to measure the effectiveness of the VA’s mental health and suicide prevention programs. This bill will help Congress and the VA isolate meaningful suicide prevention programs so we can ensure resources are focused on efforts that save lives,” said Boozman.
“It is unacceptable that every day in this country we lose 20 veterans to suicide. Yet, despite this high number, the VA is not properly managing important resources allocated by Congress to combat this serious issue. With veterans’ lives on the line, we must hold the VA accountable for the decline in its prevention outreach initiatives,” said Hirono. “The GAO made specific recommendations for the VA to improve, and I am proud to introduce this legislation that will hold the VA’s feet to the fire and improve oversight of their suicide prevention media campaign.”
“Even one veteran losing his or her life to suicide is too many,” said Brown. “Our servicemembers and veterans bravely stepped up and answered the call to serve. They deserve meaningful action from Congress and the Administration to ensure they have the resources and healthcare they need to prevent another life lost to suicide.”
The Reach Every Veteran in Crisis Act requires that the Department of Veterans Affairs:
- Establish targets—based on industry-standard metrics such as impressions and engagement rate—to evaluate the efficacy of its mental health and suicide prevention outreach campaigns
- Create a process to oversee VA’s suicide prevention media outreach campaigns.
- Submit a report on expenditures and obligations of funds of VHA’s Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention to the House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committees and Appropriations Committees.
- Ensure all future contracts regarding mental health and suicide prevention outreach include a clause that the contractor must track metrics established by the Secretary and report these metrics to the Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention.
A pdf of the bill is available here.
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[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Today, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) led U.S. Senators John Boozman (R-AR), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) in introducing legislation that would require the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to improve the operation, oversight, and evaluation of its suicide prevention media outreach campaigns. The Reach Every Veteran in Crisis Act adopts several recommendations from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), which reported in December 2018 that the VA’s suicide prevention outreach activities had “dropped off in 2017 and 2018.”
Blumenthal, Boozman, Sullivan, Hirono, and Brown are all members of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee.
“The Department of Veterans Affairs has a moral obligation to fight the scourge of veteran suicide with all the resources Congress has authorized, an obligation it is failing to meet with fatal consequences,” said Blumenthal. “VA must replace rhetoric with meaningful action and address the significant shortfalls in their suicide prevention media outreach campaigns. This bill provides an action plan to hold VA accountable for ensuring all veterans and their families are aware of the support services available during their time of need.”
The December 2018 GAO report Improvements Needed in Suicide Prevention Media Outreach Campaign Oversight and Evaluation, found that VA had failed to establish targets to evaluate the efficacy of its campaigns, that leadership turnover led to a dramatic decline in media outreach activities; and that VA spent $1.5 million of their $6.2 million budget for suicide prevention media outreach in Fiscal Year 2018. This astonishing report came even as the VA’s “highest clinical priority” is preventing veteran suicide and an average of 20 veterans die by suicide daily.
Blumenthal has been a champion of veteran suicide prevention for many years. Beginning in 2014, Blumenthal partnered with the late-U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) to introduce and champion the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act to improve and modernize suicide prevention programs and ensure that VA is held accountable for providing quality, effective mental health care. The bill was signed into law in 2015.
“Many of our brave men and women in uniform return home with unseen wounds of war – internal struggles that too often lead to suicide,” said Sullivan. “As an officer in the Marine Corps, both on active duty and in the reserves, I have personally witnessed these struggles – at times tragic – that some of our servicemen and women undergo. This legislation will make sure that the VA’s mental health and suicide prevention efforts are effectively targeting those vulnerable populations in the veteran community.”
“The VA has indicated that suicide prevention is its highest clinical priority and, with the alarming number of suicides in the veteran community, it absolutely must be. Congress is appropriating resources and the VA is turning that into action, but the numbers continue to trend in the wrong direction. This is why it is vital that we have metrics to measure the effectiveness of the VA’s mental health and suicide prevention programs. This bill will help Congress and the VA isolate meaningful suicide prevention programs so we can ensure resources are focused on efforts that save lives,” said Boozman.
“It is unacceptable that every day in this country we lose 20 veterans to suicide. Yet, despite this high number, the VA is not properly managing important resources allocated by Congress to combat this serious issue. With veterans’ lives on the line, we must hold the VA accountable for the decline in its prevention outreach initiatives,” said Hirono. “The GAO made specific recommendations for the VA to improve, and I am proud to introduce this legislation that will hold the VA’s feet to the fire and improve oversight of their suicide prevention media campaign.”
“Even one veteran losing his or her life to suicide is too many,” said Brown. “Our servicemembers and veterans bravely stepped up and answered the call to serve. They deserve meaningful action from Congress and the Administration to ensure they have the resources and healthcare they need to prevent another life lost to suicide.”
The Reach Every Veteran in Crisis Act requires that the Department of Veterans Affairs:
- Establish targets—based on industry-standard metrics such as impressions and engagement rate—to evaluate the efficacy of its mental health and suicide prevention outreach campaigns
- Create a process to oversee VA’s suicide prevention media outreach campaigns.
- Submit a report on expenditures and obligations of funds of VHA’s Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention to the House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committees and Appropriations Committees.
- Ensure all future contracts regarding mental health and suicide prevention outreach include a clause that the contractor must track metrics established by the Secretary and report these metrics to the Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention.
A pdf of the bill is available here.
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