From IAVA:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
August 27, 2020
CONTACT: press@iava.org
New York, NY – Following Senate passage of the Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act (S. 785) earlier this month, IAVA calls on the House to expeditiously pass the bill and send it to the President’s desk. Legislation alone will not end the veteran suicide crisis but the bipartisan Commander Hannon Act would make substantial progress in reducing the stubbornly high 20 veteran suicides that occur every day.
“IAVA has been fighting since the beginning of 2019 to get the Commander Hannon Act to this point. It would be completely irresponsible if the 116th Congress ends its legislative work this December without having at least passed the Commander Hannon Act,” said IAVA CEO Jeremy Butler. “There has been plenty of talk but not nearly enough action to address the worsening crisis of veteran suicide and we are literally at a crossroads. 2020 can be the year where we joined together to pass much-needed legislation to finally begin to reduce the numbers dying by suicide each day or it will go down as another year where we did nothing.”
Key provisions of the Commander Hannon Act include the creation of a community grant program within the Department of Veterans Affairs to help identify isolated veterans and provide mental health services. It also establishes and expands partnerships with organizations to deliver increased telehealth capabilities to veterans.
Following Senate passage of the bill, HVAC Chairman Rep. Mark Takano announced a September 10th hearing on the Veterans COMPACT Act and additional provisions that will make up the House companion to S. 785. The 32 bills including “key fixes to the Senate’s bill package, Chairman Takano’s Veterans ACCESS Act, and additional legislation that covers gaps identified by mental health experts, stakeholders, and the White House PREVENTS Task Force.”
IAVA welcomes Chairman Takano’s efforts to build upon the substance of the Commander Hannon Act but expresses strong concern that, given the limited number of voting days left in the 116th Congress, complicated further by remaining Congressional priorities and the coming elections, there may not be enough time left to negotiate and pass the 32 House bills, some of which are still being written, before the end of the year.
IAVA looks forward to the September 10th HVAC hearing on the Veterans COMPACT Act and the Committee’s additions that will make up the House Companion to the Commander Hannon Act. We strongly encourage the committee to also use the time to outline for our military and veteran community a comprehensive plan to get the legislation to the President’s desk before the end of the year. In the absence of a likely path to the 32 bills becoming law, IAVA calls on the committee to ensure the country, and especially the veterans that it will benefit, that it will advance the Commander Hannon Act to the President’s desk for signature. In such an event, IAVA would join the Committee and other VSOs to redouble efforts to pass additional legislation as needed.
Founded by an Iraq veteran in 2004, IAVA is the non-partisan leader in advocacy, public awareness and 1-on-1 care management and peer support. We organize locally, drive historic impacts nationally and fight for over 400,000 veterans and their allies nationwide. If a veteran or their family is in need of assistance now, please reach out to IAVA’s Quick Reaction Force at www.quickreactionforce.org or 855-91RAPID (855-917-2743) to be connected promptly with a veteran care manager who will assist you. Visit IAVA’s The Vote Hub at www.votehub.org to register to vote and find polling information.
