Senator: Focus on mental-health costs of war

Senator: Focus on mental-health costs of war

By Karen Jowers - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Apr 30, 2008 17:16:39 EDT

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., is calling on President Bush to issue a directive making it clear that veterans’ mental-health issues will be fully addressed.

“The buck stops at the president’s desk. The president needs to issue a directive that the costs of the war, particularly of mental health, is an issue we’re all going to deal with,” Murray said following an April 30 press conference at which senators called on the Department of Veterans Affairs to be honest and forthcoming with their data, and to start an extensive outreach program to encourage veterans to get help.

Murray and Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, said they’re concerned that VA is withholding information about rates of suicide and attempted suicide among veterans, which they said hinders lawmakers’ efforts to give VA the funding needed to help those with mental health issues.

Murray called this one more sign of “a lot of downward pressure from the administration to downplay the costs of the war.”

At a Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee hearing April 23, where senators learned that 17 veterans a month commit suicide while under VA care, Murray and other senators demanded the removal of VA’s mental-health chief, Dr. Ira Katz.

Earlier that week, a lawsuit against VA brought to light a series of e-mails from Katz about high suicide numbers.

Murray quoted one Katz e-mail in that hearing: “Shh! Our suicide prevention coordinators are identifying about 1,000 suicide attempts per month among veterans in our medical facilities.”

VA officials declined to comment on Katz’s status, citing the ongoing court case and upcoming congressional hearings.

But spokesman Phil Budahn noted that the number of mental-health care professionals in VA has risen to 9,000 in the past three years, a 50 percent increase.

Mental-health services are provided at all 150 VA medical centers and at most of the 720 outpatient clinics, he said.
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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/04/military_mentalhealth_vasuicides_043008w/