Senator Akaka demands answers on suicides

Senator demands exact numbers on vet suicides

By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday May 15, 2008 12:46:32 EDT

After several hearings spent trying to learn the exact numbers of suicides among veterans, the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee has formally requested exact data.

In a letter, Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, chairman of the committee, asked the Veterans Affairs Department for the total number of vets who have committed suicide or attempted it, the number of vets who were under VA care when they committed or attempted suicide, what VA is doing to improve outreach and care for veterans ages 30 to 64, and all VA’s health care quality assurance reviews relating to suicide over the past three years.

“We will not know the true cost of war until we know the true rate of suicide among veterans,” Akaka said in a prepared statement. “Until the VA mental health care system meets the needs of those who have served, we will continue to see the tragic consequence of veteran suicides.”
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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/05/military_vasuicides_datarequest_051508w/