13 veterans died while waiting for VA care

In at least 13 cases, Murray said, veterans committed suicide or died from drug overdoses while waiting to receive help from the VA.

Senators tell VA to reduce veteran suicides


BY ROB HOTAKAINEN

MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS

WASHINGTON -- With veterans now accounting for one of every five suicides in the nation, the Department of Veterans Affairs is under pressure from the courts and Congress to fix its mental health services in an attempt to curb the death toll.

"The suicide rate is out of control. It's epidemic proportions right now," said Paul Rieckhoff, the executive director of the group Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. "There are very few programs that are effective, and there's a serious lack of national awareness."

While the government keeps no official tally of veteran suicides, the VA said last year that veterans account for roughly 20 percent of the estimated 30,000 suicides annually in the United States.

The latest attack on the VA came two weeks ago from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, which ordered a major overhaul of the agency. The court said that with an average of 18 veterans killing themselves each day, "the VA's unchecked incompetence has gone on long enough; no more veterans should be compelled to agonize or perish while the government fails to perform its obligations."

Suicides among active-duty troops are also a cause of concern: In April, 25 soldiers killed themselves, equal to about half the deaths in Afghanistan during the month.


Read more: Senators tell VA to reduce veteran suicides