Glitch blocks funds for military suicide prevention

If they are going to invest in the kind of "research" and "programs" like resiliency training, the money will be more waste producing more suffering when they should be healing! When will Congress listen to what works?

Glitch blocks funds for military suicide prevention
By Kristina Wong
The Washington Times

A legal technicality is preventing the Pentagon from spending millions of dollars set aside to curb suicides, even as suicide in the ranks is on the rise, a nonprofit advocacy group says.

The Pentagon has not spent much of some $8 million Congress has provided for suicide prevention because the funds are allocated only for “in-house,” or hospital, care — not education and outreach programs, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

The funds, allocated to the Defense Health Program, can be used only after a service member has attempted suicide and is receiving treatment, not before.

“The services should have the authority to spend it on prevention efforts and not just health care delivery,” Charles Curie, a foundation board member, told the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on defense last week. “Requiring additional funding to be spent on treatment is not going to help get in front of the problem.”

Mr. Curie requested that Congress add clarifying language to the 2013 Defense Authorization Bill that would allow the $8 million to be spent on prevention as well.

“We will make certain that these funds are used for research, for prevention,” said Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, Hawaii Democrat and chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee and its subpanel on defense.
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