How many members of congress does it take to screw up veterans?

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
December 21, 2014

Without getting in the old joke about screwing in a lightbulb, it seems as if it would take a calculator to figure out how many politicians it took to make things this bad for our veterans. After all, it isn't as if they haven't had the time or money to make a difference. They have in fact made a difference but for all the years and billions, the difference they achieved was making it all worse!

Followup study on PTSD

106th Congress SubtitleB - Military Service Issues
Expresses the sense of Congress: (1) urging the Secretary to assess the feasibility and desirability of using a computer-based system to conduct clinical evaluations relevant to military experiences and exposures; and (2) recommending that the Secretary accelerate Department efforts to ensure that relevant veterans' military histories are included in Department medical records.

Section212 -
Directs the Secretary to contract with an appropriate entity to conduct a follow-up study on post-traumatic stress disorder in Vietnam veterans. Requires a report to the veterans' committees.

Outreach to Veterans
107th Congress December 27, 2001

TITLE III--TRANSITION AND OUTREACH PROVISIONS
Sec. 301. Authority to establish overseas veterans assistance offices to expand transition assistance.
Sec. 302. Timing of preseparation counseling.
Sec. 303. Improvement in education and training outreach services for separating servicemembers and veterans.
Sec. 304. Improvement of veterans outreach programs.

Hiring Doctors
108th Congress

Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel Enhancement Act of 2004 S. 2484 (Bill | Summary)

Legislation to simplify and improve pay provisions for physicians and dentists and to authorize alternate work schedules and executive pay for nurses, and for other purposes.

Signed by President Bush on December 3, 2004, Public Law 108-445

PTSD
109th Congress

President signs $3.2 billion bill enhancing veterans’ benefits and health care


The legislation includes increased support for servicemembers returning from the war on terror, improved VA outreach, and $65 million to increase the number of clinicians treating post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The funds also expand tele-health initiatives invaluable to rural veterans and increase the number of community-based outpatient clinics able to treat mental illnesses. It further authorizes spending for collaboration in PTSD diagnosis and treatment between VA and the Department of Defense. Families contending with the loss of a loved one will benefit from increased access to bereavement counseling, authorized under the bill.

Rural Veterans

The legislation also creates a VA office of rural health and improves outreach for rural veterans. State veterans homes will now be reimbursed by VA for the costs of care provided to veterans with a 70 percent or higher service-connected condition; further, veterans in these homes with service-connected conditions rated at least 50 percent would get their medications free of charge. Increasing access to long-term care, VA will pilot a program that makes non-VA facilities such as community hospitals eligible for state veterans’ home per diem payments.

Mental Health
110th Congress

Veterans' Mental Health and Other Care Improvements Act of 2008 - Title I: Substance Use Disorders and Mental Health Care - (Sec. 101) Enacts this title in tribute to Justin Bailey, who, after returning to the United States from service in Operation Iraqi Freedom, died in a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) domiciliary facility while receiving care for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and a substance use disorder.

(Sec. 103) Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to ensure the provision of the following services and treatment to each veteran enrolled in the VA health care system and in need of services and treatment for a substance use disorder: (1) screening for substance use disorder in all settings, including primary care; (2) short-term motivational counseling; (3) marital and family counseling; (4) intensive outpatient or residential care; (5) relapse prevention; (6) ongoing aftercare and outpatient counseling; (7) opiate substitution therapy; (8) pharmacological treatments to reduce cravings for drugs and alcohol; (9) detoxification and stabilization; (10) coordination with groups providing peer-to-peer counseling; and (11) such other services as considered appropriate by the Secretary. Requires the Secretary to ensure that amounts available for such care are allocated to ensure a full continuum of such care, treatment, or services to all veterans without regard to the location of their residences.

(Sec. 104) Requires the Secretary to ensure that treatment for a substance use disorder and a comorbid mental health disorder is provided concurrently through a health professional with training and expertise in the treatment of both disorders, by separate services for each disorder, or by a team of experienced clinicians.

(Sec. 105) Directs the Secretary to conduct a two-year pilot program on the feasibility and advisability of providing veterans who seek treatment for substance use disorders access to a computer-based self-assessment, education, and treatment program through a secure Internet website operated by the Secretary. Makes eligible for such program volunteer veterans who have served in Operations Enduring Freedom or Iraqi Freedom. Requires a program report from the Secretary to Congress. Authorizes appropriations.

(Sec. 106) Requires the Secretary to conduct a: (1) review of all Veterans Health Administration (VHA) residential mental health care facilities; and (2) follow-up review, within two years after the first review, to evaluate any improvements made or problems remaining with respect to such facilities. Requires a report from the Secretary to the veterans' committees after the initial review.

(Sec. 107) Directs the Secretary to conduct a three-year pilot program on the provision of the following services to veterans of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, particularly to those who served as a member of the National Guard or Reserve: (1) peer outreach; (2) peer support provided by licensed providers or veterans with personal experience with mental illness; (3) readjustment counseling; and (4) other mental health services. Requires: (1) the Secretary to conduct training programs for veterans and clinicians providing such services; (2) annual reports to the Secretary from entities participating in the program; and (3) the Secretary to design and implement a strategy for evaluating the program. Authorizes appropriations.

Title II: Mental Health Research - (Sec. 201) Directs the Secretary to carry out a program of research into comorbid PTSD and substance use disorder through the National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Authorizes appropriations.

(Sec. 202) Amends the Veterans' Health Care Act of 1984 to extend through 2012 (currently, 2008) the reporting requirement for the Special Committee on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Title III: Assistance For Families of Veterans - (Sec. 301) Includes marriage and family counseling within authorized VA care for veterans.

(Sec. 302) Directs the Secretary to carry out, through a non-VA entity, a three-year pilot program (with authorized one-year extensions) to assess the feasibility and advisability of providing readjustment and transition assistance to veterans and their families in cooperation with ten VA Vet Centers. Requires a report from the Secretary to the veterans' committees at the conclusion of the pilot program. Authorizes appropriations.

Title IV: Health Care Matters - (Sec. 401) Repeals a requirement that the Secretary adjust the amounts deducted from payments or allowances made by the VA for beneficiary travel expenses in connection with health care whenever the payment or allowance is adjusted. Requires the Secretary, in determining the amount of travel reimbursement, to use the mileage reimbursement rate for the use of privately owned vehicles by government employees on official business. Authorizes the Secretary to use a rate in excess of such rate, subject to the availability of appropriations. Requires a report from the Secretary to the veterans' committees on additional costs incurred by the VA due to implementation of this section.

(Sec. 402) Requires (under current law, authorizes) the Secretary to reimburse a veteran for the costs of emergency treatment received in a non-VA facility prior to transfer to a VA facility.

(Sec. 403) Directs the Secretary to carry out a three-year pilot program to provide, through qualifying non-VA health care providers, VA-authorized hospital care or medical, rehabilitative, or preventive health services to veterans who reside in highly rural areas. Requires annual reports during the program period from the Secretary to the veterans' committees assessing the program.

(Sec. 404) Directs the Secretary to designate at least four and up to six VA health-care facilities as locations for epilepsy centers of excellence. Requires the: (1) VA's Under Secretary for Health to establish a peer review panel to assess the scientific and clinical merit of proposals submitted for designation as such a center; and (2) Secretary to follow the panel's determinations in making designations. Directs the Secretary to designate an individual in the VHA as a national coordinator for VHA epilepsy programs. Authorizes appropriations.

(Sec. 405) Establishes as qualifications for appointment as a peer specialist within the VHA that the person: (1) be a veteran who has recovered or is recovering from a mental health condition; and (2) is certified as having met the criteria for such position. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into contracts with nonprofit entities to provide peer specialist training and certification for veterans.

Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention Act Section 1.Short title
This Act may be cited as the Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention Act.

2.Sense of Congress
It is the sense of Congress that—
(1)suicide among veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a serious problem; and
(2)the Secretary of Veterans Affairs should take into consideration the special needs of veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder in developing and implementing the comprehensive program required by section 3(a).
3.Comprehensive program for suicide prevention among veterans
(a)Program required
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall develop and implement a comprehensive program for reducing the incidence of suicide among veterans.
(b)Program elements
(1)De-stigmatizing mental health
The program required by subsection (a) shall include a national mental health campaign to increase awareness in the veteran community that mental health is essential to overall health and that very effective modern treatments can promote recovery from mental illness. The campaign may include the following:
(A)Activities targeted at veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom and the families of such veterans.
(B)Monthly messages on the Internet website of the Department of Veterans Affairs that express the theme that mental health is essential to overall health.
(C)Inclusion of the theme described in subparagraph (B) in public addresses, speeches, and veterans service organization convention addresses by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and other senior officials of the Department.

This is from the 113th Congress

Shown Here:
Introduced in Senate (03/27/2014)

Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act - Extends from 5 to 15 years the period of eligibility for hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care for veterans who served on active duty in a theater of combat operations after the Persian Gulf War or against a hostile force during a period of hostilities after November 11, 1998.

Requires the Secretaries of the military departments to provide a process by which a covered individual may challenge the terms or characterization of his or her discharge or separation from the Armed Forces. Defines "covered individual" as any individual who: (1) was discharged or separated from the Armed Forces for a personality disorder; or (2) was discharged or separated from the Armed Forces on a punitive basis, or under other than honorable conditions, and who alleges that the basis for such discharge or separation was a mental health injury or disorder incurred or aggravated by the individual during service in the Armed Forces.

Requires the Secretary of Defense (DOD) and the Secretary of Veteran Affairs (VA) to: (1) conduct an evaluation of mental health care and suicide prevention programs carried out in DOD and VA; (2) train all providers of health care in such Departments on recognizing the risk of suicide, treating or referring for treatment an individual who is at risk of suicide, and recognizing the symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder; and (3) ensure that best practices for identifying individuals at risk of suicide and for providing quality mental health care are disseminated to providers of health care in such Departments.

Amends the Wounded Warrior Act to require the DOD Secretary and the VA Secretary, in implementing electronic health record systems that provide for the full interoperability of personal health care information between the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs, to ensure that: (1) a health data authoritative source that can be accessed by multiple providers and that standardizes the input of new medical information is created within 180 days, (2) the ability of patients of both Departments to download their medical records is achieved within 180 days, (3) full interoperability of personal health care information between the Departments is achieved within one year, (4) acceleration of the exchange of real-time data between the Departments is achieved within one year, (5) the upgrade of the graphical user interface to display a joint common graphical user interface is achieved within one year, and (6) current members of the Armed Forces and their dependents may elect to receive an electronic copy of their health care records beginning not later than June 30, 2015.

Directs the VA Secretary to carry out a three-year pilot program to repay the educational loans of individuals who: (1) are licensed or eligible for licensure to practice psychiatric medicine in the Veterans Health Administration or are enrolled in the final year of an accredited residency program in psychiatric medicine, and (2) demonstrate a commitment to a long-term career as a psychiatrist in the Veterans Health Administration.

Directs the Comptroller General (GAO) to study and report on pay disparities among psychiatrists of the Veterans Health Administration.

Now maybe if Congress can remember what they already did, paid for and ended up costing more lives, they will figure out it is past time to stop repeating them, but I doubt it.

This one was one hold in 2011

Official Summary
Sergeant Coleman S. Bean Reserve Component Suicide Prevention Act - Directs the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to ensure that each of the following individuals receive, at least once every 90 days, a telephone call from properly-trained DOD personnel to determine their emotional, psychological, medical, and career needs and concerns:
(1) members of the Individual Ready Reserve who deployed to Afghanistan or Iraq in support of a contingency operation,
(2) a member of a reserve component who the Secretary determines is an individual mobilization augmentee who has so deployed, or
(3) a member of the inactive National Guard. Requires the person making the call to refer a member identified as being at-risk of self-caused harm to the nearest military medical treatment facility or accredited TRICARE (a DOD managed health care program) provider for immediate evaluation and necessary treatment. Directs the Secretary to refer such member to a private provider upon determining that such provider will ensure that the member will receive treatment and assistance without delay. Requires annual reports from the Secretary to Congress on the number of members so referred, their health and career status, and any situations that may be impeding the counseling calls from reaching all appropriate members. Requires a one-time report from the Comptroller General to Congress on suicide among such members. Directs the Secretary to develop, evaluate, and more widely disseminate programs that promote:
(1) connectivity between members of the Armed Forces and their family, peers, and immediate chain of command; and
(2) suicide risk identification and response, with particular emphasis on members of reserve components.

In New York they have the PFC Joseph Dwyer Peer Support

April 3, 2014
For Immediate Release
Contact: Kara Cumoletti (518) 455-3570
cumolett@nysenate.gov
Senator Lee Zeldin Announces Budget Win for PFC Joseph Dwyer Program

PATCHOGUE—Senator Lee Zeldin (R,C,I—Shirley) announced today that the 2014-2015 state budget includes funding for the continuation and expansion of one of his most significant legislative achievements to date: the PFC Joseph Dwyer PTSD Peer-to-Peer Veterans Support program.

Created as part of the 2012-2013 state budget, this program aims to bring veterans together in a secure, anonymous setting in order to help one another cope with the effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).

PTSD is a mental health condition characterized by severe anxiety that can plague an individual with relentless symptoms, including flashbacks and uncontrollable thoughts of past traumatic events. The program was originally designed with six goals in mind:
Pursue outreach and education
Provide peer support
Build resiliency among peers
Encourage a connection among family, friends, and community
Provide access to suicide prevention/intervention initiatives; and
Foster hope
The program’s unique Vet-to-Vet approach has provided proper support and guidance to veterans struggling to readjust to life back home, worked to prevent the long term effects of PTSD, and most importantly, saved lives.
“The Dwyer Program is named for PFC Joseph Dwyer, a war hero who, despite the support of a loving family, passed away due to complications from PTSD upon his return from service in Iraq,” said Senator Zeldin, a veteran and current Major in the Army Reserves.
“It is not always easy for family and friends to understand the demons haunting some of our soldiers when they return from combat. The value of the Dwyer Program lies in the unique Vet-to-Vet approach that connects our returning soldiers with those who can relate and who can draw from their own experiences to help one another cope.”
Jeff McQueen, Program Coordinator/PFC Dwyer Vet2Vet noted, "Vet2Vet is a powerful tool reproducing the camaraderie of the military in civilian life...it has given me a chance to give and get support to my brothers and sisters.”

There are more but you get the idea. In state after state politicians on the local level have had to produce their own bills to attempt to take care of their veterans for one simple reason. Politicians in Washington failed veterans on a national level and kept doing it.