House and Senate weigh different approaches to tackling veteran suicide crisis

WASHINGTON — A Senate panel advanced legislation Wednesday that aims to help prevent veteran suicide — making it one of three bills designed to tackle the crisis, each with a different approach and all awaiting congressional action.

The Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee unanimously approved the Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act, named for a retired Navy commander who died by suicide in 2018 at age 46. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., described the bill as a compromise between Republicans and Democrats.

“This would send an important message not only to veterans, but the American public, that we can come together during a politically turbulent time to do what’s right,” he said. “In this case, to provide critical support for those who sacrifice so much on our behalf and to connect more of them to the life-saving mental health care they need.”

The bill would, in part, establish a grant program to help local organizations coordinate mental health care for veterans that the Department of Veterans Affairs can’t reach. Grants up to $750,000 per organization could be awarded, and the bill mandates that the VA prioritize organizations on tribal lands or in rural communities and other medically under-served areas.

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