New York U.S. Senator Charles Schumer joined with local veterans and servicemembers today to push a bill that would help stem the growing military suicide rate by expanding mental health screening.
Speaking the day before Veterans’ Day at the Sheehy Palmer VFW Post in Albany, Schumer said that, traditionally, the military has provided the most effective mental health screening only for those who are preparing for or returning from deployment, despite research that shows suicides occur just as often among service members who have never deployed.
"Nationwide, 30,000 veterans and service members have taken their lives since the Department of Defense began tracking in 2009. In the last decade, 1,500 New York state veterans have taken their own lives. The suicide rate is on the rise among the non-deployed population. Last year, according to the Associated Press, more members of the guard and reserve took their own lives, 152 individuals. That's 152 too many."
Schumer is pushing the Jacob Sexton Military Suicide Prevention Act, which he says would stem the growing military suicide rate by expanding mental health screening for service members. With veterans returning from tours of the Middle East with increasingly complex health care needs and the Department of Veterans Affairs under new leadership after a disastrous year, Schumer’s visit comes at a critical time.
The Democrat explained the bill is named after a National Guardsman who took his life in 2009. Schumer explained the legislation is included in the National Defense Authorization Act, being considered in the lame duck Congress this month. Schumer vows to fight to push the bill through in order to get service members in the Capital Region the resources and support they need. "It's a must-pass bill, and we are very optimistic that we can get it in in the next two weeks and do some real good, and it would be a great honor, in light of the fact that we're right around Veterans’ Day to do it now."
The bill would help establish a uniform standard across all of the military services, including members of the Active, Guard and Reserve components, to ensure that every service member receives a quality mental health assessment every year regardless of deployment status. "Comprehensive screening. Not just someone calling up on the phone saying 'How ya doin'?" 'Oh, I'm fine,' -click- we don't need that."
Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan says the bill sends a message to every parent who has a child interested in serving in the military. "A screening before deployment and after you get back is critically important."
According to a Defense Manpower Data Center study conducted in 2013, in the Capital Region alone, there are 2,445 National Guard soldiers and Airmen who would benefit from the annual mental health screenings required by this bill, and more than 30,000 members of the Reserves across New York. Schumer said the bill has the potential to improve the access to care for many of New York State’s military personnel.
