{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://buchanan.house.gov/2021/11/buchanan-calls-action-his-bill-combat-veteran-suicides", "Buchanan Calls for Action on His Bill to Combat Veteran Suicides", "2021-11-10", "2021", "2021-11", "Republican", "House", "FL", "Vern Buchanan", "B001260", "buchanan.house.gov", "buchanan", "https://buchanan.house.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 Ahead of Veterans Day, Congressman Vern Buchanan today sent a letter to the leaders of the House Veterans\u2019 Affairs Committee urging consideration of his bipartisan legislation to investigate the link between addictive opioids and the alarmingly high rate of suicides among veterans.\n\nBuchanan\u2019s Veteran Overmedication and Suicide Prevention Act (H.R. 67) would require the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to review the deaths of all veterans it treated who died by suicide or from a drug overdose in the last five years. The new data generated by the bill will be used to better treat veterans suffering from both mental and physical injuries.\n\n\u201cThe high rate of suicide and drug overdose deaths among veterans is unacceptable,\" Buchanan said. \u201cThis legislation is critical to learning if prescription drugs, particularly opioid painkillers, are a contributing factor in veteran suicides. I encourage my colleagues on the House Veterans\u2019 Affairs Committee to pass this bill to further address these untimely deaths.\u201d\n\nAccording to the VA, at least 60,000 veterans died by suicide between 2008 and 2017 \u2013 nearly 17 per day. Veteran suicides account for nearly 15 percent of all suicides in the United States.\n\nJoining Buchanan on the letter was Congressman Gerald Connolly, D-VA, the bill\u2019s main Democratic co-sponsor. \u201cIt is clear we must do more to end this crisis and help reduce this needless and preventable loss of life,\u201d said Buchanan and Connolly.\n\nThis legislation is endorsed by three Veterans Service Organizations: the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) and AMVETS.\n\n\u201cUnderstanding the impact of overmedication and veteran suicide begins with data,\u201d said a representative for the VFW. \u201cThis legislation will help illuminate the seriousness and scope of this causation. Reducing the number of service members and veterans who die by suicide has been a priority for the VFW and will remain so until it is no longer needed. We must do whatever it takes to save the almost 20 service members and veterans who die by suicide every day.\u201d\n\nEarlier this year, a Buchanan measure passed the House to provide $2 million to the VA to study the link between veteran suicides and highly addictive opioids.\n\nBuchanan has a strong record of fighting for veterans and military families. He is a past recipient of the VFW Legislative Achievement Award. Last Congress, a Buchanan measure to reduce military training accidents following the death of Bradenton soldier Nicolas Panipinto was enacted into law. In 2015, Buchanan\u2019s bill allowing all veterans in America to receive an official identification card, the Veterans ID Card Act was signed into law. Buchanan also introduced an amendment enacted in 2007 to study the feasibility of a standard soldier-patient tracking system.\n\nYou can read the letter here or below.\n\nDear Chairman Takano and Ranking Member Bost,\n\nWe write today as the lead sponsors of H.R. 67, the Veteran Overmedication and Suicide Prevention Act, to request the House Committee on Veterans\u2019 Affairs take action on our bipartisan bill to study the link between addictive opioids and the alarmingly high rate of suicide among veterans.\n\nAs you know, nearly 17 veterans die by suicide each day, a rate nearly twice as high as civilians. Due in part to this troubling statistic, we believe this bill is not only commonsense, but entirely necessary to help combat this tragic epidemic\n\nOur legislation, endorsed by three of the nation\u2019s major veterans service organizations, would require the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to review the deaths of all veterans it treated who died by suicide or from a drug overdose in the last five years. This important new information will be used to better treat veterans suffering from both mental and physical injuries and is critical to learning if prescription drugs, particularly opioid painkillers, are a contributing factor in suicide-related veteran deaths.\n\nThe VFW, which endorsed our legislation, stated that \u201c[u]nderstanding the impact of overmedication and veteran suicide begins with data. This legislation will help illuminate the seriousness and scope of this causation. Reducing the number of service members and veterans who die by suicide has been a priority for the VFW and will remain so until it is no longer needed. We must do whatever it takes to save the almost 20 service members and veterans who die by suicide every day.\u201d\n\nAccording to a September 2019 VA report:\n\nAt least 60,000 veterans died by suicide between 2008 and 2017.\n\nVeteran suicides account for about 15 percent of all suicides in the United States, with a veteran committing suicide every 72 minutes.\n\nThe VA has a history of freely prescribing opioid pain medication to veterans, reaching its highest level in 2012 with more than 438,000 long-term opioid patients.\n\nUnfortunately, despite the VA taking steps to reduce the number of opioid prescriptions it dispenses by 70 percent between 2012 and 2020, veterans are still committing suicide at a startling rate.\n\nGiven the recent call by seven former VA secretaries to create a National Warrior Call Day to raise awareness about military and veteran suicides, and the fact that more than 93,000 Americans died from an overdose last year, it is clear we must do more to end this crisis and help reduce this needless and preventable loss of life.\n\nFurthermore, earlier this year, the U.S. House passed legislation that included our bipartisan amendment to fund the review called for in our bill and to provide a report to Congress. Thank you for your service and commitment to our nation\u2019s many veterans and I look forward to your prompt reply to this critically important issue.\n\nSincerely,\n\nVern Buchanan\n\nMember of Congress\n\nGerald E. Connolly", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:30:49Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://buchanan.house.gov/2021/11/buchanan-calls-action-his-bill-combat-veteran-suicides"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6852710396051407, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}