{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://garbarino.house.gov/media/press-releases/garbarino-himes-reintroduce-bipartisan-bill-prevent-veteran-suicide", "Garbarino, Himes Reintroduce Bipartisan Bill to Prevent Veteran Suicide", "2025-12-18", "2025", "2025-12", "Republican", "House", "NY", "Andrew R. Garbarino", "G000597", "garbarino.house.gov", "garbarino", "https://garbarino.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 Today, Congressman Andrew R. Garbarino (R-NY-02) and Congressman James Himes (D-CT-04) reintroduced the Veteran Suicide Prevention Act, legislation that directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to conduct a comprehensive review of veteran suicides and identify gaps in care, prescribing practices, and data reporting. The bill aims to improve transparency, strengthen oversight, and ensure the VA can better support veterans in crisis.\n\nRecent independent reviews have raised concerns that veteran suicide deaths may be significantly undercounted due to misclassified self-injury and overdose deaths. These discrepancies underscore the urgent need for accurate data to fully understand the scope of the crisis and take meaningful action to save lives.\n\nUnder this bill, the VA would be required to complete a detailed, publicly available review of suicide deaths among veterans who received VA care within the five years preceding their death. The review would assess medical histories, prescribed medications, facility-level prescribing patterns, diagnoses, and demographic information.\n\n\u201cToo many of our nation\u2019s heroes have been lost to suicide, and every one of those lives is a call to action,\u201d said Congressman Garbarino. \u201cThis crucial legislation gives us the transparency and information needed to strengthen oversight and ensure veterans receive the support they deserve.\u201d\n\n\u201cOur men and women in uniform deserve the very best when they return home, but the tragically high rate of suicide is a clear sign that we are failing to live up to that standard. This important piece of bipartisan legislation will ensure that we better understand how best to support our veterans as they readjust to life after service,\u201dsaid Congressman Himes.\n\n\u201cAccurate data saves lives. America\u2019s Warrior Partnership strongly supports this bipartisan effort to bring greater transparency to veteran suicide and ensure every community has the information needed to prevent these tragic losses.\u201d - Jim Lorraine, President & CEO of America's Warrior Partnership\n\nAdditional original cosponsors of the Veteran Suicide Prevention Act include Representatives Mike Lawler (R-NY-17), Joe Neguse (D-CO-02 ), Don Davis (D-NC-01), and Thomas Kean (R-NJ-07).\n\n\u201cOur veterans deserve more than gratitude \u2013 they deserve a system that supports them as they readjust to life after service and one that intervenes before it\u2019s too late,\u201dsaid Congressman Tom Kean, Jr. \u201cBy requiring a comprehensive review of veteran suicides, this legislation will help us better understand the scope of the crisis, identify gaps in care, and most importantly, save lives. I am joining this bipartisan effort to ensure that our nation\u2019s heroes receive effective, timely support and that none are left behind.\u201d\n\n\u201cImproving the quality and accessibility of treatment for our veterans must be central in our effort to equip them for life after their honorable service to our nation. And I\u2019m proud to join Representatives Garbarino and Himes in introducing a bill to ensure we have the data and oversight necessary to provide every veteran with the care and support they deserve,\u201d said Congressman Neguse.\n\nUnder the Veteran Suicide Prevention Act, the VAreview would include:\n\n\u25cf The total number of veterans who died by suicide during the five years;\n\n\u25cf A summary that includes age, gender, and race;\n\n\u25cf A list of the medications prescribed to, and found in the systems of, such veterans at the time of their deaths, and a summary of medical diagnoses by VA physicians that led to the prescribing of such medications;\n\n\u25cf The number of instances in which the veteran was concurrently on multiple medications prescribed by VA physicians;\n\n\u25cf The percentage of veterans who were not taking any medication prescribed by a VA physician;\n\n\u25cf The percentage of veterans with combat experience or trauma;\n\n\u25cf Veterans Health Administration facilities with markedly high prescription and patient suicide rates;\n\n\u25cf A description of VA policies governing the prescribing of medications; and\n\n\u25cf Recommendations to improve the safety and well-being of veterans.\n\nVeterans in need of support can visitwww.veteranscrisisline.net, dial The Veterans Crisis Line at 988 then Press 1, or text 838255.\n\n###", 1, "2026-04-29T06:03:53Z", "2026-04-29T06:05:09Z"]], "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://garbarino.house.gov/media/press-releases/garbarino-himes-reintroduce-bipartisan-bill-prevent-veteran-suicide"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7854779250919819, "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"}