{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.hassan.senate.gov/news/press-releases/va-secretary-shares-support-for-senator-hassans-bipartisan-legislation-to-support-veterans-during-their-transition-to-civilian-life", "VA Secretary Shares Support for Senator Hassan\u2019s Bipartisan Legislation to Support Veterans During Their Transition to Civilian Life", "2022-09-22", "2022", "2022-09", "Democrat", "Senate", "NH", "Margaret Wood Hassan", "H001076", "www.hassan.senate.gov", "hassan", "https://www.hassan.senate.gov/news/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 At a U.S. Senate Veterans\u2019 Affairs Committee hearing, Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough discussed his support for Senator Hassan\u2019s bipartisan bill to strengthen the Solid Start program, and how the VA uses this program to better serve veterans. Senator Hassan also pressed the Secretary on the need to strengthen mental health care services for veterans in New Hampshire and across the country.\n\nTo watch Senator Hassan\u2019s questioning, click here.\n\nDuring the hearing, Senator Hassan asked Secretary McDonough if he supports her bipartisan bill to strengthen the Solid Start program, which the Senate recently passed. The Solid Start program was created by the VA during the previous administration to contact every veteran three times by phone in the first year after they leave active duty service to check in and help connect them to VA programs and benefits.\n\nOn whether he supports her bill to strengthen the program and make it permanent, Secretary McDonough said, \u201cWe support your bill, yes.\u201d\n\nSenator Hassan also asked the Secretary if the VA uses feedback that it gathers through the Solid Start program to better allocate resources and provide newly separated veterans with timely health care.\n\n\u201cIt gives us an opportunity to get a relationship with those vets, and obviously the feedback loop for us is we identify where vets are and therefore where we need additional resources to provide care,\u201d Secretary McDonough said. \u201cAnd most importantly, it gives vets a better understanding of what\u2019s available to them.\u201d\n\nSenator Hassan also highlighted the need to strengthen mental health services for veterans in New Hampshire.\n\n\u201cMany veterans suffer from mental health crises, and the VA needs to provide appropriate and time sensitive care,\u201d said Senator Hassan. \u201cAccording to the VA\u2019s website, the current wait time for a new patient to get a mental health appointment at the VA Medical Center in Manchester, New Hampshire is 22 days. This delay in accessing care can put veterans at unnecessary risk, and discourage them from seeking help in the future.\u201d\n\nIn response, Secretary McDonough committed to doing a better job on reducing those wait times. He also encouraged veterans who are in an emergency mental health situations to call the 9-8-8 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline\u2019s Veterans Crisis Line, which Senator Hassan helped set up by cosponsoring the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act that is now law.\n\n\u201cEvery veteran I talk to in New Hampshire\u2014this is their number one concern for themselves and/or for their peers,\u201d also added Senator Hassan.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T03:08:33Z"]], "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://www.hassan.senate.gov/news/press-releases/va-secretary-shares-support-for-senator-hassans-bipartisan-legislation-to-support-veterans-during-their-transition-to-civilian-life"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9650310967117548, "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"}