{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.heller.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/videos?ContentRecord_id=95ca4b17-d671-42fe-a118-fe5a652a3639", "Heller Demands Improvement of Backlog to Address Poor Mental Health of Veterans", "2014-11-19", "2014", "2014-11", "Republican", "House", "NV", "Dean Heller", "H001041", "www.heller.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "(Washington, DC) \u2013 Today, United States Senator Dean Heller spoke at the Senate Veterans\u2019 Affairs Committee hearing, \u201cMental Health and Suicide Among Veterans,\u201d about the importance of addressing the VA\u2019s disability claims backlog in order to speed up services for mental health treatment and lower suicide rates for veterans.\r\nREMARKS AS PREPARED:\r\nFirst, I would like to take a moment to acknowledge two witnesses here today, Mrs. Selke and Mrs. Pallotta.\u00a0 I cannot begin to imagine your loss and I truly admire your bravery coming here today to talk about your sons. They served our country with valor and we must honor that by making sure every veteran from here on out is cared for when they return home.\r\nChairman Sanders and Ranking Member Burr\u2014I also want to thank you for bringing this issue before the Committee, especially because of the impact it has on veterans in my state.\r\nTo put it in perspective\u2014between 2008 and 2012, 593 veterans from Nevada were lost to suicide.\r\nSix months ago, I would have looked at that number and asked why is it so high? What is missing within the VA or VA benefits that so many of Nevada\u2019s veterans resort to this?\r\nI think we now know that a big part of the problem is veterans\u2019 access to care at VA facilities. This is such a critical thing to get right at the VA because of the ripple effect it has on a veteran\u2019s well-being.\r\nWhether it is medical care, mental health treatment, or support during transition to civilian life, veterans being forced to wait for care from the VA can be detrimental.\r\nThat is why I have asked the Las Vegas VA Director to send me reports about wait times for primary care, specialty care, and mental health treatment for Southern Nevada\u2019s Veterans.\u00a0\r\nEvery two weeks, for both Las Vegas and Reno, I track these numbers for improvements.\u00a0\r\nIn the most recent data, patients already receiving mental health care from VA facilities in Nevada wait a week or less for an appointment.\u00a0\r\nUnfortunately, the average wait time for new patients seeking mental health treatment is 23 days in Reno and 46 days in Las Vegas.\u00a0\r\nEven worse, a clinic in Northwest Las Vegas has an average wait time of 64 days for new patients.\u00a0\r\nVeterans in need of mental health treatment absolutely cannot be waiting more than 2 months to be seen.\u00a0\r\nI have been pushing every one of these facilities to improve these wait times in the coming months and want to hear from the VA today about what resources it will be devoting to mental health treatment.\r\nWe must also remember that scheduling an appointment is not the only barrier to receiving care. Veterans must also qualify for this care.\r\nOne of the best ways to ensure veterans qualify for mental health services is by reducing the VA\u2019s disability claims backlog.\r\nVeterans with post-traumatic stress who have a PTS-related claim approved will be able to access VA\u2019s mental health services and treatment.\r\nThis claims backlog is an issue I have brought up during every Committee hearing because I believe it should be a top priority of the VA and of this Committee.\r\nThat is why I sent a letter to the Chairman requesting that he re-schedule a legislative hearing to consider my bipartisan bill to address the VA claims process.\r\nNevada Veterans have one of the longest waits in the nation at 248 days on average to complete a claim, and 240,000 veterans nationwide are still waiting longer than the VA\u2019s 125-day deadline.\r\nUntil this backlog is eliminated, veterans will continue to face delays to accessing the mental health treatment they need.\r\nWith 22 veteran suicides a day and nearly 600 veteran suicides in Nevada over the past five years, it is clear that something must be done to improve the current state of mental health services at the VA.\r\nThe VA facilities in my state know that I will use my oversight role on this Committee to continue holding them accountable for performance, timeliness and the quality of care they provide to Nevada\u2019s veterans.\r\nI look forward to hearing from the witnesses today about what VA is doing to address this crisis and how Congress can help in this effort.\r\nThank you, Mr. Chairman.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "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.heller.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/videos?ContentRecord_id=95ca4b17-d671-42fe-a118-fe5a652a3639"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8649718947708607, "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"}