{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://zeldin.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/no-veterans-crisis-line-call-should-go-unanswered-act-now-law", "No Veterans Crisis Line Call Should Go Unanswered Act Now Law", "2016-12-09", "2016", "2016-12", "Republican", "House", "NY", "Lee Zeldin", "Z000017", "zeldin.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Patchogue, NY \u2013 Congressman Lee Zeldin (R, NY-1), member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, announced today that the No Veterans Crisis Line Call Should Go Unanswered Act (H.R. 5392), which passed the House by a vote of 357 to 0, was signed into law by President Obama on November 28, 2016.\nThe No Veterans Crisis Line Call Should Go Unanswered Act (H.R. 5392) is bipartisan legislation that would require the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish a management plan for the Veterans Crisis Line (VCL), a suicide hotline for veterans. The legislation also requires the VA to develop a plan to ensure that each and every communication received by the VCL, including backup call centers, is answered individually in a timely manner, consistent with the guidance established by the American Association of Suicidology, which mandates that crisis center responders be available to answer a dedicated phone number 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.\nEarlier this year, a VA Office of Inspector General report found that over 20 crisis calls to the VCL operated by the VA in 2014 were transferred to a backup call center voicemail system and the calls were never returned. Currently, a loophole allows for calls to be transferred to a backup center, which are allowed to place callers on hold and utilize voicemail.\u00a0  \n\t\u00a0  Congressman Lee Zeldin said, \u201cI am pleased to announce that the No Veterans Crisis Line Call Should Go Unanswered Act, which passed the House with great bipartisan support, was recently signed into law by President Obama. Our veterans have made great sacrifices for our nation. There is absolutely no justifiable reason that a struggling veteran who calls the suicide hotline should ever be sent to voicemail. The No Veterans Crisis Line Call Should Go Unanswered Act, now law, ensures that the VA will better manage the VCL. Now, each and every veteran who contacts the hotline will receive a timely response, which is how this should have been run from the beginning.\"\nIn March 2016, Congressman Zeldin proposed another legislative fix, which passed the House, to ensure that veterans receive immediate assistance from a trained professional when they call the VCL. You can read more here.", 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://zeldin.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/no-veterans-crisis-line-call-should-go-unanswered-act-now-law"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.1001040004193783, "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"}