{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://delaney.house.gov//news/press-releases/house-passes-bipartisan-legislation-to-improve-mental-health-care-treatment-for", "House Passes Bipartisan Legislation to Improve Mental Health Care Treatment for Veterans", "2014-12-09", "2014", "2014-12", "Democrat", "House", "MD", "John Delaney", "D000620", "delaney.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON - The House of Representatives today passed the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act (SAV) Act (H.R. 5059), a comprehensive bill to combat veteran suicide and improve psychiatric care. Congressman John K. Delaney (MD-6) is a cosponsor of the Clay Hunt SAV Act, which is named for Iraq and Afghanistan veteran and suicide prevention advocate Clay Hunt, who took his own life in 2011. The bill passed Tuesday by a voice vote.\n\u201cWe have to do more to improve the mental health care treatment our veterans receive. Veteran suicide rates, an average of 22 a day, are tragically high, underscoring the profound need to act,\u201d Congressman Delaney. \u201cClay Hunt was one of the individuals behind that statistic, an Iraq and Afghanistan veteran who relied on the VA and didn\u2019t receive the care that he deserved. The reforms contained in today\u2019s\u00a0Clay Hunt SAV Act are a critical step in the right direction: bringing more accountability and oversight to the VA, ramped up efforts to hire and retain VA doctors, therapists, and caregivers; and new initiatives to centralize resources for veterans. Let\u2019s find out what\u2019s working, what\u2019s not, and make sure that America\u2019s veterans receive truly world-class care.\u201d\nThe legislation was first introduced by Democrats Rep. Tim Walz (MN-1) and Rep. Tammy Duckworth (IL-8) and the Republican Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans\u2019 Affairs, Rep. Jeff Miller (FL-1).\nThe Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act is supported by the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) and the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA).\u00a0 \u00a0\nKey Provisions in the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act:\n Establishes a peer support and community outreach pilot program to help transitioning servicemembers access VA mental health care services\n\tAuthorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs to conduct a new recruitment program for hiring and retaining psychiatrists by creating a student loan repayment pilot program\n\tMandates a centralized website, a one-stop-shop listing all the mental health care services available to veterans, which will be updated each 90 days\n\tRequires a yearly third-party evaluation of all mental health care and suicide prevention efforts in the Department of Defense and VA\n\tRequires the Department of Defense and National Guard to review staffing requirements for Directors of Psychological Health in each state\n\tReviews the discharge characterizations of individuals diagnosed with Traumatic Brain Injury or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder\n \u00a0\n\u00a0\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": ["http://delaney.house.gov//news/press-releases/house-passes-bipartisan-legislation-to-improve-mental-health-care-treatment-for"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8205920457839966, "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"}