{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://ebjohnson.house.gov//media-center/press-releases/congresswoman-johnson-applauds-the-passage-of-a-new-measure-to-prevent", "Congresswoman Johnson  Applauds the Passage of a New Measure to Prevent Veteran Suicides", "2014-12-09", "2014", "2014-12", "Democrat", "House", "TX", "Eddie Johnson", "J000126", "ebjohnson.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, DC \u2013 (Tuesday, December 9, 2014) \u2014 Today, Congresswoman Johnson applauded the unanimous House passage of bipartisan legislation to address the epidemic of suicide among our nation\u2019s veterans. \u00a0 \u00a0\n\u201cOne veteran lost to suicide is one veteran too many,\u201d said Congresswoman Johnson. \u00a0\u201cThis bipartisan legislation provides our heroes with the care and support they\u2019ve earned in order to overcome any mental health challenges, traumatic brain injuries, and post-traumatic stress disorders they might suffer from.\u00a0 It was my honor to support this legislation, to ensure our nation is dedicated to standing \u00a0behind our brave veterans with compassion every day.\u201d\nTwenty-two veterans commit suicide every day \u2013 this amounts to more than 8,000 every year.\u00a0 Of the more than 2 million Americans who have served in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq, it is estimated that one-third, roughly 600,000 women and men, have traumatic brain injury, PTSD or depression.\u00a0 Named in honor of an Iraq and Afghanistan War veteran and noted suicide prevention advocate who took his own life on March 31, 2011, The Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act (H.R. 5059) is another step toward ensuring our nation\u2019s veterans have the support they need by expanding access to and improving the effectiveness of mental health care for our veterans.\nThe Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act will establish a peer support and community outreach pilot program to assist transitioning service members with accessing VA mental health care services.\u00a0 To ease access to services, the bill will require the VA to create a one-stop, interactive website to serve as a centralized source of information regarding all mental health services for veterans.\u00a0 A student loan repayment pilot program aimed at recruiting and retaining psychiatrists included in the legislation will help address the shortage of mental health care professionals.\u00a0 To improve care, the legislation will require an annual, third-party evaluation of all mental health care and suicide prevention practices and programs at the VA to find out what is working and what is not.\u00a0\n###\nU.S. Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson is the ranking member of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology and the highest-ranking Texan on the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure. She represents the 30th Congressional District of Texas, which includes Downtown Dallas, Fair Park, Kessler Park, Old East Dallas, Pleasant Grove, South Dallas & South Oak Cliff; all of Cedar Hill, DeSoto, Duncanville, Hutchins, Lancaster & Wilmer and parts of Ferris, Glenn Heights, South Grand Prairie, Oak Lawn, Ovilla, Uptown/Victory Park and West Dallas.\nCONTACT: Yinka Robinson | (202)225-8885", 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://ebjohnson.house.gov//media-center/press-releases/congresswoman-johnson-applauds-the-passage-of-a-new-measure-to-prevent"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9075470734387636, "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"}