{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://huffman.house.gov//media-center/press-releases/rep-huffman-applauds-passage-of-new-measure-to-prevent-veteran-suicides", "Rep. Huffman Applauds Passage of New Measure to Prevent Veteran Suicides", "2014-12-11", "2014", "2014-12", "Democrat", "House", "CA", "Jared Huffman", "H001068", "huffman.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON\u00ad\u2014Congressman Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) applauded the unanimous House passage of bipartisan legislation to address the epidemic of suicide among our nation\u2019s veterans.\u00a0\n\u201cMany of our veterans return from war facing traumatic brain injuries, post-traumatic stress disorder, or mental health challenges. Too many don\u2019t receive the care they need and, tragically, take their own lives,\u201d Huffman said. \u201cThe passage of this bipartisan legislation brings us one step closer to ensuring our veterans receive the care they need and deserve. I know that our work is not done and we need to keep working to guarantee the United States meets the solemn commitments it made to its veterans.\u201d\nTwenty-two veterans commit suicide every day \u2013 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 servicemembers 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\u2019s working and what\u2019s not.\u00a0\nThe bill was introduced by Representative Tim Walz (D-MN), the highest ranking enlisted soldier ever to serve in Congress and co-authored by Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans\u2019 Affairs Committee Jeff Miller (R-FL) and Representative Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), a Purple Heart recipient, Iraq War veteran, and member of the Army National Guard.\nLast June, Huffman voted for the Veterans Access, Choice & Accountability Act of 2014 (H.R. 3230), which would provide accountability and access to care for veterans at the Department of Veterans Affairs. H.R. 3230, which was signed into law by President Obama, provided $15 billion in emergency funding to the VA. The $15 billion in emergency funding includes $10 billion for expanded health care options for veterans and $5 billion to bolster care within the VA. It also gives the VA Secretary the power to quickly remove incompetent senior executives based on poor job performance and ends a number of policies that allowed for this disgraceful state of affairs to occur.\nHuffman also recently met with the new Secretary to discuss solutions to the claims backlog and improved healthcare for veterans in rural communities.\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://huffman.house.gov//media-center/press-releases/rep-huffman-applauds-passage-of-new-measure-to-prevent-veteran-suicides"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4129399787634611, "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"}