Lamb introduces bills to aid vets’ mental health
WASHINGTON — As federal officials contend with persistently high veteran suicide rates, Rep. Conor Lamb, D- Mt. Lebanon, has introduced three bipartisan bills to expand the U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ mental health care research, treatments and suicide prevention efforts.
Mr. Lamb, who serves as vice chair of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, has proposed requiring the VA to establish a two- year program that widens the treatment options for posttraumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety. That bill, called the TREAT Act, would mandate a VA study on providing integrative health services such as yoga, meditation, acupuncture, chiropractic care and other treatments that help with mental or physical health conditions.
A second bill would require the VA to launch an initiative called “Precision Medicine Initiative for Veterans” that would identify predictors of mental health disorders. By identifying so- called biomarkers for PTSD and other ailments, the VA could tailor individual treatments or preventative strategies for veterans.
The third bill aims to expand the VA’s partnerships with outside academic and research entities to analyze “the vast amounts of data it collects through its electronic health records and research program,” according to the bill.
“Congress needs to give the VA every tool possible to meet the mental health challenges facing our veterans before they get to the point of danger,” Mr. Lamb said in a statement after introducing the bills last week. “This work is critical, and it is bipartisan, because we all know that one more veteran lost to suicide is
one Mr. too Lamb many.” was joined by Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, RBerks, on the TREAT Act. He garnered co- sponsorships from Rep. Mike Bost, R- Ill., on the VA Precision Medicine Act and Rep. Jim Banks, R- Ind., on the VA Data Analytics and Technology Assistance Act.
Veteran suicide rates have leveled off in recent years, spurring calls in Congress for new legislation to make mental health services more accessible for veterans transitioning back into civilian life.
The VA estimated the suicide rate among veterans reached 27.7 per 100,000 in 2017, up from a rate of 18.5 in 2005, according to the agency’s most recent suicide report released last year.
That upward tick is mostly because the U. S. veteran population has steadily declined. In total, the VA counted 6,139 veterans who took their own lives in 2017, or nearly 17 veterans each day, roughly the total number of annual veteran suicide deaths each year since 2008.
Mr. Lamb, a Marine Corps veteran, has forged relationships with Republican members on veteran suicide and boosting veterans’ access to mental health services. He held a roundtable on the issue with Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, R- Peters, a U. S. Navy veteran, at the VA campus in Highland Park in September 2019.
And he has worked often on veterans issues with Mr. Fitzpatrick, a former FBI agent supporting global counterterrorism efforts who was embedded with U. S. Special Forces as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. In June, they took the lead on a letter with 21 other House members in support of job training, apprenticeship and credentialing reforms to help veterans through the COVID19 pandemic. In January, a bill they introduced last year to create a grant program for VA cemetery research was signed into law. Last year, they introduced a bill to require the VA to study a “whole health approach” to health care, including an analysis of the accessibility and availability of hypnosis and acupuncture. It unanimously passed the House of Representatives last May, but the Senate has not taken it up. Mr. Fitzpatrick said the TREAT Act builds on his partnership with Mr. Lamb on that bill. “It is imperative that our nation’s veterans receive access to the highest quality medical testing and holistic treatment options, including for mental health,” Mr. Fitzpatrick said in a statement. “Our bipartisan TREAT Act will provide our veterans with integrative health options for the treatment of post- traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety.”