Stay Informed: Suicide Prevention Bill Named for SEAL Commander Passes Senate; Fate Uncertain

Source: Patricia Kime, Military.com (posted on news.yahoo.com)

The Senate passed a veteran suicide prevention bill Wednesday that aims to expand vets' access to mental health programs outside the Department of Veterans Affairs and improve health care for troops transitioning out of the military.

Named for a Navy SEAL who died by suicide in 2018, the Cmdr. John Scott Hannon Veterans Health Care Improvement Act would require the VA to hire additional suicide prevention coordinators, give grants to organizations that focus on veterans' mental health and conduct several studies on vets' mental well-being and various approaches to suicide prevention.

The bill had been stalled in the Senate for more than a year, but it came to the floor quickly this week after a last-minute push before the chamber adjourns for its August recess.

"This bill will make necessary investments in suicide prevention. It will improve and support innovative research. It will make improvements and increase the availability of mental health care," said Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kansas, chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, when introducing the bill in the Senate on Wednesday night.

Hannon, a former leader of SEAL Team Two who also served on SEAL Team Six, was actively involved in helping other veterans with their war-related physical and mental trauma. He volunteered with the National Alliance for Mental Illness in Montana and helped develop a group therapy program with the VA and Montana Wild, working to rehabilitate injured birds of prey.

Hannon died Feb. 25, 2018, having been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress, bipolar disorder and a traumatic brain injury, according to Moran and Montana Sen. Jon Tester, the ranking Democrat on the Senate committee and champion of the proposal.

The measure passed by voice vote and may be considered by the House Veterans Affairs Committee in September when Congress reconvenes. But members of that committee also have their own ideas of what should be included to address veteran suicide, including measures to improve suicide prevention training among VA and non-VA health care providers, body cameras and de-escalation training for VA police, and an expansion of the VA's telemedicine programs to ensure that more rural veterans have access to services.

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