Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention Act

JOSHUA OMVIG VETERANS SUICIDE PREVENTION ACT -- (House of Representatives - October 23, 2007)

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Mr. BOSWELL. I thank the chairman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, this is a very important moment for our veterans as we think of their service to our country. Of course, we all wouldn't be here, I believe, I think we would agree with that, if it wasn't for our veterans, who have been willing to put it on the line.

Mr. Speaker, as Chairman Filner has spoken here, this legislation came up after a very tragic thing. Joshua Omvig, returning after an 11-month tour, a good young fellow, a member of the Grundy Center Volunteer Fire Department, the Grundy Center Police Reserves, he was concerned about the safety of others, but because of the situation, he took his life.

I can't help but be thoughtful of Ellen, his mother.

She would like to have had more training. She knew there was a problem, and so did his dad. She was with Josh when he went out to his pickup truck that day to go to work to try to talk to him, to try to help. And he took his life right in her presence.

Well, they could have just kind of backed off in their great grief and sorrow and done nothing, but we reached out to them and they reached back. They want to participate in doing something for others. And so out of that came what is now known as H.R. 327. It is pretty simple: Improve early detection for incidence of suicide among veterans, provide those veterans with the assistance they need, which was not there for Joshua.

This bill also requires the Veterans Administration to develop a comprehensive program to address the rate of suicide among veterans. And it also underscores the importance for further research, peer counseling, family education and involvement, and education for all staff at the Veterans Administration. There is an urgent need for this bill to pass.

You have heard the report that Mr. Filner gave us. The statistics are astounding. Stress disorder has jumped like 70 percent.

Also, I want to thank our two Iowa Senators, Senator Harkin and Senator Grassley, for their support; and I especially want to thank Randy and Ellen Omvig, the mom and dad of Joshua. They have suffered a lot over this, as we all would. But at the same time, they found the courage and strength to want to help others and want to reach out. They want to do anything they can possibly do to prevent this from happening to another individual and another family.

It is almost with relief for me, Mr. Speaker, that we are passing this today and moving it on because we know there are hundreds of other veterans out there who need help, and this ought to set that in motion. There is no doubt there is more we can do, but this is a good beginning. With that, I would like to yield back and let other Members speak to this very important piece of legislation.

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