Veterans Groups Endorse Buchanan's Bill to Combat Veteran Suicides
Press Release
At a House Veterans Affairs Committee hearing Tuesday, several of the nation's leading Veteran Service Organizations voiced strong support for Congressman Vern Buchanan's legislation to study the link between addictive opioids and the alarmingly high rate of suicides among veterans.
Veterans are twice as likely as civilians to die from overdoses of opioid painkillers. The Veterans Overmedication and Suicide Prevention Act (H.R. 100) would require the Veterans Affairs Dept. to review the deaths of all veterans it treated who died by suicide or from a drug overdose in the last five years.
"The VFW supports the Veterans Overmedication and Suicide Prevention Act of 2019," said Carlos Fuentes, Director of the Veterans of Foreign Wars' National Legislative Service. "[Buchanan's bill] would make strides to reduce veteran suicide. Suicide is a serious issue. We must do whatever it takes to save the 20 veterans who take their own lives every day."
Stephanie Mullen, Research Director for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, stated, "We are pleased to support the Veterans Overmedication and Suicide Prevention Act Increasing our understanding of veteran suicide, the risk and protective factors surrounding it, and the effectiveness of suicide prevention programs at VA, are all essential to tackling this issue."
AMVETS, another one of America's leading veterans groups for more than 75 years has also voiced their support for Buchanan's bill, stating that, "it promises to provide crucial facts that are largely absent from the current conversation regarding veteran suicide." Joseph Chenelly, Natioanl Executive Director of AMVETS continued, "Through this research, AMVETS believes the bill will help our society better understand the scope of veteran suicide and forces driving it" and "Our hope is that the review will lead to more effective treatment methods in the VA and medical community at large.
Following the hearing, Buchanan said, "The high rates of suicide and drug overdose deaths among veterans are unacceptable. This legislation is critical to learning if prescription drugs, particularly opioid painkillers, are a contributing factor in suicide-related deaths of veterans. I am pleased to see this strong support from leading Veteran Service Organizations."
Buchanan's legislation specifically calls for a listing of "any medications that carried a black box warning, were prescribed for off-label use, were psychotropic, or carried warnings that include suicidal ideation." The new information will be used to better treat veterans suffering from mental and physical injuries sustained as a result of their service.
The suicide rate among veterans is about twice that of the general population, and has been rising among younger veterans who served during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. According to the VA, 20 veterans commit suicide every day, accounting for 18 percent of all U.S. suicides. Florida has the third-highest number of veterans in the country, with 1.5 million.
Buchanan, who represents more than 88,000 veterans in Southwest Florida, has a strong record of fighting for military families.
Following a letter on a recent breakdown in suicide prevention efforts, the Trump administration assured Buchanan that it is taking aggressive steps to curb the growing number of suicides among veterans and members of the armed forces.
Last month, Buchanan demanded answers from the VA after reports of deplorable conditions and neglect at VA nursing homes across the nation. Buchanan's inquiry came after USA Today and The Boston Globe reported that inspectors found that veterans were harmed at VA nursing homes in 25 states. He also recently launched an inquiry with the Air Force on hazardous living condition at MacDill Air Force Base.
Source