Chairman Nadler Statement for the Markup of H.R. 886, the Veteran Court Coordination Act of 2019

Statement

Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) delivered the following opening remarks during a markup of H.R. 886, the Veteran Court Coordination Act:

"H.R. 886, the "Veteran Court Coordination Act,' is bipartisan legislation that would help fulfill our responsibilities to this nation's veterans, particularly those who have service-connected mental health disabilities, and who become involved in the criminal justice system. It would establish a Veterans Treatment Court Program Office in the Department of Justice to support the hundreds of local veterans treatment court programs around the country that successfully rehabilitate veterans, providing services tailored to their unique needs.

"Veterans treatment courts allow veterans charged with certain crimes attributed to physical or mental issues connected with their military service to receive court-supervised comprehensive treatment provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs and community organizations.

"For its part, the VA provides specialized support to veterans courts by providing services and a trained consultant, who serves on the veterans court treatment team, coordinates the provision of health care services, answers questions posed by the court, and assists the legal teams. The VA specialist matches the defendant-veteran to programs that may assist the veteran on the road to recovery, which in the majority of cases starts with substance abuse or mental health treatment.

"In recent years, the VA has expanded the number of treatment options that are available to veterans court participants, which now include mentoring, mental health counseling, substance abuse treatment, housing services, and vocational counseling. Veteran-defendants who successfully complete veterans court programs can avoid jail time, receive needed treatment, and have their records expunged.

"Despite efforts to welcome veterans home, and to ease their transition to civilian life, many veterans continue to face hardships after completing their military service. One study reports that approximately nine percent of veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan have been arrested since returning home. The Bureau of Justice Statistics estimates that approximately 180,000 veterans were incarcerated in state and federal prison between 2011 and 2012. Of those incarcerated veterans surveyed, 48 percent of veterans in prison, and 55 percent of veterans in jail, reported that they had been told by a mental health professional that they had a mental health disorder.

"Veterans treatment courts provide an effective means by which communities can rehabilitate veterans who commit crimes and may support those who have been impacted by the crime by ensuring victims receive restitution. Although 20 percent of veterans court participants received jail sanctions during their participation in a veterans court program, only 14 percent experienced a new incarceration during an average of nearly one year in the program.

"This recidivism rate is substantially less than the 23 to 46 percent one-year recidivism rate found among non-veteran prisoners. Most programs reported less than five dropouts in the 2017 calendar year.

"There are over 500 veterans treatment courts operated by state, local, and tribal governments nationwide. The Veterans Treatment Court Program Office established by this bill would build upon the success by standardizing data reporting methods, serving as a repository for resources, providing training to veterans court administrators, and distributing information nationwide regarding best practices on how to improve the administration of veterans courts.

"Currently, there are roughly 21 million veterans of the United States Armed Forces, who have risked their lives in service of this country. Many of these men and women served on battlefields during the Second World War, and wars in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

"This bill would help provide support to more than one million veterans diagnosed with service-connected disabilities, as well as the thousands who are undiagnosed, who have been, and will be, exposed to the criminal justice system. Supporting rehabilitative support programs, like veterans courts, is the least we can do to acknowledge their sacrifice and treat our veterans involved with the criminal justice system with compassion and care. This bill ensures that existing veterans court programs will continue their mission to serve our veterans and make it easier for jurisdictions to start new veterans court programs and adopt best practices.

"I thank our colleague, Representative Charlie Crist, for his leadership in authoring H.R. 886, and his continued dedication to supporting our veterans. I support this legislation, and I urge its quick adoption by the Committee today."

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