Congresswoman Angie Craig Pushes to Expand Veterans' Mental Health

Statement

This week, U.S. Rep. Angie Craig pushed to expand mental health services that would benefit more than 35,000 veterans in Minnesota's Second Congressional District in testimony to the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee.

Right now, our veterans are often faced with barriers accessing critical mental health services, particularly those living in more rural counties like Goodhue and Wabasha. While volunteer services like DAV drive more than 55,000 hours a year to selflessly fill the gap in accessible transportation, they cannot do it alone. Congress must step up as a partner.

"We owe our veterans our utmost respect and a debt that can never be repaid," said Rep. Angie Craig. "That's why I've urged the VA to increase the Veterans Rural Health Resource Centers, address mental health barriers and implement suicide safety plans as well as start to address the shortage in mental health providers serving veterans. One failure is too many, we must step up and support our veterans."

Rep. Craig was a cosponsor of the bipartisan Support for Suicide Prevention Coordinators Act which was signed into law in December 2019 to help address the suicide epidemic hurting our veterans. Suicide Prevention Coordinators are the face of the VA's efforts to combat veteran suicide. They identify high-risk veterans and ensure they receive appropriate care, conduct outreach, and promote awareness and suicide prevention best practices within VA, among other responsibilities. Many Suicide Prevention Coordinators report being overworked and unable to keep up with their many responsibilities. The Support for Suicide Prevention Coordinators Act would help ensure these men and women have the tools and resources they need to provide Veterans with critical mental health resources.

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