Diverse News 2007®

Vets Say Gloves Are Off for Suicide Bill, Two Others

        VMFP Calls on Washington to Resolve Differences for Veterans

    WASHINGTON, Sept. 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Iowans Ellen and Randy
Omvig channel their grief to serve other military families. Their son,
Joshua, 22, took his own life following a second tour in Iraq, days before
Christmas 2005. Since Joshua's death, they work to inform others about post
traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the illness that, as much as the handgun,
took Joshua's life. Their ultimate goal is to see the Joshua Omvig Veteran
Suicide Prevention Act signed into law this year.
    "A single Senator holds it up," Tom Howe, mentor of the bill for
Veterans and Military Families for Progress said, referring to Senator Tom
Coburn (R- OK), about the bill sponsored by Iowa Senator Tom Harkin, and
co-sponsored by 31 other Senators. The House passed its version in March
423-0, and although the measure has bi-partisan support, Coburn is holding
it up.
    More than 5,000 veterans die by suicide annually, the Department of
Veteran Affairs reports, and an August 2007 Pentagon report indicates the
problem is not limited to veterans since a record number of active duty
service members committed suicide in 2006. With one senator standing
between veterans and suicide prevention, VMFP demands leadership on this
issue.
    "Where is the Presidential leadership on this? The Congressional
leadership on this? Who in Washington truly stands with veterans and
military families concerning coming home from combat?" Howe, a Vietnam
veteran asked.
    The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have created more than 1.6 million
veterans, and as of December 2006, 36 percent have already received medical
treatment through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Of those, more
than one-third were treated for mental health conditions. Even worse,
according to a June 2007 Pentagon study, 38 percent of soldiers and 49
percent of National Guard troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan will
present with some type of psychological illness down the road.




    Paul Sullivan, spokesman for Veterans for Common Sense testified before
a House Committee in July that the VA has adopted four "anti-PTSD policies"
to discourage the filing of PTSD claims by new veterans. "We will never
know how many veterans stopped fighting the VA and then needlessly suffered
from broken families, ... suicide and homelessness."
    "There is a sickening, constant stream of stories filtering into VMFP
about veterans who, turned away from the treatment they need, are forced to
take drastic measures. Nearly 14 veterans take their own lives, daily,"
Matt Cary, President of VMFP said. "It is a national disgrace how we wave
the flag when they go off to war, but are tightwads about caring for them
on their return home. The gloves are off now. If it's a war the leadership
wants, than by God, we'll give it to them!"
    VMFP's Government Affairs Committee is endorsing a total of 23 pieces
of legislation in the 110th Congress, with priority given to this bill
(S-479), and two others, Dignified Treatment of Wounded Warriors Act
(S-1606), and Veterans' Mental Health Outreach and Access Act (S-38), to
secure their passage in 2007.
    VMFP (http://www.vmfp.org) is a non-partisan, non-profit, tax-exempt
501(c)(4) organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. and recognized by
the Department of Veterans Affairs among Veterans Advocacy Organizations.
    Matt Cary, President
    Tel: (202) 841-1687
    E-mail: President@vmfp.org

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