The STRONG Veterans Act, which was introduced by Reps. Mark Takano (D-CA), pictured here, and Mike Bost (R-IL), will offer a variety of benefits aimed at reducing veteran suicide. (Photo U.S. Senate Democrats)
The House Veterans Affairs Committee advanced both the STRONG Veterans Act and VA Nurse and Physician Assistant RAISE Act for debate in Congress, Rep. Mike Levin (D-CA) announced in a Feb. 2 tweet.
According to the committee’s press office, The Supporting the Resilience of Our Nation’s Great Veterans Act of 2022 (H.R.6411) was introduced by Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA) and Rep. Mike Bost (R-IL) promises to give the Department of Veterans Affairs expanded powers in terms of “training, outreach, mental health care delivery, and research…to address veteran suicide.”
If passed, the STRONG Veterans Act would “strengthen [VA] suicide prevention programs,” offer culturally relevant suicide prevention for Native American veterans, improve the Veterans Crisis Line; increase general capacity at programs, including for student veterans; increase staffing at both VA medical center and veteran centers, and “collect data for VA to guide expansion of inpatient mental health and substance abuse treatment.”
Additionally, the House Veterans Affairs Committee advanced the VA Nurse and Physician Assistant Retention and Income Security Enhancement Act (H.R.5575), which was first introduced by Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-IL) in Oct. 2021, offers more competitive pay for some VA nurses and other medical positions to improve long-term employment rates, particularly in rural or high-cost locations.
Both bills are awaiting a vote in Congress.
Veterans or loved ones who are at risk for suicide can call the Veterans Crisis Line at 1-800-273-8255 for help. Readers can also contact The American Legion for free assistance navigating VA benefits.
Author: Christian Southards
Coming from a family with a proud military background and wanting to contribute his writing skills to a worthy cause, Christian began writing for the California American Legion in August of 2020. His father is a 25-year Army Veteran and his grandfather served in the Navy during Vietnam.
