The House of Representatives has passed the STRONG Veterans Act.
On June 23, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the STRONG Veterans Act, sending the bill to the Senate for further debate.
The act, which is officially titled the Support the Resiliency of Our Nation’s Great Veterans Act of 2022, expands mental health care services offered by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The bill, which aims to eliminate veterans suicide, was sponsored by House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Mark Takano (D-Calif.) and advanced by the committee earlier this year.
It is currently unclear if any significant changes to the bill were made before the House vote. Previously the bill, if passed, mandated:
- That all VA medical centers have at least one full-time minority veteran coordinator with proper cultural training to support Native American veterans.
- Increasing full-time staffing at VA Vet Centers and expanding eligibility for treatment.
- Expanding existing scholarship and loan programs for students and mental health providers.
- Updating Veterans Crisis Line responder training.
- Designating a Buddy Check Week to improve mental health outreach.
- Updating the Veterans Justice Outreach program.
- Making the Peer Specialist Support program permanent.
- Funding for new research on veterans mental health and treatment options.
- Improving treatment and the ability to diagnose veterans with sleep disorders.
After the STRONG Veterans Act was passed in the House, Chairman Takano said, “preventing veteran suicide and strengthening veterans’ mental health and wellbeing remains a top priority not only of VA, but also of this Committee. It is our belief that caring for veterans when they return home includes preventing and treating the visible and invisible wounds of service.”
The STRONG Veterans Act will now go to the Senate where it has bipartisan support.
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.