Senate to vote on bill aimed at reducing vets’ suicide rate

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

An expected vote on a Senate bill aimed at reducing a suicide epidemic among military veterans was delayed Monday by a winter storm that walloped the Midwest and Northeast.

The storm caused the cancellation of flights, classes and major court cases across the Northeast and dumped more than a foot-and-a-half of snow on the Chicago area.

The Senate vote on the veterans’ bill was rescheduled for today. The measure is named for Clay Hunt, a 26-year-old veteran who killed himself in 2011. The bill is in response to suicides that on average claim the lives of 22 military veterans every day.

The measure, which passed the House last month, would require the Pentagon and Veterans Affairs Department to submit to independent reviews of their suicide prevention programs and make information on suicide prevention more easily available to veterans. It also would offer financial incentives to psychiatrists and other mental- health professionals who agree to work for the VA and help military members as they transition from active duty to veteran status.

Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, said he expects overwhelming approval of the bill, which passed the House unanimously and has the support of major veterans groups.