Jacob Ogles
U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan demanded answers why the Department of Veterans Affairs spent less than 1 percent of its suicide prevention funding this year.
Buchanan wrote a letter to Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie, calling it “unacceptable and disgraceful” for the agency to ignore a crisis.
“Of the 20 veterans who commit suicide on a daily basis, it is estimated that 14 of those individuals have had little or no contact with the VA in the months preceding their death,” Buchanan wrote.
“This demonstrates that the VA must dramatically improve its outreach to those veterans who are not taking advantage of the department’s mental health services and exactly why Congress allocated funds for this purpose.”
The Government Accountability Office yesterday released a report showing the VA spent just $57,000 out of $6.2 million set aside for suicide prevention in 2018.
There’s been a sharp decline over the past two years in spending on the effort, something officials at the VA attributed on the GAO report to “not having leadership available for a period of time to make decisions about the suicide prevention media outreach campaign.”
There’s been sharp declines in spending over the past two years, in particular in the first 10 months of 2018.
Most of the spending has gone to publicize a suicide prevention hotline. Wilkie did release a message across media platforms in August, Suicide Prevention Month, encouraging veterans to take advantage of mental health services.
“Ultimately, whether Veterans choose VA, or get care or support from a peer, or a community agency, there is no wrong door when it comes to saving lives,” Wilkie wrote then. “Preventing Veterans suicide is a top priority for VA, the Department of Defense and this administration. Our goal is to prevent suicide among all Veterans, including those who may not receive care from us.”
But Buchanan said the failure to devote more resources to preventing suicides proved disturbing, especially considering Wilkie had proclaimed suicide prevention to be such a priority.
“As you are undoubtedly aware, an astonishing 20 veterans a day commit suicide, accounting for 18 percent of all suicides nationwide,” Buchanan wrote in his letter to Wilkie.
“Among veterans younger than 35, the number of suicides has increased dramatically in recent years. These statistics are not only heartbreaking; they are downright inexcusable.”
Florida’s 16th Congressional District, which Buchanan represents, includes a high percentage of veterans, so programs to help veterans have been a priority for the Sarasota Republican.
Buchanan said stopping veteran suicides remains a top priority of his, and he expects the department tasked with caring for veterans’ health to focus on the issue as well.
The congressman requested Wilkie provide a report before Congress reconvenes on Jan. 3 offering a written explanation “as to how these failures were allowed to take place and what you will be doing going forward to ensure that they do not occur again on your watch.”
