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physical wounds such as shrapnel injuries and amputations. This led to a number of federal health policy initiatives that, although well-intentioned, must be viewed as a starting point, rather than as all-encompassing solutions. Complex social problems such as Veterans’ suicide can’t be solved simply by legislating, which typically involves throwing more money and more people at the problem. Nonetheless, over the past decade, Congress has done primarily just that.
In 2007, Congress passed the Joshua Omvig Veteran Suicide Prevention Act, which was named after an Iraq War veteran who committed suicide in 2005. The legislation captured the sense of Congress that “suicide among Veterans suffering from [PTSD] is a serious problem” and that VA “should take into consideration the special needs of Veterans suffering from PTSD and the special needs of elderly Veterans who are at high risk for depression and experience high rates of suicide.” The House report accompanying the legislation also noted that “[t]he stress of combat, along with the stigma that exists for soldiers and Veterans seeking mental health care, can intensify and trigger a complex set of behaviors that may lead to thoughts of suicide.” The legislation’s intended purpose was to strengthen suicide awareness, prevention and education programs throughout the VA.
Despite this legislation, and a significant increase in VA’s mental health staff and budget in the years that followed, Veterans continued to die by suicide at an alarming rate. In 2015, Congress revisited the issue, leading to the passage of the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act, named for a Marine who served in Afghanistan who died by suicide in March 2011 at the age of 28. The purpose of the Clay Hunt SAV
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