Bill would give $250 million to local veterans offices to fight suicide

“County Veteran Service Offices are on the front lines every day working to combat this tragic crisis,” Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., shown here in a 2015 press conference, said in a statement. “This bipartisan legislation will support their efforts to provide needed services and solutions for our veterans that will improve their health and well-being.” STARS AND STRIPES

Bill would give $250 million to local veterans offices to fight suicide

by Nikki Wentling

Stars and Stripes

December 11, 2019

WASHINGTON — Four senators introduced a measure Wednesday that would give $250 million in federal funding over the next five years to local government employees responsible for helping veterans process claims for Department of Veterans Affairs benefits.

Sens. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, Jon Tester, D-Mont., and Steve Daines, R-Mont., backed the bill as a method to combat veteran suicide.

County Veteran Service Offices, known as CVSOs, help veterans enroll in VA health care. According to the latest VA suicide report released in September, suicide rates among veterans who had recently received VA health care increased at a slower pace than those of veterans who had not. Of the veterans who died by suicide in 2017, 62% had not recently received treatment from the VA.

Read more at: https://www.stripes.com/1.610698

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