Senator Richard Blumenthal, Ranking Member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, released a statement after the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) published its National Veterans Suicide Prevention annual report. The report shows a decrease in veteran suicides from 2022 to 2023. Blumenthal had previously urged VA Secretary Doug Collins to release the delayed report during a recent committee oversight hearing.
“Veterans suicide is one of our nation’s most serious problems. While we saw a decrease in the number of veterans losing to their life to suicide in 2023, more needs to be done. We must safeguard lifesaving resources like the Veterans Crisis Line, address the shortage of mental health professionals at VA, and ensure every single veteran seeking mental health care gets that care in a timely manner. I’ll continue working to reduce this grim number by bolstering the suicide prevention, mental health care, and support programs relied upon by veterans, and fighting against any effort to diminish the critical care they provide,” Blumenthal said.
According to the VA's report, 6,398 veterans died by suicide in 2023. Of those who died by suicide, 61% were not receiving benefits or care from the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). The suicide rate among veterans under VHA care with mental health or substance use disorder diagnoses dropped by nearly 35%. This information underscores the need for both strengthening direct VA care and expanding outreach efforts for veterans not engaged with VHA services.
Blumenthal recently published a detailed report titled "Breaking the Pact: Impacts of Trump, DOGE, and Doug Collins’ Ongoing Assault on Veterans." The document describes staff losses and increased wait times for mental health care within VA facilities during previous administrations. Based on these findings, Blumenthal has requested updated data from Secretary Collins about wait times for mental health access at each facility. Publicly available data indicate that almost one-third of facilities have new patient wait times exceeding 40 days.
Blumenthal has worked on legislation aimed at improving veterans' mental health services. Last year he introduced the BRAVE Act to strengthen VA’s workforce and infrastructure related to mental health and renewed funding for local organizations through the Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program. He also secured an amendment protecting funding for the Veterans Crisis Line in upcoming federal budgets.
The Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee oversees benefits and healthcare programs supporting U.S. veterans nationwide as part of its role within the United States Senate. It collaborates with agencies such as the Department of Veterans Affairs to advance legislation and improve services for former service members. The committee also works on social progress issues like better access to healthcare and transition support for veterans returning to civilian life (official website).
The committee maintains offices within the U.S. Capitol complex (official website). Jerry Moran serves as chairman while Richard Blumenthal is ranking member (official website). Established in 1970, it continues historical efforts focused on education and medical benefits for veterans (official website).
