Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Ranking Member Richard Blumenthal has criticized the Trump Administration’s decision to end a policy that prevented certain at-risk veterans from purchasing firearms. The policy, which had been in place for three decades, required the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to report veterans with serious mental health disorders or those needing a fiduciary to manage their affairs to the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).
Blumenthal stated: “Guns are used in the vast majority of veteran suicides. The Trump Administration’s decision to abruptly end a policy that prevents troubled veterans or those requiring a fiduciary to manage their affairs from buying firearms is dangerous and reckless. This Administration should be focused on measures that will actually help end veteran suicide and make our communities safer. Eliminating this policy and weakening the NICS background check system altogether is a disastrous decision that will have potentially tragic impacts for years to come.”
Earlier in the day, VA Secretary Doug Collins and Attorney General Pam Bondi announced they would stop reporting these veterans to NICS and remove all previous VA reports.
The 2025 National Veteran Suicide Prevention annual report by the VA notes that unsecured firearms in homes increase suicide risk. In 2023, firearms were involved in 73.3% of veteran deaths by suicide, and between 2001 and 2023, firearm suicide rates among veterans rose by 67%. Among veterans receiving care through the Veterans Health Administration who died by suicide in 2023, more than half had been diagnosed with mental health or substance use disorders.
The Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee plays an important role in improving access to VA health care services and supporting veterans as they transition back into civilian life, according to its official website. The committee also oversees benefits, health care programs, and collaborates with agencies such as the Department of Veterans Affairs [source]. It maintains offices within the U.S. Capitol complex [source] and exercises jurisdiction over veterans' programs nationwide [source]. Jerry Moran serves as chairman while Richard Blumenthal is ranking member [source].
