I know that some of the most important moments of this conference will take place in the hallways over dinner and between sessions. You all represent the very best of our criminal Justice System. The very best of treatment and the very best of veterans affairs. You are transforming the courtroom. You are transforming our communities and transforming this great nation. The most exciting part of this conference will be seeing all of you share your ideas and make lasting connections. Valor is not limited to the battlefield. Valor means it showing courage in the face of adversity. Veterans Treatment Courts are defined by valor. It takes valor to fight to implement a Veterans Treatment Court. To transform the way veterans in the Justice System are handled in this country. It takes valor to continue to serve your nation by volunteering as a mentor to your brothers and sisters who are struggling at home. And of course, the incredible graduates show valor every day. By accepting the help being offered in doing the difficult work of facing their demons headon with strength and dignity. They are heroes in every sense of the word. And so are all of you. Veterans fought for our freedom. Thank you all for fighting for thiers. On may 13, many of us awoke to the news that an amtrak train had derailed outside of philadelphia. As the news broke, it became clear that the disaster would happen far worse had it not been for the heroic actions of many of the passengers who helped pull people from the wreck. It should come as no surprise that at least one of these heroes was a veteran. My friend and Veterans Treatment Court champion patrick murphy. You have done more to bridge the civilian military divide than patrick murphy. Patrick became the first iraq war veteran to serve in congress where he represented pennsylvanias eighth district. During his two terms in congress, patrick thought for the largest increase in Veterans Benefits in american history. Led the charge to repeal dont ask dont tell and championed the passage of the post9 11 g. I. Bill which has already helped over one million veterans. [applause] i think that deserves an applause, too. [applause] patrick is now a partner at the National Law Firm and the host of the only National News show dedicated to veterans issues, msnbcs taking the hill. Patrick is also a dedicated husband and father to his wife, jenny, and his two beautiful children, jack and maggie. Patrick is with us today because of his unyielding support for justice for vets and Veterans Treatment Courts. Whether its hosting a roundtable discussion, promoting veteran Treatment Court on msnbc or offering his expertise and guidance on key issues, patrick has been among our most ardent supporters. I have known patrick for 10 years now. I am proud and honored to call him my friend. I have never met anyone with more energy than patrick murphy. He is a go go guy fueled by a passion for and commitment to serving others. He is a man of incredible integrity and humility. He has the courage of his convictions. I have always seen him do what he believes is right. Even when the cost to him will be very high. Patrick is an aspirational figure not only to me, but to countless others. Im thrilled that we have the opportunity to honor him here today. Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in presenting the justice for vets Ambassador Award to patrick murphy. [applause] i can hold it for you, if you want. Patrick thank you. Of course i trustee. Thank you so much. What a way to start the week. It is good to be with everybody. Thank you so much. We have been friends for over a decade. She is one of my closest friends the world. It is an honor to be here and i do want to say thank you to the interim ceo. Thank you for your leadership. The board chair, thank you both for your leadership. And for everybody here. [applause] patrick we like to speak sometimes too much, so i will keep it short and sweet. I want to say three things. The first is thank you, thank you, thank you for what you do for our veterans. Many of you in this room are veterans and many of you are not. There is a civilian military divide right now in our nation. Especially when you look at we are in iraq and afghanistan, the longest wars in american history. Less than 1 have gone to fight these wars. When they come home, most of them are doing great things. Most of them are incredible civic assets, like in generations past. They are more likely to vote, more likely to lead organizations, more likely to run successful small businesses. As you know, many of them do fall through the cracks. We have an ethic that we leave no one behind. Because of efforts like yours, thousands are not being left behind. If you heard me talk about this, talk about justice for vets. It is a life or Death Movement for so many. It is because of you in this room and your counterparts back home that are making a real difference, literally saving lives of folks who have been forgotten. From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much for this award and more importantly for what you do for veterans. The second thing i want to mention is there are other heroes in this room, people like barbara. When you look at our generation of veterans, the over 500,000 not suffer from genetic brain injury or ptsd disorder. You see them in your courtrooms. You see them in a mentorship program. All of a sudden this room have the opportunity to be part of the solution. All of us cannot thank you enough. I was lucky i was thinking about it yesterday. 22 years ago, i got my commission 19 years ago. I was lucky to go through basic and advanced training and jump out of airplanes. Two tours overseas. It was not until the amtrak train crash that i got a traumatic brain injury. I was knocked unconscious and i was lucky to be ok. There are frustrating parts about that. Not remembering things, etc. Everyone has their different struggles and mine is mine pales in comparison. These veterans and their families have given so much. For you to be so selfless and helping them and guiding them to get back on track, there is no amount of words i could say to articulate our nations gratitude. A lot of folks talk a big game. You are the ones at family events, you are the ones paying extra hours, you are the ones going above and beyond your jobs and your professions to do what is right. Thank you so much. The third and last thing i want to mention, i try to make sure i say this i had two grandfathers who served in world war ii. We need to recognize the vietnam generation. To me, the vietnam generation are such incredible heroes because they never had a victory day. Much like we wont in iraq or afghanistan. It was the vietnam generation that made sure that whether people were for the war or against the war, we learned because of the vietnam generation that when these men and women come home, we treat them with dignity and respect. We separate the war from the warrior. It is not the military that has to go it is the Political Class of this country. They just execute what they were told to do. The vietnam generation who were not treated the right way when they came home, they were the ones when you talk about buffalo, new york, i would like to give a shout out to the judge, the 82nd airborne guy behind the scenes, it was that tag team there that made it right. You are the ones that made it right for our generation. There are still too many of us veterans who have fallen through the cracks. 22 veterans per day. They commit suicide. It is a national tragedy. There will be a lot more if you did not welcome us with open arms and make sure you knew how grateful we were for your service. Thanks so much. It really takes not just military veterans, civilians dividing our nation. When most of this was thinking about the military role, arab or talking to her and saying, youre exactly the right person to be the director. We need someone like you. She is philly. An ivy league school, she was in hollywood. She is as fairly as you can get. That is why we all love her in this room. All of you out there really deserve a round of applause. You are the ambassador of the award today and forever. God bless all of you. Thank you very much. [applause] cliques that you know recognizes the gentleman from new hampshire. Now recognizes the gentleman from new hampshire. I rise to stand with veterans throughout the country to offer an amendment to seek funds for the veterans initiative. The other thing i think is so important are the drug courts. This would increase funding by 1 million. I led the effort in my home state. Increase federal resources to this program nationwide. They worked out spectacularly well in many places throughout the country. Drug courts are transforming the criminal Justice System throughout our nation. I have seen firsthand the difference the courts can make. Fortunately, specialized Treatment Courts are being developed across the country. It really has been the states who have been showing us by example how effective they can be. More than 11,000 thats thats vets enrolled in Veterans Treatment Courts. They are doing an amazing job with a team of professionals, truly saving one life at a time and providing a last chance for our veterans. That would increase by 3 million the amount appropriated for fiscal year 2015 for the drug courts program. We do not have to waste taxpayer dollars in jail. And restorecrime families. Quite simply, drug courts work. We do not have to be content with a system not effectively serving the people it is supposed to. The drug court approach reduces crime by as much as 45 and we have programs to help and save money. For every dollar invested jug courts, taxpayers save as much as 27 when compared to the historic approach. That makes a very powerful case. That is the beauty of the drug court. I think it makes a lot of sense. I just think this is something that deserves the support. I accept the amendment and i yield back. Dont miss the capital held a cash held a the capitol hill day kickoff right here wednesday morning at 8 00 a. M. Hello, everybody. My name is timothy. Im a graduate of the philadelphia Veterans Court. [applause] for those of you who do not know, philadelphia is the earth birth place of the greatest fighting force this world has ever known. The United States marine corps. I am proud to be from philadelphia. Im proud to be a marine. I am proud to be a graduate of the Veterans Court. When i returned from iraq, i was lost. I had nowhere to turn. Four days after being home from iraq, i got arrested for aggravated assault and i found myself in a jail cell all by myself. It did not end there. There was no Veterans Court when i returned. Seven arrests later and almost a year of my life in jail, you know, that lost feeling. I wish i would have had a Veterans Court from the beginning. I would not have gone through everything. I was addicted to drugs and alcohol. I did it to cope with ptsd. I lost my daughter. I lost my family. I lost a lot. Someone said to me, ptsd and i said no way. Not me. I am a big bad marine. I dont get anything like that. Eventually, my family was able to get me in to the Veterans Hospital where i received treatment for the drugs and alcohol. January 4, i had for years clean and sober from drugs and alcohol. [applause] even though i put the drugs down, there were still issues i had to address. The monster on my back known as ptsd. I had an episode while driving my car. I got my final arrest and i ended up in philadelphia Veterans Court. The first day i got there, i thought i would be treated like i would in any other court room. I had my first court date. I left there and i went to the Korean War Memorial on veterans day where i have seen judge dugan. Patrick murphy was down there as well. I have seen both of them speak. I said, these guys they care and they get it and they do not talk it, they walk it as well. My next court date when i got into court, i walked in and everybody knew my name and it blew me away. Finally, i was not just another number. I found a home there. When i got into Veterans Court, i found here to peer support. I was around other veterans like me. They knew what i was going through in what i needed. It did wonders for me and i finally found a home. Like i said, that was my last arrest. I have not been arrested since and im living proof steny hoyer standing here today that Veterans Courts work. [applause] i now have my daughter back in my life. [applause] i married her mother, my beautiful wife. We now have another daughter named fiona who i love to death. It is all because of Veterans Court. It is crazy. I see rich bauer, the prosecutor in our court. To have the prosecutor of a court here supporting me, if that is not living proof, i do not know what is. [applause] my mother, i put her through hell and she smiles now every time she sees me. That is because of people like mike brown, judge patrick dugan, rich bauer, and a host of other people who lead the way every day. Im grateful to be here today. I will close with, we are going to capitol hill on wednesday. I will lead the way if everybody follows me so i expect to see everybody over there. Thank you. [applause] from one marine to another, semper fi. Thank you for sharing your inspiring story with us and for being a shining example of strength, honor, and resilience that embodies our veterans. Thank you for continuing to serve our country as a mentor in Veterans Court. I am proud to serve as a project manager for justice for vets veteran mentor core. All across the country, my fellow veterans stand ready to be of service. Thanks to veteran Treatment Courts, thousands are volunteer mentors to veterans in crisis. There is no bond as strong as one that exists between those who served our country. I am proud to report that over the next 2. 5 days, nearly 100 veterans from across the country will be attending the veteran mentor boot camp, where they will learn how to transfer the bond into healing and empowerment. I would like to ask all the mentors in the room to stand and big knowledge. Be it knowledged. Acknowledged. [applause] thank you, ladies and gentlemen. I will be seeing you soon. Dont be late. In the early years of the war in iraq and afghanistan barbara and a group concerned about the Mental Health implications on our troops, they licensed clinical psychologist practicing in the washington dc area for over 20 years. She was determined to take action. In 2005, she found a National Network of Mental Health professionals who provide Free Services to u. S. Troops, veterans, loved ones, and their communities. Today, the network has over 7000 providers who have collectively given over 16 million worth of services. Barbaras work has made the Mental Health of our veterans a national issue. She is an expert on the psychological impact of war on troops and families. And she mobilizes communities in support of active duty Service Members, veterans, and families. She carries her message throughout the media and is regularly featured on outlets such as the ap, york times, wall street journal, washington post, good morning america. Such military Media Outlets as stars and stripes and usa magazine and the pentagon channel. Barbara is the recipient of too many awards to list. To give you an idea of her impact, in 2012, Time Magazine named her one of the world. One of the most influential people in the world. Leadership, her given our is now leading the campaign to change direction. A collective impact effort to change the culture of Mental Health in america. Justice for vets and the any bcp are honored to partner with given hour on this effort and i am thrilled to welcome miss barbara to tell you all about it but first, take a look. Today, nearly one in five americans are living with a Mental Health condition, from our children and grandparents to our veterans and neighbors. For all of us, our Mental Wellbeing is just as important as our physical health. Unfortunately, most of us do not know how to recognize the signs that someone is in emotional distress. Many of those who are having difficulty cannot get the help they need. Together, we can change it. We can start by visiting change direction. Org, and learning five science that may mean someone is five signs that may mean someone is struggling and they need help. It is then up to us to show compassion and reach out, connect, help folks find the hope and support they need. Together, we can change the story about Mental Health in america and together, we can change direction. [applause] ms. Barbara. [applause] thank you. Barbara good morning. I am going to walk and talk. It helps me think. I want to thank melissa and caroline for inviting me to come be with you this morning. Justice for vets and what you all do is incredibly important for me for a number of reasons. I will talk in a few minutes about stories because we all have them. I will tell you mine. You heard a little bit about my story, and i will tell you more. That will hopefully put me in the context of how i came to be here this morning. My father was a veteran of world war ii who served in the pacific. He like many young men, he lied about his age to join the navy p he was old enough. He was a firstgeneration american who loved his country. When the call came for young men to join, he cheated and got in early. He served his country in the pacific. He saw combat and many things he never talked about to his kids. He came home and i grew up in california and when he came back, he decided he wanted to move his y