To receive Mental Health care at a Outpatient Clinic in pennsylvania. He was told he would be unable to get an appointment for six months. When that employee left another va employee lean in to tell the veteran that if he told her he was thinking of killing himself she would be able to get him appointment much sooner in three months instead of six. Luckily that veteran wasnt considering suicide. But what about those veterans who are . How many of the tens of thousands veterans that va admitted have been left on waiting list for weeks, months and even year for care were seeking Mental Health care appointments . House education and Workforce Committee are suicidal or edgeing toward suicide as a result of not getting the care they earned . Despite the increase in budget, program and staff the suicide rate among veterans has remained more or less stable since 1999 with approximately 22 veterans committing suicide every day. The most recent data has shown over the last three years rates of suicide has the increased for veter veterans under 30 and 70 for male veterans between the age of 1824 who use va coverage. Today we will hear testimony from three families and they will tell us about their sons daniel, clay and brian. Three operation iraq freedom veterans who sought Va Health Care following combat. Each young man faced barrier after barrier in the struggle to get help. Each of these men ended up turning to suicide. Daniel sommers wrote in a letter behind he felt his government abandoned him and faced a system of dehumanization, neglect and indifference. The va owed daniel, clay and brian so much more than that. I yield to the Ranking Member with that for his opening statement. Thank you very much, mr. Chairman, for holding this very important hearing. We have had many discussions and debates on how to deliver the best service to the military and how to establish creditability within the department of affairs. Over the course of hearing and discussions we have touched on a number of important issues but one we have not zeroed in on much is access to health care and Suicide Prevention. That is why the hearing today is so important. I would like to thank all of the panelist for joining us and particularly i want to thank the family members joining us who have lost a loved one. They are speaking about a loss of a love one and particularly with a child can be difficult and exhausting experience. But we have to listen to your stories and identify what went wrong and we can take action to ensure those failures are not repeated again. We have taken steps to help put in Place Program and initiatives aimed at early dedesk ditext. The department of Veterans Affairs spending on Emergency Health has doubled sented 2007 but it nose working as well as we hoped, and we have to figure out why. A 2012og report found that vha data on whether it was providing timely access to Mental Health service is is unreliable, and the gao report from that year not only confirmed that disturbing finding but also said that inconsistent implementation of vha scheduling policy made it difficult, if not impossible to get patients the help they need when they need it. That is why we have to look at this situation. That is a problem that we have seen repeatedly as we dig into the vas dysfunction and enough is enough. Our veterans and their families die serve a va that delivers timely Mental Health services that cover a spectrum of needs, from ptsd, counseling, for family members, for veterans, to urgent, roundtheclock response to a veteran in need, a recent va oig report found that in one facility patients waited up to 432 days. Well over a year. For care. So once again, we are find that our veterans deserve much better than what they care they are receiving. In all of the area wes must address. We have to look at a comprehensively, and fixing mental halve service Health Service is is an important year. We look forward to trying to solve some of the problems with the difference funkal department were seeing over the last several months. Thank you, mr. Chairman, for having this very important hearing and for the panelists for coming today. Ieel i yield black my back my time. Her honored to be joined by our first panel of witnesses this morning. Family members of the three veterans veterans who sadly and track tragically lost their lives to suicide, and im sure i speak for each of my colleagues when i say that each of you have our deepest sympathies to you for your loss. I am both grateful and at the same time angry that you have to be here to share your stories of your sons weapon each of us. So, if you could approach the witness table, please. Joining us is dr. Howard and jean sommers. Susan and richard silky. And peggy portwine. Were also joined on our first panel by josh renchlr a veteran of the army who will share his personal story. For your service and being here today. Please proceed with your testimony, dr. And mrs. Somers. Were grateful for this opportunity to testify today. Were especially pleased to see arizona representative an kirkpatrick and daniels representative s and our own california representative, scott peters, who have been great allies to us in our efforts to advance reforms of the va based on experiences of our son. As many of you know our jr. Y started june 10, 2013, when damage tack his own life following his return from his second deployment in iraq. He suffered from post Traumatic Stress disorder, brain injury. He spent six futile and tragic years trying to access the va health and benefits systems before finally collapsing under the weight of his own despair. We have attached the story of daniel to our testimony which provides the details of his effort squeeze hope youll read it. Today it is our objective to begin the process which will ultimately provide hope and care to the 22 veterans a day who are presently ending their lives. Just over a year ago and four days are daniels death, feeling fortunate we at least had a letter from him, we spent 30 years in the business of health care, sat down with daniels wife, and his mother, together we feet qualified to prepare a 19page report entitled systemic issues at the va it is attached to our testimony. The purpose of the report remains the same to improve access to firstrate health care at the va. To make the va accountable too veterans it was created to serve. It and to make every va employee an advocate for each veteran. At the start, daniel was turned away from the virginia due to his National GuardInactive Ready reserve status. Upon initially accessing the va system he was denied therapy. He had innumerable problems with va staff being uncaring, insensitive, and adversarial. Literally no one at the facility advocated for him. Administrators frequently cited hipaa as the reason for not involving family members and for not being able to use modern technology. The vas appointment system, known as vista, is at best inadequate. It impedes access and lacks basic documentation. The Va Information Technology infrastructure is antiquated, and prevented related agencies from sharing critical information. Theres a desperate need for come pattability twin Computer Systems in the vha, the vba and the dod. Continuity was not a. A fierce refusal to outsource anyone or anything. At the time daniel was at the phoenix va, there was no Pain Management clinic to help him with his chronic and acute pain. Few coordinated enter agency goals, policies and procedures. The fact that the form larry must rejustify their needs when they transfer to the va. There were inadequate facilities and inefficient charting process. There was no way for daniel to ascertain the status of his benefits claim. There was no vla, vba appointment system interfacing, nor prioritized proactive procedures. There was no communication between disability determination and vocational rehabilitation. This report is offered in a spirit of a call to action and reflects the experience of daniel with services in 2007 until his death last june. At seen through our eyes. How concern then was the impediments which daniel encounters were systemic of deeper and broader issue friday the issues in the va. Affecting a much broader population of Service Members and veterans. Unfortunately, this has been proven true as dramatically evidenced by recent revelations. Many of the reforms in the report will require additional funding for the va, but with that new funding, should come greatunder scrutiny and a demand for better, measurable results. There is, however, an alternative to attempting to repair the existing system. We believe congress should seriously consider fundamentally revamping the mission of the va health system. And the new model we envision the va would transition into a center of excellence, specifically for warrelated injuries. While the more routine care provide by the rest of she va Healthcare System would be open to private Sector Service providers, much like tricare. That approach would compel the current model to selfimprove and compete for a veterans business. This would ultimately allow all veterans to seek the best care available, while allowing the va to focus its resources and expertise on the treatment of complex injured suffered in modern warfare. We thank you for your time and would be happy to further discuss our recommendations and suggestions. We hope that the systemic issues raised here will provide a platform to bring the new Va Administration together with lawmakeres, vs os, veterans, and private sector administer user tore a comprehensive review and reform of the entire va process. And if the va, committee, or congress as a whole, make the decision to involve other stakeholders in a more formal reform process, would be honored to be among those chosen to represent the views of affected families. Thank you. Thank you both for your testimony. Thank you, chairman miller, Ranking Member, and distinguished members of the committee. Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today about this critically important topic of Mental Health care access at the va. Suicide among veterans, and especially about the story and experience of our son, clay. My name is susan and i am here with my husband. I am the mother of clay who died by suicide in march 2011 at the age of 28. Clay enlist the mariner corps in 2005 and served in the infan tray in jab of 2007 he deployed to iraq. Shortly after rifing in iraq he was shot through the wrist by a bullet that barely missed his head. After he returned to Twenty Nine Palms to recuperate he was diagnosed with ptsd. Then clay attended and graduated from the ma katrina corps Scout Sniper School in march of 2008. Then deployed to southern afghanistan. Much like his experience in his deployment to iraq clay witnessed and experience the loss of several fellow marines. Clay received a 30 disability rating from the va for his pts. After discovering his condition prevented him from maintaining a steady job, clay appealed the 30 rating only to be met with significant bureaucratic barriers, including the va losing his files18 months later and five weeks after his death, clays appeal finally went through, and the va rated clays pts100 . Clay exclusively used the va for his medical carry after the marine corps, he lived in the Los Angeles Area and received care at the Va Medical Center there in l. A. Clay constantly voiced concerns about the care he was receiving in terms of the challenges he faced will skewed skewedling and treatment. He received counseling only as far as a brief discussion whether the medication was working or not. If not, he would be given a new medication. Clay used to say aim a gibb begin tester for drugs. He moved to colorado where he also used the va there and then finally home to houston to be closer to family. The houston va would not refill the prescriptions they received from the Grand Junction va because they said that prescriptions were not transferable and a new assessment would have to be done before his medications could be represcribed. Clay had only two appointments in january and february of 2011, and neither was with a psychiatrist. It wasnt until march 15th the was able to see a psychiatrist at the houston Va Medical Center. But after that appointment clay called me on his way home. And said, mom, i cant go back there. The va is way too stressful and not a place i can go. Ill have to find a vet center or something. Just two weeks after his appointment with the psychiatrist at the houston Va Medical Center clay took his life. After clays death i personally went to the houston Va Medical Center to retrieve his medical records and i encountered an environment that was highly stressful. Large crowds no one at the information desk, and i had to flag down a nurse to ask directions to the medical records area. I cannot imagine how anyone dealing with Mental Healthiers could successfully access care in a stressful setting. Clay was consistently open about having pts and survivors guilt and tried to help others coping with similar issues. He worked hard to move forward and found healing by helping people. Including participating in humanitarian work in haiti and chile after the earthquakes. He also standard in a Public Service advertising campaign, aimed at easing the transition for veterans and helped Wounded Warriors in Long Distance rode biking events. Clay fought for veterans in the halls of congress and participated in iraq and afghanistan veterans of americas annual storm the hill. Clays story details the urgency needed in addressing this issue. Despite his proactive and open approach to seeking care to address his injuries, the va system did not adequately address his needs. Today we continue to hear about individual and systemic failures by the va to provided a quilt care and address adequate care. Not one more veteran should have to go through what clay went through with the va after returning home from war. Not one more parent should have to of the before Congressional Committee to compel the va to philadelphia its fulfill its responsibilities to those who served and sacrificed. Mr. Chairman, understand that today youre introducing this Suicide Prevention for American Veterans act, the reforms, evaluations and programs directed by the legislation will be critical to helping the va better serve and treat veterans suffering from mental injuries from war. Had the va been doing these things all along, it vary well may have saved clays life. Mr. Chairman, richard and i again appreciate the opportunity to share clays story and our recommendations how we can help ensure the va will uphold its responsibility to properly care for americas veterans. Thank you. Thank you both four for your testimony this morning. Mr. Portwine, youre recognized. Thank you, mr. Chairman, distinguish committee members. My son, brian, gave 100 to every task he performed. And his military service was no exception. By the time he was 19 years old, brian was rewarded the purple heart and the Army Commendation medal. Im before you today to share brians story. At 17 he enlisted in the army. After training in infantry he was deployed to baghdad where the patrolled on the streets. It was an extremely daunting service. This occurred before the surge of troops. Brian lost 11 brothers. While serving in iraq in 2006, brians tank was struck by an rpg, the flames engulfed the tank, the driver was knocked uncon shouse and the men fought for their lives as the driver was unable to lower the ramp. Five shoulders scrambled through the flames, manually lowered the ramp and exited with injuries. Brian suffered a blast concussion, and injuries to his face and legs due to shrapnel. Later he was in a humvee when his sergeant signaled for bryan to suite seats for him. The switched seats to brian was in the passenger seat. 20 minutes later the ied hit the humvee, killing he sergeant and throwing brian from the vehicle. Six other ied explosions during his 15 month deployment. Id like to pause here and ask, isnt this enough to warrant a thorough evaluation and further testing . The powers that be apparently thought of sending brian to Walter Reed Hospital but didnt. Experiences with the physical and medical injures fluff to possibly exempt him for another deployment . Apparently the va felt his care was iffy enough to stamp a no go on his clearance form, and then crossed out and written, go. How and why this decision was made is beyond me. After his first deployment, brian was ecstatic to be home again elm he enrolled in daytona state college. He worked in the admissions counseling office. He created videos to share resources with students, hosted events and linked students with parttime employment around their school schedules. But brian suffered with shortterm memory loss. He would have to write everything on his computer, his iphone or calendar. Husband friends told me when he was out, he would say, where are we going again . I have scrambled brains from iraq. To help cope he posted events on hi computer, his calendar and his phone. In 2010, military recalled brian. He said, mom, theres no point, you have to get your mind in a completely different place. You have no idea what is coming. During this second deployment, brian didnt email or call home to any family. Or friends. Little did we know how he was struggling with anxiety attacks, panic attacks, traveling the same roads as the first tour. He knew the stigma of admittin