March 2, 2016
Contact: Kyle Roerink
Phone: (202) 657-3219

Congresswoman Dina Titus of Nevada’s First Congressional District co-sponsored legislation mandating the Department of Veterans Affairs to review veteran suicide deaths during the past five years and study any correlation between those deaths and psychiatric drug prescriptions. Rep. Titus, a member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, joined Congressman David Jolly (R-FL) in sponsoring the legislation, The Veteran Suicide Prevention Act (H.R. 4640).

“Data suggest that every 65 minutes a veteran takes his or her own life,” Rep. Titus said.  “This is unacceptable. One way to address the problem is to determine if any associations exist between suicide and medical treatments our veterans may be receiving for service-related conditions. Accordingly, this bill is a prudent first step in ending this crisis and letting our troops know that when they come home they are not alone.”

“It is critical that we determine whether or not the psychiatric drugs some veterans are being prescribed, for issues like P.T.S.D., depression or traumatic brain injuries, play a role in suicide,” Rep. Jolly said. “With nearly two dozen veterans committing suicide every day we need to take a hard look at all possible factors in order to help prevent these tragedies.”

The Veteran Suicide Prevention Act would require the VA to record the total number of veterans who have died by suicide during the past 5-years, compile a comprehensive list of the medications prescribed to and found in the systems of such veterans at the time of their deaths, and report which Veterans Health Administration facilities have disproportionately high rates of psychiatric drug prescription and suicide among veterans treated at those facilities.  The VA would then be required to submit to Congress a publicly available report on the results of their review, along with a plan of action for improving the safety and well-being of veterans.