Jackie Walorski

By LINDSAY JANCEK
Communications Director, Congresswoman Jackie Walorski

Representative Jackie Walorski spoke on the House floor in support of H.R. 203, the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act, a bill that will increase access to mental health care and improve the quality of care provided to our troops and veterans.

During her remarks, Walorski detailed Clay Hunt’s story — an Iraq and Afghanistan War veteran who received a low disability rating from the Department of Veterans Affairs for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and appealed the rating, leading to a bureaucratic nightmare.

“He waited months to see a psychiatrist at a VA medical center. When he finally did, he told his mother he would never go back. Two weeks later, Clay took his own life. Five weeks after his death, and 18 months after filing an appeal with the VA for his PTSD rating, his appeal was approved. Clay’s story details the urgency our nation’s heroes deserve,” Walorski said.

The bill would require annual evaluations of mental health programs at both the VA and the Defense Department as well as authorize the VA to collaborate with veterans service organizations and mental health nonprofits to improve care.

The bill passed the House by a vote of 403-0 and now heads to the Senate for further consideration.

Read Walorski’s full remarks here.