Congressional hearing to address Be the One and Buddy Checks

The U.S. House Subcommittee on Health will hold a hearing Wednesday, June 21, regarding a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) initiative similar to The American Legion’s Be the One campaign.

American Legion Veterans Affairs & Rehabilitation Director Tiffany Ellett will be among those testifying on a series of bills, including H.R. 1639, the VA Zero Suicide Demonstration Act of 2023. The legislation would direct the VA secretary to establish the Zero Suicide Initiative pilot program.

The program instructs the VA secretary to implement a curriculum developed by the Zero Suicide Institute of the Education Development Center. It lays out a comprehensive 10-week program that includes training at the Zero Suicide Academy, mandates data collection for continuous quality improvement, and focuses on enhancing the skills of the staff dealing with patients at risk of suicide.

The American Legion supports HR 1639 through Resolution 20, Suicide Prevention Program, approved by the National Executive Committee (NEC) in 2018. The American Legion supports legislation analyzing best practices in veteran suicide prevention not currently used by VA or DoD.

Ellett also will address:

• H.R. 2768, the PFC Joseph P. Dwyer Peer Support Program Act, which is similar to the Legion’s Buddy Check program. The act will authorize the VA secretary to make grants to state and local entities to carry out peer-to-peer mental health programs. The American Legion supports this measure through Resolution 364, approved by the NEC in 2016, which calls on VA to develop outreach and national peer-to-peer programs for rehabilitation.

• H.R. 3581, the COPE Act, which would amend title 38, U.S. Code, to modify the VA family caregiver program to include services related to mental health and neurological disorders.

• H.R. 1774, VA Emergency Transportation Act of 2023, which would amend title 38, U.S. Code, to reimburse veterans for the cost of emergency medical transportation to a federal facility.

• H.R. 1815, Expanding Veterans’ Options for Long Term Care Act, which would require the VA secretary to conduct a pilot program to provide assisted living services to eligible veterans.

The hearing starts at 10:30 a.m. Eastern. You can listen to and view it at this livestream.