this week in Congress

NEWS FROM…

CHAIRMAN BOB FILNER

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON VETERANS’ AFFAIRS



MEDIA ADVISORY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE




http://veterans.house.gov

Schedule for Week of September 15, 2008


Monday, September 15 – House Floor

House of Representatives to consider four bills reported from the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs

· H.Res. 1335 – Celebrating the 120-year partnership between the Government and State veterans homes (Rep. Hodes)

· S. 2339 – To designate the Department of Veterans Affairs clinic in Alpena, Michigan, as the “Lieutenant Colonel Clement C. Van Wagoner Department of Veterans Affairs Clinic” (Senator Stabenow)

· H.R. 5736 – To designate the Department of Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic in Gadsden, Alabama, as the “Colonel Ola Lee Mize Veterans Clinic” (Rep. Aderholt)

· H.R. 1594 – To designate the Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic in Hermitage, Pennsylvania, as the “Michael A. Marzano Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic” (Rep. English)



Tuesday, September 16 at 10 a.m. – 340 Cannon House Office Building

**Subcommittee on Health Hearing

“VA Suicide Hotline”

In July 2007, the Department of Veterans Affairs collaborated with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to launch the Veterans Suicide Prevention hotline. The hotline is a toll-free number, 1-800·273-TALK (8255), which is manned 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Subcommittee hearing will focus on the hotline’s response to the needs of veterans, the mechanism by which suicidal veterans are helped, best practices for suicide prevention, and hotline staffing.

Earlier this month, Army officials reported that suicides among active-duty soldiers this year are on pace to exceed last year’s all-time record and that of the general U.S. population. This is compared to the 115 total soldiers who committed suicide in all of 2007. These statistics have implications for the VA, as the soldiers transition to civilian life and enter the VA health care system either having attempted suicide or having had thoughts of suicide.

Witness List:

Panel 1

· Katherine Power, M.Ed., Director, Center for Mental Health Services, Substances and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services


Panel 2

· Thomas J. Berger, Ph.D., Senior Analyst for Veterans’ Benefits and Mental Health Issues, Vietnam Veterans of America

· M. David Rudd, Ph.D., ABPP, Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychology, Texas Tech University, American Psychological Association

· Tyrone Ballesteros, Office Manager, National Veterans Foundation

· Reese Butler, Founder, Kristin Brooks Hope Center

· Ian A. Shaffer, M.D., Chief Medical Officer, MHN


Panel 3

· Janet E. Kemp, R.N., Ph.D., National Suicide Prevention Coordinator, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Accompanied by

o Kerry L. Knox, MS, Ph.D., Director, Candanaigua Center of Excellence for Suicide Prevention, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

o Antonette Zeiss, Ph.D., Deputy Chief Consultant, Office of Mental Health Services, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs


Wednesday, September 17 at 10 a.m. – 210 Cannon House Office Building

Full Committee Markup

Markup of Draft Legislation


Thursday, September 18 at 10 a.m. – 340 Cannon House Office Building

**Subcommittee on Disability Affairs and Memorial Assistance

“Examining the Effectiveness of the Veterans Benefits Administrations’ Training, Performance Management and Accountability”


The purpose of the Subcommittee hearing is to examine the orientation and training process at the Veterans Benefits Administration, and to follow up on the Government Accountability Office recommendation to improve accountability and performance management. Training and performance accountability have been ongoing issues for VBA and veterans have voiced their concerns with the ineffective means by which VBA provides training.


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**Listen to the hearing live here: http://veterans.house.gov/multimedia/index.shtml and click on “Audio connection to Room 340”

Keep updated on the committee schedule here: HVAC Website

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