Senator Richard Burr

Opening Statement

March 3, 2010

·       Good morning, Mr. Chairman...and a warm welcome to our panelists today, particularly you, Mr. Hanson and Mr. Jordan.

·       We are truly grateful for your willingness to share your experiences with us, many of which are no doubt painful for you to recount. 

·       This country owes you both a debt of gratitude for your sacrifice and continued service to the nation.

·       Three years ago, the Committee held a hearing to examine VA’s efforts to address the mental health needs of veterans.  At that hearing, we heard from family members of veterans and servicemembers who had taken their own lives following combat service. 

·       They told us of a mental health care system that was too reactive, often only making services available when it was too late to be effective.     

·       Only days after that hearing, a National Guard unit headquartered in Boone, North Carolina, returned home from Iraq.  Within 18 months of their return, four of the unit’s 175 soldiers had taken their own lives.

·       I hope to hear today that we have, in fact, put more emphasis on outreach, early intervention, and prevention.  Legislation was enacted out of this Committee giving VA the authority it needs to do this; I’m anxious to hear about the progress being made, although the statistics we do have remain sobering.

·       According to Congressional Quarterly, more American servicemembers took their own lives in 2009 than were killed in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq combined.

·       With that said, VA can’t be expected to do it alone.  The Department of Defense has a critical role to play, but so do community organizations, veterans’ groups, non-profits, churches and others. 

·       The reasons which lead a young man or woman to contemplate ending their life are complex.  So, too, are the solutions to prevent that from happening.

·       We must continue to reach out on a general level to provide help for veterans with PTSD, depression, anxiety disorder, and other mental illness.

·       The goal is to be sure that those with mental illness can return to live, work, learn, and participate fully in their communities. 

·       That means we must identify unmet needs and barriers to services.  We must identify innovative treatments and services that are demonstrably effective.  We must improve coordination among case managers and providers. 

·       These are tough goals, and they require that we ask tough questions.  Questions such as whether our servicemembers are prepared to manage the stresses of combat before they set foot on the battlefield, and whether we are setting appropriate benchmarks to evaluate the effectiveness of prescribed treatment.

·       As I said, these remain difficult questions.  But the price of not addressing them is too high.

·       Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you to all of our witnesses.