Today in Washington D.C., Congressional hearings were held by the Veteran Affairs Committee to address issues related to the suicide rate for veterans. First reported by CBS News’ Armen Keteyian, that number in 2005 was 6,256 suicides for vets, averaging 120 suicides per week.
Rep. Bob Filner (D-CA)…
“Recently the CBS Network opened up again to millions of Americans the issue of suicides amongst our veterans. They had a great deal of difficulty getting information from the authorities whether the Department of Defense or the VA. Their report several weeks ago again opened the eyes of millions of Americans to statistics which were way beyond what people had thought or imagined. The number of suicides amongst not only our returning vets but veterans from previous wars.”
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Mike Bowman — father of U.S. soldier who committed suicide…
“When CBS News broke the story about Veterans suicides, the VA took the approach of criticizing the way the numbers were created instead of embracing it and using it to help increase mental health care within their system. Regardless of how perfectly accurate the numbers are, they obviously show a trend that desperately needs attention. CBS did what NO government agency would do; they tabulated the veteran suicide numbers to shed light on this hidden epidemic and make the American people aware of this situation.”