Press release 3-18-2010

House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Holds Roundtable Discussion to Identify Specific Reintegration Issues Facing Veterans

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 18, 2010

Washington, D.C. – On Wednesday, March 17, 2010, House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Bob Filner (D-CA) led a roundtable discussion to identify reintegration challenges faced by service members and veterans, and to explore potential legislative solutions to these challenges.  The roundtable format allows participants to share relevant information in a more conversational and less-formal setting.

More than 2 million service members have been deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom since September 2001, with hundreds of thousands of them being deployed more than once.  As of March 2010, more than 5,000 troops have been killed and over 37,000 have been wounded in action in the two conflicts.   The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) reports that half of the OEF and OIF population that has accessed VA health care sought mental health treatment.  Post-traumatic stress disorder is the number one reported mental health concern among this population.

“When these service members come home and take off the uniform, they have the expectation that life will just pick up where they left off before being deployed,” said Chairman Filner.  “However, this is just not the case.  Many of them struggle to reconnect with their families and communities.  They find themselves feeling isolated and unable to cope.  We know that reintegration affects the entire family unit, not just the veteran.  For this reason, it is essential that our service members, veterans, and their families receive the help they need and that they have the necessary tools to rejoin their communities.”

The House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs continues to set an aggressive agenda to ensure that promises made to America’s veterans are kept.  Under Democratic leadership, Congress has included the cost of the warrior with the cost of the war and increased the VA baseline budget by 58%.  Congress successfully worked to pass veteran suicide prevention legislation, resulting in a meaningful suicide prevention hotline available to veterans, as well as ensuring the returning veterans have access to VA health care for five years post-deployment.  Greater attention to diagnosis and treatment of post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury continues to dominate the Committee’s agenda.

Ideas for improving the process for reintegration included immediate screenings for all veterans upon their return from deployment, a “de-boot” camp to decompress from the stress of deployment, and more effective electronic medical records transfer between the Department of Defense (DoD) and the VA.  Although it was noted that both DoD and VA operate a number of effective programs, participants reported an ongoing difficulty in connecting the service with the veteran that needs it.  Additional programming challenges include duplication of services, difficulty in approving newer treatments, and the lack of peer-to-peer options.  It was suggested that each veteran with VA health care eligibility should be presented a card to access private health services in the case of an emergency.   

“We need to take bold action,” said Chairman Filner.  “Today’s roundtable brought together experts with a range of different experiences to identify the specific issues facing our veterans.  This forum is intended to bring about productive problem solving tactics and I am pleased that Members of both parties were able to discuss the needs of our returning service members.  My hope is that these discussions will lead to progress and better support for veterans and their families.”



Participant List

•     John D. Havens, PE, Major General, U.S. Army (Ret.), The Havens Group, LLC
•     Ryan Kules, Program Director, Alumni/Retention, Wounded Warrior Program
•     Abdoulaye Bah, Ph.D., Professor of Sociology, Director, Center for Suicide  Prevention,  Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri
•      Paul J. Hutter, Chief Officer for Legislation Regulations and Intergovernmental Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
•     Stephen Robinson, MA, Chief Executive Officer, Magis Group LLC
•     Elizabeth Hawkins, Founder and Executive Director, ONE Freedom, Inc.
•     Barbara Cohoon, Deputy Director, Government Relations, National Military Family Association
•     Peter J. Duffy, Deputy Legislative Director, National Guard Association of the United States
•     Stephen L. Robinson, Program Outreach and Development, Swords to Plowshares
•     Bob Goodale, MBA, Director, Citizen Soldier Support Program
•     Nancy E. Boyda, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs, U.S. Department of Defense
•     Randy Phelps, Ph.D., Deputy Executive Director for Professional Practice, American Psychological Association
•     Melvin H. Wilson, LCSW, MBA, Manager, Office of Workforce and Development Training, National Association of Social Workers
•     Tim Embree, Legislative Associate, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America
•     James L. Rooney, Ph.D., DoD Programs Coordinator, Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri

 

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