We owe our eternal gratitude to our veterans. America is the land of the free and home of the brave because of their courage. Iowa’s Cpl. Adam Lambert from Adel and Rhode Island’s Lance Cpl. Daniel J. Harvey Jr. of Johnston served as Marines together in Afghanistan. Both men tragically lost their lives to suicide within a year of leaving the military.
Suicide rates triple for veterans in the first 12 months following their separation from the military. In Iowa, the veteran suicide rate is four times higher than the national average. That’s why I introduced the Daniel J. Harvey and Adam Lambert Improving Servicemember Transition to Reduce Veteran Suicide Act.
My bipartisan legislation would create a pilot program designed to counsel servicemembers about mental health, the challenges that they might face during transition to civilian life, and how that might affect their mental health. The bill would also inform servicemembers about the services available to them at their local Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical facility.
Read the bill text here:
FORM: https://nunn.house.gov/SL/Reduce-Veteran-Suicide-Act%E2%80%AF