Brooklyn, N.Y. – Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke released the following statement on the passage of H.R. 5059, the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act, which will expand access to mental health services for our veterans. The bill was passed unanimously.

The act requires the Veterans Administration to create a website with information about all of the mental health service available from the agency, a student loan repayment program to recruit and retain psychiatrists, and an annual independent review of the mental health care and suicide prevention practices and programs at the agency.

“We have a responsibility to support the courageous men and women in the armed forces, on the field of battle and after, on their return to the United States. We cannot allow this crisis – in which twenty-two veterans commit suicide each day – to continue. An estimated one-third of our two million combat veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan have experienced traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, or depression. We must provide comprehensive medical services for veterans with these and other conditions and support their efforts to live safely in our society.”

U.S. Representative Yvette D. Clarke is a member of the House Committee on Small Business, Ethics, and Homeland Security, where she is the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies. She represents many neighborhoods in central and southern Brooklyn, NY which include Brownsville, Crown Heights, East Flatbush, Flatbush, Gerritsen Beach, Madison, Midwood, parts of Park Slope and Flatlands, Prospect Heights, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Sheepshead Bay, and Windsor Terrace.