May 19, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced that the suicide rates among 18- to 29-year-old male veterans increased by 26% from 2005 to 2007. VA Secretary Eric Shinseki further stated that 20% of the 30,000 Americans who take their own life each year are veterans.

“As the military reels from yet another year of record suicide rates, the recently announced 26% increase in suicides in the veterans community is not only disheartening – it is unacceptable,” said Rep. Michael E. McMahon. “These statistics – in reality – represent individuals who have devoted their lives to protecting our country and in return, whose pain has been neglected and ignored. My first bill in Congress was devoted to the prevention of soldier suicides, and I will continually work to reassure America’s heroes that they will not be forgotten.”

“The unfortunate truth is that the real challenge begins when these service men and women return home and readjust to day-to-day life,” continued Rep. McMahon. “The Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs must be prepared with the appropriate staff and funding to conduct post-deployment psychological screenings with a mental health professional for all service men and women. Evidently, the paper questionnaires currently in use simply do not suffice. How many more young men and women must die before we provide the necessary mental health care?”