Senate Approves Key Provisions of Bond - Boxer - Lieberman Bill to Improve Treatment of Troops, Military Families

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today the Senate approved key provisions of the bipartisan bill to improve the treatment of our service members and veterans suffering with invisible injuries like PTSD and TBI. These provisions, part of the Honoring Our Nation's Obligations to Returning Warriors Act (HONOR) sponsored by U.S. Senators Kit Bond (R-MO), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), and Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) were passed as part of the Veterans Health Care Authorization bill.

Senator Bond said, "Today's action is an important first step in ensuring our troops and veterans who served America honorably in combat receive the care and treatment they deserve. Senators Boxer, Lieberman and I will continue to push Congress to enact the remaining provisions of our bill that are key to helping troops returning home with invisible injuries."

Senator Boxer said, "I am pleased the Senate passed this important bill that contains provisions of the Bond-Boxer HONOR Act - including giving active duty military access to mental health care services at Vet Centers. I will keep working with my colleagues to see that the rest of our bill becomes law so that we can help provide for the loved ones of those lost to suicide and train more mental health care providers."

Senator Lieberman said, "We have no greater obligation than to care for our wounded service members; this includes both physical and emotional wounds. If we provide the right care at the right time, we will not only be protecting them, but making our military stronger and more effective. I am pleased to see that the Veterans Health Care Authorization bill includes vital language from the HONOR Act, and opens up our Vet Centers to active duty military personnel so they can seek the mental health services they may need."

One of the provisions in the Bond-Boxer-Lieberman legislation that was adopted as part of the Senate-passed Veterans Health Care Authorization bill will give active duty service members access to Vet Centers - the community-based counseling centers veterans use for mental health care services. Opening the doors to local mental health counseling services will ease the burden among practitioners and active troops caused by over-utilization and two wars overseas.

Also as part of the Senate-passed bill, Vet Centers will be authorized to counsel former service members on their rights to present their medical records for review. The Senators stressed that this authorization is critical to service members who may have been improperly diagnosed with a personality disorder and subsequently discharged. According to Pentagon reports, some service members who suffered combat-related psychological injuries such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or closed head injuries such as Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs) were inappropriately and inconsistently discharged. In 2007 and 2008 the Senators fought to pass legislation that will protect service members from these personality disorder discharges which can result in the loss of some benefits and care for wounded veterans, not to mention the stigma and employment challenges that come with a personality disorder.

As the Senate's leading advocates for improving the mental health care our troops receive, Bond, Boxer, and Lieberman reintroduced the HONOR Act earlier this year to address the immediate needs of those suffering with invisible injuries and to make a long-term fix to the military's mental health care system.

According to the RAND Institute an estimated 620,000 returning service members suffer from PTSD, TBIs, or both. Despite this figure, which represents about 30 percent of those who have served in combat, the Pentagon's response to the suffering of these troops and their families has been inadequate.

Remaining provisions in the bipartisan HONOR Act that will help address the inadequate treatment some of our troops are receiving include:

• Extension of survivor benefits to families of military personnel who commit suicide and have service-related mental health conditions, including PTSD and TBI;

• Establishment of a scholarship for service members who have served in a combat zone to seek professional degrees in behavioral sciences to provide assistance to active and former service members afflicted with psychological mental health conditions connected with traumatic events during combat;

• Creation of a program to employ and train combat veterans as psychiatric technicians and nurses to provide counseling for active duty service members in immediate need of treatment;

• Establishment of an annual joint review and report on the effectiveness of re-integration programs from the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense.

Additional original co-sponsors of the bill include Senators Sam Brownback (R-KS), Susan Collins (R-ME) Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Arlen Specter (D-PA), and Mark Udall (D-CO). The HONOR Act also has support from our veterans and military groups.