Press Releases

Congressman French Hill (AR-2) released the following statement after the President signed into law the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act (Clay Hunt SAV Act):

“I am proud to have voted for this critical bill that will improve access to mental health care services for veterans dealing with the invisible wounds of war. The men and women who have fought for this country are deserving of nothing short of timely access to quality care, and the President signing this important bill into law today underscores that assisting these heroes is a commitment that all Americans support. To be losing our veterans at an average of 18-22 per day as a result of suicide is unacceptable, and I will continue to work to end this horrific epidemic.”  

The Clay Hunt SAV Act will:

• Increase access to mental health care by, among other things, creating a peer support and community outreach pilot program to assist transitioning service members as well as a one-stop, interactive website of available resources.
• Better meet the demand for mental health care by starting a pilot program to repay the loan debt of students in psychiatry so it is easier to recruit them to work at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
• Boost the accountability of mental health care by requiring an annual evaluation of Department of Defense and VA suicide prevention practices and programs.

Read the text of the bill here.

The House passed the bill on January 12, 2015 (403-0).

The Senate passed the bill on February 3, 2015 (99-0).