Blog post

Bipartisan Coalition of Senators Support Mandatory, Face to Face Combat Stress Screenings
Posted by Michelle McCarthy on September 14 2009

As Congress works on annual the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), IAVA has been working hard to secure support for mandatory, face to face mental health screenings for all returning servicemembers. This type of provision passed in the Senate version of the NDAA but did not pass in the House.

Mental Health Assessments for Deployed Servicemembers, Section 711 (Senate) requires mandatory, face to face mental health screenings for all returning combat veterans. This screening would identify symptoms of combat stress injuries, such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, and Traumatic Brain Injury. Currently, returning servicemembers are only required to self report symptoms of invisible injuries such as PTSD and TBI. Earlier this year we had lost more soldiers to suicide than to combat. It is critical that we take action now to uniformly screen all servicemembers for the invisible wounds of war. With the surge of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, we have an opportunity with this provision to identify those in need and help them access the care they require.

The following bipartisan coalition of Senators signed onto the letter supporting Section 711:

1) Baucus (MT) 17) Snowe (ME)

2) Bennet (Michael) (CO) 18) Specter (PA)

3) Brown (OH) 19) Wyden (OR)

4) Burris (IL) 20) Casey (PA)

5) Cardin (MD) 21) Tester (MT)

6) Dorgan (ND) 22) Klobuchar (MN)

7) Durbin (IL) 23) Feingold (WI)

8) Franken (MN 24) Hutchison (TX)

9) Johanns (NE) 25) Sanders (VT)

10) Johnson (SD) 26) Grassley (IA)

11) Kerry (MA) 27) Lautenberg (NJ)