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Senate backs bill to address veterans’ suicide

FILE - In this March 27, 2014 file photo, with the Capitol in the background, Army veteran David Dickerson of Oklahoma City, Okla., joins others to place 1,892 flags representing veteran and service members who have died by suicide to date in 2014, on the National Mall in Washington. The Senate is expected to take up a bill Monday named for Clay Hunt, a 26-year-old veteran who killed himself in 2011. The bill is aimed at reducing a suicide epidemic that claims the lives of 22 military veterans every day. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak) FILE - In this March 27, 2014 file photo, with the Capitol in the background, Army veteran David Dickerson of Oklahoma City, Okla., joins others to place 1,892 flags representing veteran and service members who have died by suicide to date in 2014, on the National Mall in Washington. The Senate is expected to take up a bill Monday named for Clay Hunt, a 26-year-old veteran who killed himself in 2011. The bill is aimed at reducing a suicide epidemic that claims the lives of 22 military veterans every day. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

By Associated Press February 3, 2015 1 min read

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Senate has approved a bill aimed at reducing a suicide epidemic among military veterans, sending the measure to President Barack Obama.

The bill is named for Clay Hunt, a 26-year-old veteran who killed himself in 2011 and comes in response to suicides that on average claim the lives of 22 military veterans every day.

The Senate approved the bill unanimously on Tuesday. The House unanimously passed it last month.

The bill would require the Pentagon and Veterans Affairs Department to submit to independent reviews of their suicide prevention programs and offer financial incentives to psychiatrists and other mental health professionals who agree to work for the VA. It also would help military members as they transition from active duty to veteran status.