Congresswoman Elaine Luria (D-VA-02) participated in a House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs hearing on Thursday on pending legislation that focused on suicide prevention and ways to improve benefits for veterans.
The Committee discussed Congresswoman Luria’s VA Research Technology Act, which seeks to improve the VA research office’s ability to conduct pivotal clinical trials to reduce and prevent veteran suicide. This legislation would also establish an Office of Research Reviews within the VA to perform centralized security reviews of research in order to ensure accountability and protect participating veterans.
“I am pleased the Committee discussed my bill, the VA Research Technology Act, which will help the VA find new solutions to prevent veteran suicides and help veterans experiencing mental health crises,” said Luria. “The rate of suicide among veterans is unacceptable, and it is critical that we do everything within our power to end this scourge.”
Click here to watch Luria speak about her bills before the committee.
The Committee also discussed Luria’s Veterans Burn Pits Exposures Recognition Act. This bill would concede exposure to certain toxins, chemicals, and airborne hazards for veterans who have served in Southwest Asia since 1990.
The bill would also standardize how medical professionals approach compensation and pension examinations for these veterans.
“We must not allow the veterans who served in Southwest Asia to face the same hardships of veterans of past battles who were exposed to toxins but waited decades for research findings to impact laws that would compensate them for their sacrifice to our country,” said Luria. “My bill would consider the evidence we have today and improve the disability claims process for all veterans.”
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