A bill aimed at improving veteran accessibility to mental health care has passed the US Senate and now only needs President Obama's signature to become law.
The US House passed the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act on January 12, 2015 for a second time.
The House also passed the Clay Hunt SAV Act in early December 2014. But the bill was killed in the Senate by outgoing, US Sen. Tom Coburn, a Republican from Oklahoma.
The bipartisan legislation not only embraces new ideas to improve the effectiveness of VA mental health care it also requires annual reviews of program effectiveness.
"The Senate did the right thing today by passing the Clay Hunt SAV Act. The bill is an important step toward helping stop the epidemic of veteran suicides," said US Rep. Jeff Miller (R-FL), Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, in a news release.
