Last week, U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., said he would bring out in three bills to help veterans and members of the Armed Forces.
Buchanan said he would introduce the “Veteran Overmedication and Suicide Prevention Act,” the “Restoring Earned Veterans Benefits Act” and the “Data Recorders Installed in Vehicles Equipped So Armed Forces Endure (DRIVE SAFE) Act.”
“As someone who represents over 64,000 veterans in Florida’s 16th district, serving our nation’s heroes is one of my top priorities,” said Buchanan. “The brave men and women who served our country in uniform deserve all the care and respect a grateful nation can offer every day – not just on Independence Day.”
Buchanan’s office offered details on the proposals.
“The Veteran Overmedication and Suicide Prevention Act would require the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to review the deaths of all veterans it treated who died by suicide or from a drug overdose in the last five years. The new data generated by the bill will be used to better treat veterans suffering from both mental and physical injuries,” Buchanan’s office noted. “According to the VA’s latest suicide reportEditSign, 6,146 veterans committed suicide in 2020, or about 17 per day. Veteran suicides accounted for over 16 percent of all suicides in the U.S. that same year.”
The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and AMVETS are backing the proposal.
The Restoring Earned Veterans Benefits Act “would streamline the process for service members returning to veteran status after a subsequent tour of active duty” and Buchanan’s office offered the reasons behind the proposal.
“Currently, if a veteran returns to active duty, then subsequently leaves military service and returns to veteran status, they must proactively re-apply for veteran benefits. Buchanan’s bill removes that extra step, and their veteran benefits would restart immediately upon leaving service,” Buchanan’s office noted.
The DRIVE SAFE Act “aims to evaluate if equipping tactical vehicles with black box data recorders could prevent future accidents.”
