Better Suicide Prevention For Vets Approved By US Senate

Georgia Sen. Johnny Isakson talked about Kisha Holmes and her family on the Senate floor.

The Clay Hunt Act passed the Senate by unanimous vote.

“There was a tragic death in Atlanta,” Isakson said. “We don’t know yet the root cause of it, but we know the individual may have had mental health problems and was a veteran of the war in Afghanistan and took their life and the life of their children.”

The bill is named after another Marine veteran, Clay Hunt, who committed suicide in 2011.

“Well obviously you hope that the implementation of the Clay Hunt Act will actually help to prevent things like what happened in Austell last week,” Isakson said after the vote.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Holmes had missed mental health appointments, and that she’d been flagged by the Atlanta VA as a high risk for suicide.

“I think some of the conclusions that have been drawn or suggestions that have been made in the Atlanta media will find to be needing some amplification and correction when the investigation’s over,” Isakson said.

According to a 2012 VA study, 8,000 U.S. veterans take their own lives each year. The law would spur outside audits of existing suicide prevention programs and create incentives for more mental health professionals to enter the VA system.

The bill has already passed the House and awaits the president’s signature.