VA blasted over veterans' suicides


NEW: VA Dept. head: "If we've got something to hide, we shouldn't be hiding it"

House panel chair: VA Dept. "criminally negligent" on veterans' suicides

He insists the VA has either ignored critical suicide data or covered up the numbers

Anger was evident across the hearing room Tuesday


By Lisa Desjardins
CNN Radio


WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The chairman of the House Veterans Committee blasted the Veterans Affairs Department on Tuesday, accusing the agency of criminal failure to respond to evidence of rising suicide rates among former soldiers.


The Veterans Affairs Department was accused Tuesday of covering up veterans' suicide rates.

"This is a matter of life and death," said Chairman and Democratic Rep. Bob Filner, of California, "and I think there was criminal negligence in the way this was handled."

In a follow-up hearing on the veteran suicide issue, Filner insisted that the VA has either ignored critical suicide data or covered up the numbers.

"The pattern is deny, deny, deny," Filner told Veterans Secretary Jim Peake, "then when facts seemingly come to disagree with the denial, you cover up, cover up, cover up."

The committee was reacting to a December hearing in which Ira Katz, the VA's chief for mental health, insisted that suicide data reported in the media had been exaggerated.

Three days after his testimony, Filner said, the agency indicated some alarming statistics could, in fact, be correct.

Peake responded with a list of statistics by age and gender, insisting that such data can be incomplete and easily manipulated.

Vets say they feel misled about GI benefits
He confronted one of the most heated figures, an estimate that 1,000 veterans a month are attempting suicide.

"I can appreciate that the number of 1000 suicide attempts a month might be shocking," he said, "but in a system as large as ours ... and consistent with the literature, we might well expect a larger number of attempts than that."

Peake repeatedly testified that he would not condone a cover-up.

"Our intent is to be forthcoming," he told the committee. "If we've got something to hide, we shouldn't be hiding it. We should be doing something about it."

Anger was evident across the hearing room Tuesday.

"That's not just an insult to me, it's an insult to me and our veterans," said Rep. Harry Mitchell, a Democrat from Arizona.

Mitchell was particularly irate at what he sees as stonewalling by the VA. He said he has spent four months requesting specifics on what resources the agency needs to handle the suicide issue.

He was told to file a Freedom of Information Act request, a method more commonly reserved for the public and media, not congressional committee members, he said.

"I've tried to be reasonable," Mitchell told the committee, "I've tried to work with Secretary Peake's office, but Mr. Chairman, my patience is at an end."

Mitchell told Peake that if he does not receive the documents by Friday, he will push for a committee subpoena.

In the past, Peake has denied that the agency suppressed or ignored key suicide records.

__________________________________________
End of CNN Release

Remember that you heard
this issue first of Vet suicides and
premature death in my floor speeches
before the VDBC Commission.

NOBODY CARES ABOUT THE DISABLED VETERANS. ALL WE GET IS POLITICAL SPILLS AND NO LIVE ACTION.

LOOK AT THIS ONE BY THE PRESIDEN
"We owe them all we can give them," "Not only for when they're in harm's way, but when they come home to help them adjust if they have wounds, or adjust after their time in service. I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO GET HELP FOR YEARS AND ALL I AM GETTING IS THE EXECUTION OF A DEATH PLAN INITIATED BY SENATOR WEBB, THE POLICE AND COURT SYSTEM. SEVERE UNDUE HARRASSMENT TO INTICE ME INTO COMMITTING SUICIDE FROM THE AFFECTS OF PTSD.