Democrats press VA on suicide rate

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Democrats press VA on suicide rate
By Leo Shane III, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Wednesday, May 7, 2008

WASHINGTON — House Democrats on Tuesday angrily accused top Veterans Affairs officials of lying about suicide trends, covering up negative data and ignoring mounting deaths among former servicemembers.

“This is not a bureaucratic situation with numbers. This is life or death,” said House Veterans Affairs Committee chairman Bob Filner, D-Calif. “I think there is clear evidence of a cover-up, and I think there is criminal negligence here.”

VA officials denied the charges, saying they’re working to prevent veterans’ suicides and insisting the problem is still not well understood.

Last week several Democratic senators called for the resignation of VA Mental Health Director Ira Katz after e-mails surfaced showing internal discussions over suicide rates and how best to make them public.

In December, a CBS news report showed suicide rates among veterans in 2004 and 2005 was significantly above national averages; the rate was three times higher among the youngest separated servicemembers.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=54596