On the recordJune 21, 2019
Madam Chair, I am proud to sponsor an amendment that will help women veterans. My amendment would ensure that no less than $3 million under the Veterans Health Administration should be directed toward women-only inpatient clinics for mental healthcare. The current system could force women suffering with PTSD caused by military sexual trauma to be admitted into a male-dominant ward, which could further traumatize or revictimize them. The veteran suicide rate is, sadly, only increasing, and we need to protect our veterans when they are feeling vulnerable. Women veterans should not be humiliated, marginalized, traumatized, or victimized to the point of giving up and believing that suicide is the only way out. We need to protect them.
